On a Christmas theme

I'm still in procrastination mode. So this #7daysofchristmassketching challenge set by Federica and Art Discount was just what I needed when I got back from Belgium - bite-sized art, the subject chosen by Federica each day, so I didn't even have to think of what to draw, and a good excuse to sketch happy things!

At this stage, you know I never present things in the order in which they were done - hey, I still have lots of sketches of pumpkins and autumn leaves in store for you! So let's get started with my favourite of the lot.

This is Bill, or Ben. I never know which. Except the other twin is a girl, so we should really think about renaming them. Every year, when they would come down from the attic, Timber used to look at them longingly as we sat them on the window sill above his bed. He was hoping we would give them to him as a Christmas present. Maybe we should have. Now he's not here anymore and it was a bit sad to take them out of their box. But they do bring joy. And the memory of Timber. Nearly a year since he's gone.

This one was done in 5 minutes, with markers on a blank greetings card. There were a few failed attempts.

The Christmas tree - we haven't done a Christmas tree since we got Timber. Too much chaos. And I don't think we will again. So I picked a photo from a visit to the Botanic Gardens a few years ago for my Christmas tree interpretation. And I got to practise what I learned with Uma Kelkar last week, using warm and cool greens to create a sense of space!

The Christmas self-portrait. I wore my Christmas scarf - I don't do Christmas jumpers, too much consumerist waste, but I have a scarf with reindeer patterns from Costelloe+Costelloe that I pull out of the wardrobe in December every year! Self-portraits are always serious! Drawing in ink first, then added colour.

Christmas food. No turkey and ham yet. But I did buy my cranberries, and it was good to practise round shiny fruit. I'm not good with this illusion of 3D. Nor am I good at cooking. So my role on Christmas day is fairly minor!

The last theme was open - so I chose the small maple tree in our front yard and the lovely Christmas lights we put in it in early December. It brings joy to my heart every year. Particularly in these dark days of the pandemic, where celebrations are cancelled, plans are changed and my world becomes very small. But I am grateful for art, friends and these happy lights that remind me of happier times. May this tree bring light to your heart.

News from my travels

It all started normally, with sketching at the airport. This time, I opted for the early afternoon flight, so I wouldn't have to get up at 3am. But I was restless all morning, thinking I would be there already if I had taken the early flight!

Airport was busy, but not too bad. Mask wearing was pretty good, except for the ground staff at the gate and one of the cabin crew. I call them nose showers, but there's probably a better term?

The watercolours I brought with me in 2 small palettes.

I had ordered a dinner from the hotel, but the caterer let them down. I was the first person in months to ask for dinner at the hotel, as all the restaurants have reopened. But since I was visiting my elderly parents, I didn't fancy going to busy cafés and restaurants. The pandemic situation had changed so much over the previous couple of weeks, with the omicron variant sending everyone into a tailspin. So it was cup noodles for me that first night! And rosé in a cup! Plus cheese squares. I'm not fussy!

And I had a little time to practise watercolours from a photo I took in St Stephen's Green last week! Loving the Etchr sketchbook with cold press paper in this portrait format (B5, is it?). Perfect for travelling.

I enjoyed Tuesday and Wednesday with my parents. Weather was miserable, but they were glad to see me and I was happy to help with the little jobs, bringing some joy into their lives.

Then on the Wednesday evening, I got the dreaded message from the Irish Health Service Executive telling me that I was a close contact. No information as to who, when, where. I was so grateful to Magguy for driving me back to my hotel. I stopped at the deli first to stock up on food that you can cook with a kettle! And more rosé! I needed that to calm my nerves, as there were so many questions, but very few answers.

After finding out what I needed to do, not easy when you're abroad, even if you're in your hometown, and preparing a list, I needed a soothing cup of linden tea. I had no symptoms, so in theory, antigen test was enough, but doing 3 tests two days apart would not have made it possible for me to see my parents again, nor to make my flight back home to Dublin! So I opted for a PCR test, available by appointment at the drive-in centre at St Luc hospital, about a 20/30-minute walk from my town-centre hotel.

Confinement Day 1

A pain au chocolat and matcha latte to start the day! 9am, and I've already done an antigen test (negative!), talked to my mother to tell her what happened, got food from the deli to keep me going for the day and the biggest matcha latte to cheer myself up.

