Spare moments

 I had a quick and meeting-filled trip to Edmonton.  But there are always spare minutes for drawing - waiting for airplanes, waiting for people to show up for meetings, waiting for dinner.  I carry what people think is a laptop case, but it actually contains pens, sketchbooks, watercolour paints, brushes and a little jar of water.

The fire-fighting equipment out the window at the Vancouver airport looked remarkably antique, but at least you don't have to run and find the keys when you need it in a hurry.  While I was doing the painting, one businessman looked at me and said "Now I've seen everything."  I think he might have a limited conception of "everything", but it is rare to see anyone not staring at their smart phone.

The big South Park sign is at a car dealership on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton (well, truck dealership - it's Alberta).  It's not looking its best, with peeling paint, so I'm glad to have drawn it before it disappears.

The table next to me at the Italian restaurant was clearly a family dinner.  They all had heavy dark-rimmed glasses and held their hands clasped under their chins.  None of them noticed me drawing them, because their peripheral vision was so obscured by the thick arms of their glasses.

Three sisters

No, not a Dr Sketchy's gimmick. The Navajo Three Sisters are corn, squash and beans.  These ones are from Kelly's Edible Garden Project sharing garden.  Besides making a complete protein, the three grow together in mutual harmony.  The corn stalks provide a pole for the beans to climb, the squash covers everyone's feet to keep them moist, and the beans fix nitrogen to feed the other two.  They also make a nice palette of colours for an early autumn drawing.

Dr Sketchy's steamy punk and ... theft!

I haven't been drawing much lately - my free time and energy is being spent on the cabin.  But I did get to Dr. Sketchy's for their steam punk themed night, with Ann Narky.  Ms. Narky had a lovely costume, which she was too eager to get rid of.  I couldn't do justice to the complicated dress, monocle and other steam punk accoutrements in 2 minute poses.  We decided that the models should put more of their costumes on as the poses get longer later in the night.

In other news, I had my first art theft.  That is, the first thing I've made that was stolen.  (As opposed to me stealing art.  That's where the Vermeer I have hidden in the basement comes from.)  I made a simple Sears-Roebuck-type leaded-glass window for a local store.  It had been there for a year or so, then someone broke in in the night, unscrewed the window and took it.  Nothing else was stolen.  I figure it must have been a commissioned theft for some unscrupulous collector, or maybe it's being used as collateral for some underworld dealing?  So, something I have in common with Rembrandt, van Gogh and Munch.