Exploring Gel Pens for Strong Drawings

 

 

 Blog 9

 

At the start of this blog, I am sharing the last four August images with you. On August 28, the morning was perfect for canoeing around Petrie Island with my husband and our dog, Shadow. I wish I had brought my camera. I sketched while Ingo fished, which was challenging because the canoe continuously moved despite the anchor. 
 

While we were canoeing, I saw many white water lilies, which was a treat because they are one of my favourite flowers. When I came home, I drew the water lily you see below. 
 

I am also fascinated by the night sky and especially the moon. When I saw the full moon in August, it was surrounded by a circle of orange and yellow light, which I captured in my next drawing. 
 
 
As orange is one of my favourite colours, I was also drawn to the orange Lampion Flowers (also called Chinese Lanterns) that I discovered walking in the neighbourhood.
 
 
On the final day of the month, I drew my faithful coworker, Shadow, who watches over me when I work in my outdoor office. I have to admit he always takes up the lounger during his watch, dozing off from time to time but always attentive to any noise.
 

Top two images: watercolour pencils; lower two images: Prismacolor coloured pencils

Even though my teaching schedule only starts on Saturday, I needed to set a time limit for my daily drawing. During the summer, I had a relaxed schedule and usually had enough time to take as long as I needed to finish each drawing. This month, however, I had to finish some administrative tasks and plan course content for autumn.

 

Therefore, I tried new mediums and techniques for my drawings. One goal was to simplify my drawings. Did I succeed? Not always, but I usually set myself a time limit and was more playful in my approach. It is challenging to fight the little voice in my head that tells me viewers expect to see polished artworks all the time. It always reminds me of a comment from a former student who expressed that it must be so lovely that my art comes so effortlessly to me. Every artist can tell you it takes a lot of practice and frustration, which often happens behind the scenes. Whenever I had additional time, I coloured my gel pen and line marker drawings, mainly during Zoom meetings with family and friends, who are used to me creating while chatting.

 

Image 1, 3, 4, and 5: watercolour pencils and line marker; White Potentilla: erasable gel pen, coloured pencils

I found my inspiration everywhere: in my garden, outings to Petrie Island, and during walks. After visiting the Helen McNicoll exhibition at the National Gallery, I was inspired to draw "Beach Fun. My image shows my young niece rubbing sand onto her legs.

 

erasable gel pen, except for Beach fun: HB pencil; images 1 and 6: watercolour pencils; images: 2 and 3: Prismacolor pencils

Top left image: watercolour pencils; middle and right image: erasable gel pen; bottom left image: watercolour pencils and erasable gel pen; bottom right image: Prismacolor coloured pencils, watercolours, and erasable gel pen 

While painting with my friends Janis and Bob, Janis discovered the interesting purple flower above, which none of us had seen before. According to Google Lens, it is called a Closed Bottle Gentian. I love that we often discover something new when we paint outside, and I love to learn more about the new plants I see. Have you ever encountered this plant before?

 

I spotted the monarch butterfly on September 16 in the morning on my hydrangea bush. At first, I took pictures through the mosquito screen, but it stayed there long enough for me to go outside with my camera. Later, a monarch butterfly crossed my path when I walked Shadow. I saw this as a sign to choose it as the subject of that day's drawing.
 

 

Both left images: erasable gel pen; top also watercolour pencils; both right images: watercolours 

 

The last images were inspired by a week I spent at the cottage with my husband, our dog, and relatives. We had frost during a couple of nights, but the days were sunny and pleasant. The sun was still hot. I created most of the driftwood drawing on location and painted the little water scene en plein air. 

 

Top left image: HB pencil; all other images: erasable gel pen, right bottom also watercolour pencils

 

The glass window decoration is from a restaurant we visited. I discovered the red mushroom with white spots on a hike through the woods. I didn't have time to add colour, but I might needle felt the scene as a small project. My husband picked the asters for my birthday. The larger blooms were a soft purple; the smaller ones were white. On another walk, I saw the bright red berries of a Hawthorn bush, a powerful contrast to the complementary green of the leaves.

 

I have enjoyed working with the erasable gel pen and hardly ever used the eraser. I captured my subjects a lot faster than with watercolour or coloured pencils. However, whenever I had some extra time, I added colour because it makes the images so much livelier.

 

Next month, I intend to attempt drawing with a fountain pen. I still use a good one for writing, but I have a couple of cheaper ones I want to use for drawing. What do you want to experiment with to change up your routine?

 

If you are curious about needle felting, I invite you to my October workshop, Felting Experience – Bring Your Inspiration to Life in Wool.

