It's summer, and I feel great

This week I've gone off markers, if you haven't already noticed (this eBook-reading lady is a throwback to a different age, an age called "last week"), because I rediscovered drawing pencils. Drawing pencils, you might ask? Yes: pencils purpose-built for art-doing rather than writing.

It's just a wee stub but three or three-and-a-half inches long and I can't make out the brand (but it's the black and gold one, if you know your pencils, and if you do, would you remind me?). The black has such variety, and it's so responsive despite being an HB, which is the same hardness as your average office pencil. What joy.

Maybe if I give Socks a good petting I'll feel better

March 30-31, 2011

I did not enjoy this drawing. That's not normal for me. The set-up was perfect: two people asleep. So I started with the woman on the left.

As I idly went along, skritching away in my notebook, I noticed that her expression was changing. Frown lines were appearing between her eyes.

Was she awake, and pissed off? She was wearing dark glasses -- maybe she was looking at me under her lashes.

But no. Definitely asleep. So I went on but I really didn't feel right. Looked around for another subject. Returned half-heartedly. A few more stops and her chin was frowning now, acting like a ledge for her mouth, pushing the whole thing up with frowny lines down the side.

At first I just figured she was brooding over something, but finally I figured she must be awake, maybe looking at me here and there through slitted eyes, maybe when I was doing her collar or whatever. Who knows. Anyway, crappy.

***
I was duly punished, though. The story A Sketchy Ride didn't go in the print edition of Ottawa This Week. Ah well. You win some, you lose some.

In which I skirt the edges of stalkerdom

March 28-29, 2011

After twenty minutes of missed opportunities ("why is that wierdo staring at me?" crossing the faces of at least six people on one ride) I noticed a beautiful, tired woman standing in everyone's way at the other end of my bendy bus.

To the drawing board!

Ten seconds in, she turned the other way, so I started again. Then someone buffeted her down the aisle into the articulated section.

I got a bit farther into that view of her, then she moved aside again, then up the steps, until she stood at the back of the bus, a foot away.  

A stop went by, and then plop, she sat down in front of me.

Reader, she had such lovely hair.


A strange moment yesterday, while riding along: two conversations, each between a young man and a young girl, where the girls' voices were near-identical. I couldn't hear every remark so the conversations juxtaposed.

"I think we just saw a bus almost collide with a car"
"it was really annoying"
"I can sleep anywhere really dirty, as long as there's no cockroaches"

We're all (squished) in this together

March 25, 2011

The young couple across from me last Friday were curious about what I was doing so I held up my notebook and showed them. They appeared favourably disposed :) I love when doing art is social! I'd never make it in a garret... Do you think what I do is guerilla art?

At the same time, the woman next to me kept up the most distracting body language. Elbow into my arm, leg pushing into mine. Eventually she settled down, but what is it with some people?

"Oh. My. I am so comfy here in my little spot, hmm hum, all-by-myself-just-wanna-be-all -- wait, no. The door's opening. Shit. More passengers. That chick is heading for my -- no, she's moving in -- she's SITTING next to me -- Oh no, her leg is touching me, why-eeee whyy me --"

Get a grip. This is the city, lady. 

***
Hey, I didn't get any response to my pitch plea, so if you wanted to, but felt shy... now's your chance to tell an artist what to do!

Why don't more restaurants have paper tablecloths?

Crayola colours on a Sunday, while the child sleeps, and sister is out eating sushi. Hopefully I'll finish this tomorrow. Knowing me, maybe not. 

March 25-27, 2011 in progress

Talked off the ledge

March 24, 2011

Hope your ride improved or was unaffected by today's transit plan proposal?


This drawing tried really hard to junk itself. There's so much wrong with it. I hit Ottawa's least-suspended rides, four buses in a row, which messed with everything. (My money's on the old blue seat buses -- not the new ones with the curvy backs -- for Worst Rattle Experience.) One lady's face was totally destroyed (Photoshop solution employed).

Then, I misjudged the angle of the iPhone readers head. She's clearly not looking at it. Turns out I wasn't wrong - she spent most of her time lost in thought. She was on a news site, but I couldn't see the story. But it doesn't look right, does it.

