Silver Lake

Our latest camping trip was to a place called Silver Lake that we heard about from John (Greg's son) and his friends.  It's a little off the grid.  There's a Forestry Education camp there, but no commercial campground, plug-ins or showers or anything.  There are a handful of lovely spots nestled in the trees, a little lake with no power boats on it, and that's about it.  We did a little fishing off the pier, and rowed our lovely new yacht, pictured here, all around the lake.  We're getting the van set up just right - there are some good meals coming out of there - the bed set up keeps getting better, and we've figured out how to make coffee possible in the mornings without having to move too much stuff around.  By the end of the summer we'll be vw camping efficiency experts!

Life Drawing with Janice

 Life drawing session last week.  I felt like I kind of missing it all night - mapping things out without really 'seeing'.  Finally got into a groove on this last pose, which I like.  I'm starting to see the lights and shadows a little more simplified, which is good.  

At the end of each session, when I see everyone else's drawings, I'm reminded of how creative we can be.  I always think 'Oh yeah, I could have stepped out of the box a bit more'.  Then, by the time the next session rolls around, I've forgotten I thought that, and I approach it pretty much the same way as before.  If only we could all show our drawings at the START of the night, when they can have some impact.  I know, I know.

Bring on the Tie-Dye

 
Bring on the Tie-Dye
Originally uploaded by sketchalina

I love our new camper van!  I borrowed Mizz Maggie's Pleasureway to take Miguela on her birthday present/surfing trip in April.  We had such a great time, and I loved camping in a van - all the comforts we needed, still small enough to drive comfortably and fit into the cool, smaller campsites.  When I got home, Greg and I discovered we'd both always dreamed of owning a Westy.  The search was on in earnest, and after turning over every stone on the internet, we found our ideal van - a '96 Eurovan, on ly 57,000 k on it, in West Vancouver.  We picked it up a couple of weeks ago, and we've already been on two great camping trips with it.  Everything works great (except I don't have the fridge figured out yet).  It's beautiful, as you can see, and it's fine to drive around town.  Yogi likes it, too!  We've loaded it up with a good BBQ, an inflatable boat, and other essentials like art supplies and good wine.   Love it!

Plein Aire Event at God's Mountain

Plein Aire Event at God's Mountain
Originally uploaded by sketchalina

I went to God's Mountain today as part of a fund raiser for the Penticton Art Gallery. We all (17 artists) painted around town, then got together at the end of the day to see what each other had done. It was a little intimidating at first. There were a lot of really great and well known artists there - people whose work I've been admiring in galleries for a long time - and me. But, I took a deep breath and went along anyways. It was a great experience. The paintings all get donated to the gallery for a big black tie auction on July 4th.

This room is a very cool place. It's called 'The Roofless Room' (no kidding). It's not set up for the season yet, but it's got a great built in bathtub and fireplace, all exposed to the heavens. The room will get draped with gauzy curtains and beautiful furniture, and the big canopy bed will get kitted out with all kinds of lovely linens I'm sure, but with a view like this, it doesn't need much else! There are several others suites around the grounds, a pretty little vineyard complete with a pure white horse standing between the rows, cool breeze blowing in his mane, a gorgeous swimming pool, pond and amazing gardens. The common room here is also spectacular. Great place for an event (and the people are really nice too! Hi Sarah).

If you're tempted to go there for a little b&b experience, the web address is http://www.godsmountain.com

Life Drawing with Madhu

Another life drawing session.  Our model was lovely and lively, but didn't really have the 'hold still' concept down.  Made for a good lesson in patience.  I'd start to get all 'grrrr' when I'd begin drawing her mouth line and she'd launch into a story, and then I'd remember 'oh yeah, it doesn't matter.  It's the process, the being here that matters'.  Loved the sari's, and her beautiful black hair and graceful face were fun to try to capture.  

All About the Boots

Back to life drawing last night. This time our model brought a few props. It was interesting to see how each artist dealt with it - some making them the focal point, some ignoring them altogether. The drawings that (for me) had the biggest impact were the ones where things like boots and hair colour affect the mood of the model, and it's the mood that we're looking at, not the 'stuff'. That's where I'd like to get to. I so love these sessions. Have I mentioned that before?

Rhymes With Ian

I finally made it back to life drawing last night at Michael Hermesh's house.  There was a new model - Rhiann (rhymes with Ian).  The conversation was entertaining as usual, and I left the session inspired on a whole bunch of levels.  This month has been a little crazy with family and health stuff; but I'm glad I made the effort to go 'feed the artist soul'.