Create a needle-felted painting in a relaxed creative workshop, and let your imagination flow. Whether you are inspired by landscapes, flowers, animals, abstract designs, or a favourite photograph, you will learn how to transform your ideas into a unique wool painting.

The workshop is for all levels. By the end of the workshop, you will have created a unique needle-felted artwork and gained the skills and confidence to continue creating with wool at home.

Finding Joy in the Little Things

 

Blog 8

 

  
This month, I joined Shannon Hernandez’s Practical Joy Book Club. Shannon brought together an inspirational group, and her guided exercises helped us focus on making time for joy and allowing space for it, even when grief and frustration seem to overwhelm us.

Since my accident in 2021, I have made more space for joy. It was a wake-up call that made me realize how fragile our lives are. We all know this, but in the hustle of daily life, we often postpone what truly matters.

Being part of the book club reinforced my desire for joy in my life. This month, I drew things that nurture my joy. They make me grateful for the life I have and give my actions a purpose.

 

All images: Prismacolor coloured pencils, Bean: HB and 2B pencils

I spent the August long weekend with my daughter and her cat, Bean, at her new apartment. I cherish our relationship and the deep bond we have. By spending time together, we are creating memories that will stay with us. The images of the Kaiserschmarrn and Bean playing with his new toy remind me of these happy moments together, enjoying simple pleasures.

Nature is another important source of joy for me. Our garden grounds me and offers endless inspiration to capture its fleeting beauty in my art.

For example, it is a delight to see the dahlia my daughter gave me three years ago blooming again. I love watching the foxes and bunnies, the visits of wild turkeys, and the birds. I also enjoy the rich harvest my husband’s vegetable garden offers. Our property was an apple orchard in the past, but we only have a single apple tree and one crabapple tree left, which I use to cook delicious apple sauce.

All images: Prismacolor coloured pencils

On the evening of August 5, I couldn’t believe my eyes when a large deer walked through our garden. Something we have never seen in the over 20 years we have lived here. The deer and I stared at each other in astonishment. I didn’t move, not to frighten the beautiful deer, and it was clearly afraid of my reaction. It was such a touching moment.

With High Tea, we celebrated the friendship that has evolved in our Book Club. Discussing the books and sharing our personal histories and opinions has created a bond of friendship which I cherish because community and connections are two of my core values. Each fun activity and every meeting has deepened the respect and our relationships.

All image, except the sumac: Prismacolor coloured pencils; Sumac: watercolours

Most of the flowers I drew bring colour to our garden and make my heart jump excitedly. I also get so much pleasure from seeing the colourful flower beds in our neighbourhood.


My geraniums and my Swamp Rose Mallow survive the winters in our winter garden, where they still bloom even in the middle of winter. I loved the dramatic mood of the white geranium highlighted by the porch lights at night.


The Himalayan Balsam, an invasive species, I received twenty years ago, doesn’t seem to like our soil. Therefore, I can enjoy the few delicate blooms without fear of the plants taking over our property.


I created the first sunflower after a wonderful painting day with my Painting Buddies Janis and Bob. I like to remember all the sights, sounds and smells of nature to bridge the winter months when thick snow covers the landscape with a white blanket.

We have a small pond on the property, and I sometimes hear the bullfrog croaking. However, Shadow and I found this frog on the side of the street during one of our walks.

All images, except Sumac: Prismacolor coloured pencils; Sunset: watercolours, white Prismacolor pencil

I also spotted a Monarch Butterfly that seems to like the many goldenrod plants on our property.


Summer also brings traditions I cherish, especially picnics by the Ottawa River while watching the sunset, an experience I have shared with family and friends, creating memories I treasure. A sunset was also one of the drawing suggestions from my Facebook community, a request I fulfilled gladly.

While I was fascinated by the intricate design of the grasshopper’s body, it reminded me of my recent bike tour with my husband and daughter along the Ottawa River, exploring downtown Ottawa from the riverside.

 

Upper images: Prismacolor coloured pencils; the bottom two: watercolour pencils and watercolours

The last image of this blog already announces the change of season, although the official start of autumn is still three weeks away. I love the colourful fall foliage, but I hope summer still stays with us as long as possible. I dread the long, cold months here in Ottawa.

 

First image: watercolour pencils; the other two: Prismacolor coloured pencils

Are you looking forward to the cooler season, or do you want summer to extend until the Canadian Thanksgiving?

Seeing the World in Colour

  

 Blog 7

 

In July, I continued what I started in June. I decided to dedicate three days each to one colour. A simple colour wheel shows pure hues (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet), while this month’s objects possessed mainly colours that are created by mixing colours. 