I drew the opposite passengers later and guessed where to put them, so of course they're too close together, too far down and too little.

I didn't finish Curly Hair in time, and I can't draw feet without a model, so... he doesn't have any. 

So, yeah, it was going to join my large trash pile. But then I got fond of it and tried to fake out some of the faults. So now you know the truth behind one of my new favorites, wonky as it is.

Go scribbling

All the brown scribbling is to cover up the fact that her head started out as a mushroom.

Last weekend I visited native-Ottawan Kristy Gordon's show at Cube (on until March 27). I'd recommend getting over to Hintonburg for a look. Her portraits look like contemporary Ontarians and I really enjoyed them. Someone who knows how to paint, but has imagination, too. I didn't have much time to take in the rest of the show (there are 2 other artists showing with her).

And now for my silliest idea ever

March 21, 2011

The people at the other ends of some of these legs (who were sadly too close for safe portrait drawing) held an interesting conversation about life before and after his accident. The way they were talking, it sounded like they struck up a conversation as strangers. Maybe she got out of the priority seating for him, and that's how it started.  

And that's when it hit me. I've been thinking about approaching a magazine or a publisher or a gallery about my pictures. (OC Transpo never called back, sadly, although maybe it's too soon to give up.) I thought about basing the text part on my "Why you should draw on the bus" pages, but this morning I got a better idea. Everyone assumes that a bus ride is a terrible ordeal, right?A real sampling of the rat race -- a transit maze, with no swiss cheese!

But I don't think so. I see the most endearing things all the time.

So, what about a list book? (My husband --via Seanbaby -- scorns them. I'm going to get such a piss-taking if he reads this.) Like, "Fifty happy rush hour moments"? Insipid title, I know, but I can work on it! I could introduce it, and then match one drawing with each item. Let's get started:


1. I got trapped behind a giant snow bank running to catch the bus. A pregnant stranger stopped, risking missing it herself, and held her arm up to help me over.

2. This story about a great listener.

3. Hot tip: Old men always offer their seats to women. They're too gallant to accept help themselves. So if you're sitting and you want to offer an old man a seat, don't say anything, just stand up and take off.

4. Need a good wish today? Try this: Say, "Thanks, have a nice day" when you get off a bus. Chances are the driver's heard this a thousand times. But they still always say, "You, too."

 What do you think? Am I nuts? Looking it over it looks sort of horrible. But it's all in the tone, right. Ugh. This is harder than I thought. Reminds me of writing short stories. The self-doubt is ridiculous. 

Oh well. Happy spring!

Welcome!

To each of you visiting this blog, which I feel so affectionate toward, thank you! I'm glad you like it.

Local Tourist Ottawa approached me to feature Bus Blog, and I devoted my ride home to thinking about their interview questions. But first I spent a half an hour waiting for the bus. A terrible fire raged all day in Vanier. I hope the folks who were put out of their homes have all found places to stay.

March 16, 2011

So I have one small drawing to offer today (I did have another, but one of her limbs didn't work out. Sorry about the hand, pal). I gussied it up with a stray orange marker from my bag, but it so wasn't good enough for this lady. She wore a deep purple jacket, mauve scarf, and carried a pink bag. Her skin was a light peach. If only I had had some more colours. But then, I only own garish markers, and her ensemble was really pleasing.

Is anyone else curious about the Voice behind the automated stop announcement system they've got on the busses now? He's so cheerful. "I made it to Slater and Kent!" Every stop is an accomplishment to him. I should take a lesson. Celebrate everything. It makes each step more fun. On the other hand, now if you sit under the speaker by the back door? The stop request chime is DEAFENING.

Bus blog's happy day

Today I visited the CBC Ottawa Morning studio to give my interview. I've long admired host Kathleen Petty, whose warm voice through my clock radio helped me through many lonely mornings in 2006 before my husband could join me here in Ottawa. I lived at the time in the attic of a true CBC-friendly house. My friends, the owners, blasted CBC Radio across three floors, and it accompanied every sleepy breakfast at the tiny kitchen table. I loved it.