I managed to book my PCR test for the next day, so now I could settle into the day, and sketch the room. Simple, but comfortable!

And sketch my food. Sure, what else would I be doing? Nice sushi and a chocolate mousse. And the sockets and switches in front of me look so interesting all of a sudden.

3 pm, time for a cougnou, a local Christmas treat - it's supposed to look like baby Jesus wrapped in his blanket. It's a sweet brioche with sugar and raisins. I had forgotten how tasty they were!

And then I sketched it again with different tools at the different stages of being eaten! I had a lot of time available!

And when I looked out the window, there was a man on a cherry picker adjusting the lights projecting onto these weird floating Christmas decorations above the road. I was so lucky to have so much to entertain me! Great truck, plus people waiting to cross the street, and bicycles for hire! Considering the prospect of being stuck in this room for a good while if things went bad, I considered myself lucky that I had 2 sketchbooks and plenty of art supplies with me!

Dinner was a simple but tasty salad I had got from the deli that morning. Roasted pumpkin, beetroot, lentils, curry pasta. Very nice!

Confinement Day 2. Didn't sleep too bad, considering. Got my food for the day and my matcha latte and drew my breakfast.

10-am appointment for a PCR test. I walked to the Drive-In centre in St Luc in Bouges. I was there well ahead of time so I had time to sketch before anyone arrived. Thankfully I had my big boots and heavy coat. It was outdoors under a tunnel tent, and I had a while to wait. The lady after me was bringing her 3-year-old daughter, whose kindergarten teacher had tested positive. This was going to be her 2nd of 3 PCR tests before she could go back to school! If she could do it, so could I!! And I had to smile during the uncomfortable 20 seconds of having the swab poked up my nose, because I knew she was watching me with the intensity that you find only in children and sketchers! I then walked back to my hotel room.

My lunch was the same as day 1, so I didn't sketch it!

But I became very interested in the work going across the way on the new bus station, being built on top of the existing train station! They were placing glass panels in a yellow-cream colour matching the old station. A very slow process, giving me plenty of time to sketch it.

Later on that day, as the stress was mounting around me, I felt the need to experiment some more with my White Nights "Greens" palette which I put together for an upcoming workshop. I didn't sketch my dinner either, as it was the same again. On top of all my food and room sketching,  I had two online workshops to keep me occupied in the time I was in my hotel room (Separate posts coming up soon). I don't think I would have stayed sane if it wasn't for sketching!

I got the good news later on the third morning that I was negative - Did an extra antigen test just to be on the safe side. So I was able to see my parents again. What a relief!

And I was able to fly home the next day! I am always happy to fly home, but this time, it was extra sweet!

I had luggage and I was at the airport before the bag drop opened. So I sketched for a bit. Until the next person arrived, and I chatted with her - a lovely young Belgian woman, who had relocated to Ireland with her family only a few months ago. Can't believe I've been in Ireland 35 years! I can't be that old!!!

Enough time to get a matcha latte before my flight!

The light over Wales was fantastic. The camera captures it better than my pencils! But I think it gives a sense of the peace I felt in me after a very stressful week.

Blackrock - sketching while waiting

I had 20 minutes before an appointment in Blackrock. I got to sketch. It'll take a while to shake the cobwebs, but every practise counts!

1st of June - Gone to the hairdressers!

Shelley Banks

Brendan took his drone. 

I took a little sketchbook and a pen and three markers.

Shelley Banks, Dublin. Seagulls and patterns in the sand.

Quick sketch while waiting

My first outing in how many months? Since our staycation last September! It was two weeks after my first vaccination. And I booked an appointment to see Eoin Mac Lochlainn's exhibition at the Olivier Cornet Gallery. I dressed up, put on my makeup and drove across town. It was worth it. Those watercolours are gorgeous. And yes, I was early and I had time for a quick sketch of the church at the end of the road!

Big Day

Vaccination day! I thought the day would never come. But it did, eventually. On the 15th of May 2021, I got my first jab!!

I knew that there would be a certain amount of queuing and waiting. So I brought my sketchbook! What a joy to be standing in a crowd and sketch! Yes, I'm rusty, but it doesn't matter. I will be sketching in the real world again soon!

