VAN DUSEN BOTANICAL GARDEN

        At the VanDusen Botanical Gardens with my friend Lara.  I had my paint and sketchbook in hand and was looking for something unusual and unique to the place to paint. After walking around looking at green leaves...and green grass...and green plants, this tractor came out of nowhere and said, paint me! I found a sweet spot on the grass and a rock to lean my back on. The water I used for this painting was from a small flowing stream just behind me.

LIFE DRAWING

                      Where did the 3 hours go? Traditional Life drawing @ New Westminster. The venue provided easels and I felt like an amateur, clipping my dinky little tear away pad on the easel board while others brought their huge newsprints to draw on. Once I started to draw though, I couldn't care any less. This particular session was different from the others that I attended since the longest pose was only 20 minutes short. I see how being present in that kind of environment can affect your drawing as opposed to a much longer pose or even doing this at home, copying off a picture. I felt very tense under time pressure, trying to capture the essence of the pose as quickly as I could. It felt like I was transferring that energetic, intense pace into the art. When it was all drawn and done, that was the only time the tension melted away, leaving me exhausted, stretched beyond my comfort zone BUT feeling like I achieved something today. (and exceeded my drawing quota for the week!)