 

The first three images are mostly brown, which belongs between red and yellow, in the orange family, but with lower brightness and saturation (intensity). 

 

Next I captured predominantly grey objects. Grey is a neutral colour with no dominant hue. It is made by mixing black and white or by mixing complementary colours, sometimes adding white. 

 

The next colour was black, the darkest neutral. It is used to create shades of colours by darkening them. Usually, you don't find pure black in nature because the reflected light gives some areas a warm brown or cool blue undertone.

 

Finally, I chose three pink objects. Pink is a tint of red, made by adding white to cool reds with a blue or purple undertone. As I had a pink watercolour pencil, I only added more water. I struggled with the piglet’s legs, which I adjusted several times. I had to add colour to the background to cover some of the dark lines. I am still not completely satisfied, but I considered the drawing finished when I realized I could not improve it.

 

 

I wanted to add images of turquoise objects next because it is another of my favourite colours. However, I had trouble finding any objects in my surroundings while I was on vacation, and I was also missing the colours to mix a satisfying turquoise. Instead, I created images consisting mainly of two primary colours and their secondary colour, a mix of these two primary colours. 

The daylily consists of yellow, orange and red. I added a yellow-green for the leaves and in some of the petals. 

Blue grape hyacinths surround the red and purple tulips. I added a green with a blue undertone for the plants’ leaves.

The lily is the only image that consists of only the two primary colours, blue and yellow, and their secondary, green.  

 

Next, I experimented with complementary colours: the primary colour combined with the secondary colour created when mixing the other two primary colours. The final piece was a colourful flower bed.

 

In my children's courses, I have had many children who were reluctant to add colour to their drawings, and I often encourage them to add at least a bit of colour to parts of their images. I LOVE colour. Therefore, I wanted to go the other way and attempt to draw some of the previous colour subjects in black and white.

My favourite one was the gerbera. I prefer the black-and-white drawing to the coloured one I did in June. The Gentiana acaulis drawing was extremely difficult because the reference photo showed the blossoms clumped together, making it challenging to identify the shapes of each blossom.

 

On July 29, we drew the garden snail from a previous month again because many of our regular members had missed the first time. Again, I had more trouble drawing the right-facing snail than the left-facing one. I have noticed during this daily drawing project that it’s more challenging for me to draw something facing right than left, which is interesting because I also prefer parking spots to my left. I will explore this phenomenon further in the upcoming months.
 

For the last two days, I picked an iris and the individual mousse cake, which seemed an easy drawing to finish before publishing this blog.

 

To bring some relaxing creative fun into your life, join me for the free Art Café on August 23, 2026, from 2 PM to 4 PM. We will chat, enjoy some treats and create beautiful fruit-inspired doodles. I will provide all the materials and some light refreshments. You are welcome to bring a treat, especially if you have any dietary restrictions. I have space for up to seven people.

For more information and registration, please go here.

Vancouver: Inspired by Nature, Art and Soccer

 

Blog 6A

Thank you for reading my blog. I had a fantastic time in Vancouver, visiting my son and his fiancée.

I left on Monday morning, June 22, around 7 AM, which meant getting up before 5 AM – challenging for a night owl who usually gets to bed after 1 AM.

However, arriving early gave me a full day to enjoy the city.

 

It was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the high twenties, when my son picked me up from the SkyTrain. I quickly set out to explore the neighbourhood, looking for possible painting locations. I marvelled at all the magnificent, cheerful flowers along the sidewalks, in community gardens, and enjoyed the shade provided by the huge trees along the road all the way down to the harbour.

 

Science World decorated as a giant soccer ball for the FIFA World Cup 2026

That evening, my son, his fiancée, and I went to Kitsilano Beach Park. I was in awe of the spectacular view of the huge freight ships on one side and the heavily populated beaches with swimmers and volleyball players on the other, all surrounded by mountains.

 

Kitsilano Beach Park

The next day, I painted in Mount Pleasant Community Park, surrounded by flowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruit. Unfortunately, there was no spot in the shade. At least I found an old chair that I used while painting one of the colourful flower beds until the mid-day heat forced me to look for a shaded spot, which I found on a street corner with a flower bed of magenta-coloured poppies. Unfortunately, I had to stand while capturing the beautiful flowers. Therefore, I retreated quickly to the house.