Nowadays, with my hectic breastfeed/standup-breakfast/dressup-out-the-door mornings, there's more As It Happens in my life than Ottawa Morning. But my excitement still kept me up most of last night!

While I waited for my spot, I drew a woman in the studio who I thought might be Hallie Cotnam, but Google Image search contradicts me. The picture's not great -- I was REALLY nervous.

Studio 12, CBC Ottawa

Below, a little drawing that happily distracted me on the way downtown.
 

March 15, 2011

Seeing what's in front of me -- part 2

...but not what's outside! On a 96 going home, I was so far into finishing this picture that we went two stops past my stop before I looked out the window.

"I don't usually go on the highway..."

March 14, 2011

I want to clean this up a bit more, maybe in Photoshop, but here's my almost-last version of this scene. I hope you like it.

Seeing what's in front of me

March 11, 2011

I loved working on the series of scenes I did this week. I'll keep filling this one with shading next week on slow days.  It has bothered me that I rarely do frontal portraits of people on the bus; I worried my glimpses from the side and back of people were inherently boring. But I think I'm seeing something else instead, and I like it, whatever it is.

***Dateline Ottawa***

It's 2011, I'm 35, a married mum, gainfully employed, and the proud keeper of 

two senior cats (both gray)... but friends, I'm STILL COOL! 

Thanks, OttawaStart! 

I asked them to add me to OttawaStart's list of art sites and blogs 

 a couple of months ago, and that must be how they found me. I spent 

many satisfying hours of clicking there. Enjoy!

 

 ***30***   

March 10, 2011

So, why is that despite carefully positioning the pole behind his head, in exactly the right spot, he's still sitting half off the seat? Something is wonky in the space-brain continuum.

Havana ink

 

March 9, 2011

This week I've been super enjoying my Faber Castell markers. They make the bumpy lines produced by driving over potholes seem intentional. Well, I hope so, anyway! And the brown is so lovely. It reminds me of a beautiful shade of brown fountain pen ink by Waterman. My boss at the Canadian Embassy in Washington used this ink. I loved his elegant, liquid-y scrawls in the margins of my reports.   

Ink name? "Havana."

Mmm.



In other news, my logo project was cancelled, perhaps for the better given how much is going on in my life right now! I'll keep learning Illustrator until my 30-day trial expires.



March 8, 2011







A good drawing day

March 3, 2011

Today I drew a woman (the one on the right) in conversation with an elderly colleague. (I know they're colleagues because we all work in the same place -- I was on the work bus.) I wasn't paying much attention to the words, but I swiftly realised by her expressions and the way she leaned toward the other woman that a significant amount of pretty personal information was being passed along to her. The kind that makes someone feel sympathy for another person. And here I was, drawing away, for all intents and purposes a shameful eavesdropper. I managed not to listen in, while trying to catch a bit of the kindness in her face. She was a very good listener and left the tiny, old woman a bit more relaxed.

As for the women I drew with marker, I don't know a thing about her except that she was kind of fascinating-looking (her nose is what you'd call sculpted) and that she sat as still as a stalking cat for a solid fifteen minutes.

Go to bed, Lia

Bedtime has been and gone, and what are Lia and her husband doing? He's playing Fallout, and I'm on the blog.

March 2, 2011

This is the only rule-breaking I get to do these days. (At least at this age. My younger me -- like your younger you...? -- had better definitions.) But I wanted to share these 2 people with you, so there you have it. Throw the book at me.

Commander in a toque

March 1, 2011

This morning I began a drawing of a truly interesting-looking busrider. He left the bus too soon, however, so I popped someone else's toque on his head. From there, whimsy developed the drawing into the portrait of some kind of commander (starfleet?), and the toque into a pinned headpiece.

Conspiracy in progress

10 Rideau (source: Ottawa Business Journal)

Drawing on the move lets me add pieces of my experiences together - two men in the lot at Albert and Kent, trees along Dalhousie, the historic building at number 10 Rideau.

I started blocking in some colour tonight to this sinister conversation using Adobe Photoshop, my go-to software for digital illustration.

The barbed wire is just for fun.

February 24, 2011 (unfinished)