 

Flower Medley, watercolour, 5.5" x 8.5", unfinished

You can check out the videos of that location here:

 1) Community garden painting spot: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2Ih3QcQrG6I 

2) At the end of the session: https://youtube.com/shorts/aV-jGNCKuMg?si=g4sf8yfG5fmecJWo 

 

Magenta Poppies, watercolour pencils, 5.5" x 8.5", unfinished

You can check out the videos of the poppy location here:

1) Poppy Painting Spot: https://youtube.com/shorts/6ViLrHL2n14?si=bGqPSHEe5DqzuiVq

2) Painting Poppies: https://youtube.com/shorts/65JCD57uLfY?si=5rfcKGhyr2o17ByI 

 

In the early evening, we went for a 6.3 km hike in Stanley Park, one of my must-see places of the trip. We were all surprised that I could manage the distance without a break. Even a year ago, I would not have been able to manage this distance, but 4.5 years after my double pelvic fracture, I have finally regained my fitness level, with a few modifications and thanks to continuous physio exercises.

 

Beaver Lake, Stanley Park

I didn't have time to sketch. However, the visit to Stanley Park provides enough inspiration for years of painting, with the majestic trees, the beautiful rose garden, Beaver Lake, and the breathtaking views from the Seawall.

 

 

Stanley Park, view from the Seawall

On Wednesday, the FIFA World Cup game between Switzerland and Canada was held in Vancouver. My son and I joined thousands of fans downtown, many dressed in red. The outdoor viewing places were so overcrowded that we looked for a place in a restaurant to watch the game. We finally found two chairs in a small Mexican restaurant. The mood was amazing, even though Canada lost in the end. After the game, we visited Gastown, with the famous Steam Clock, and walked around the Vancouver Convention Centre, which offers amazing waterfront views.

 

Canada Place

The cooler weather on Thursday made it the perfect day to visit Queen Elizabeth Park. I strolled through the beautiful landscape before visiting the Bloedel Conservatory, home to tropical plants and rescued birds. While the tropical plants and rescued birds were breathtaking, my severe mouse phobia made the visit very stressful.

Queen Elizabeth Park with the Bloedel Conservatory in the back

 

Later, while walking to the Van Dusen Botanical Garden, I got lost and ended up in the rose garden instead, where I painted three red roses.

Three Red Roses, watercolour, 5.5" x 8.5"

Here are the videos from this painting session:

1) View of the Rose Garden: https://youtube.com/shorts/7w9Q1y3AsBU?si=oR76kCjKoIiGjQn6

2) With the finished painting: https://youtube.com/shorts/6MVX-Mxs1Hk?si=HcHq-E2iF81jX69k 

As it rained on Friday, I visited the Vancouver Art Gallery to see the outstanding exhibition,"That Green Ideal - Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature", with about 100 works of the exceptional Canadian painter. At the end of the exhibition, visitors were encouraged to draw, inspired by Emily Carr's painting, "The Little Pine", an invitation I could not resist.

 

Vancouver Art Gallery

While Emily Carr already criticized in her art the environmental impact of industrial logging, its ecological effects and consequences on the lives of Indigenous people, the second special exhibition," Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change", was even clearer in its message that human exploitation of resources endangers all lives on the planet. It was a gloomy reminder of the consequences of our actions.

top right: an impression of Emily Carr's painting, The Little Pine

On my final day in Vancouver, we visited Granville Island with its many specialty shops and the huge indoor market. I am sure everyone's mouth was watering with the sight of all the fresh food.

 

Fresh produce at the indoor market

In the afternoon, my son and I visited Lynn Canyon Park. On our hike, we crossed the suspension bridge and the breathtaking forest. It was hot again, and we envied the people bathing in the crystal-clear Thirty Foot Pool. The many stairs on the path were quite the workout, but worth the effort. A quick detour to Deep Cove, where we skipped a famous sandwich shop with a queue of a couple of metres in favour of ice cream and a trip to a fantastic bakery in Vancouver.

 

Lynn Canyon Park

At the airport that evening, I had an unexpected surprise: While I was waiting at the gate for my overnight flight to Ottawa, I met a friend and fellow artist from Ottawa whom I hadn't seen for more than ten years. Although we still keep in touch through social media, we could have chatted for hours.

Even exhausted after a restless night and a day of moving boxes and furniture,  I returned home filled with inspiration and grateful for the opportunity to revisit Vancouver after more than thirty years. Plus, I still drew my last blue object, a Blue Jay that had visited me almost every day in June.

 

 

On the last days of June and July 1, it was challenging to choose only three objects from the many green plants and animals nature provides for our pleasure. The first two drawings show plants from the Queen Elizabeth Garden. The frog is from a reference photo taken at Petrie Island. I added the picture of the frog from July 1 to this blog because it is the last image of the series of greens. The remaining July drawings will appear in my next blog on July 31, 2026.

 

Green Objects

 

What would you like me to draw during August? Please leave your suggestion in the comments. Feel free to challenge me as I continue my daily drawing routine.