It all happened fairly quickly - there was queuing outside under a marquee. By the time I had sketched the couple in front of me, the queue to the right of the barriers had gone already! And yes, he was one of those, with the nose sticking out of the mask - there was a man to my right who was the same. You'd think at this stage that people would make more of an effort, wouldn't you!

There was a fair bit of time at this point, after registration. And thankfully, the queue system was moving in pulses, so I had captive subjects for long enough that I could sketch them and the information boards before we all moved forward in one wave (well, the information boards didn't move!).

And then, when it was all done, I knew I would have exactly 15 minutes for my next sketch! All done and dusted in less than an hour. And the vaccination itself was done in the blink of an eye, so I don't believe any sketcher who say they sketched the experience live! Because the vaccinators won't have the time to stand around with the needle in someone's arm for more than 2 seconds! 

Great simple system for the end-waiting time. You get a sticker on the top of your hand with the time hand-written by one of the stewards. 8:50.

I probably should add these pages to my video diaries, shouldn't I??

 

Quick sketches from the car on a rainy day

Bank Holiday Mondays are always a bit dead. We never seem to do anything special. And the city was emptier than usual in the morning. We did see one American tourist couple wandering like lost souls. All shops closed, restaurants and cafés only doing take-away, museums and galleries closed. And it was raining. Thankfully, as of today, things are re-opening gradually. Mostly everything by appointment. And the traffic is getting heavy already. Soon, we won't be able to go beyond our neighbourhood for our morning walks. That's the price to pay for freedom.

Back to that rainy morning. Brendan had brought something to read in the car while I did two quick sketches. Pen only. Not looking like much. Well, just the ghost city that was in front of my eyes. I added watercolour when I got home. I'm itching to be back sketching with friends again. I just have to be patient for a little longer. It's hard. 

Cranes for breakfast

So many cranes in Dublin again. I recently had the opportunity to sketch from a high vantage point. And all I could see on the horizon were cranes cranes cranes. I could have been in heaven! I love cranes and building sites!

And then I had a pretty bland breakfast. But I had time on my hands, so I sketched the empty dishes. That was fun.

Sketching while waiting

There's nothing like a visit to a hospital to bring out the urban sketcher in me! Well, it's a good way to calm the nerves anyway.

So, the last time I had a surgery, I was three, and I was getting my tonsils out. I remember the mask coming over my face while I cried out for my mummy, and the icecream my granny made for us to eat afterwards. I'm not good with syringes and things like that, so I wasn't looking forward to it. But having my sketchbook with me helped to steady my nerves. The surgeon wasn't too impressed when he took a look at what I was drawing when he came to the room to get me to sign the consent form. He thought I should be drawing my feelings before surgery, rather than my toes on the bed. But what would he know? Maybe he's a very talented surgeon, even an artist, but he's not an urban sketcher. And he spoke French to me the first time he met me. What is it about Irish medical consultants and the need to show off their language skills when they find out I'm a French speaker. I bet himself and the anaesthetist spoke French through the whole surgery! But hey, I wasn't going to give out to them at that point!!

This one was done a few days before my operation. I had to go in to get a Covid swab test and an ECG. I had a bit of time between the two appointments and I didn't want to stay inside the hospital, so I just went out. The people who live on that street must be so fed up with cars driving up and down and double-parking while waiting to pick up someone from the hospital

I didn't have very long to wait at registration. Enough time to get lost in the ceiling lines. 

I had a nice view. There's a very posh golf course at the back of the hospital. 

Was taken to a waiting area for a scan to be done before the operation. These things always take longer than you think, but then, that wheelchair was whisked away before I had a chance to finish sketching it. Typical! And yes, I am long enough in the tooth to know I should have started with the wheelchair!!

Waiting, waiting, waiting. Not much to look outside the window as the sun is shining right at me. But my toes are always available! And that jug of water I'm not allowed to drink from!

Same view. Different light. The passing of time.

What I would really have loved to sketch was the operating theatre, but I was asleep before the anaesthetist bored me to tears with his fluent French. That said, he's the first person who's ever managed to insert a cannula in my hand without causing any bruising, so he gets douze points for that!

I rarely think of taking the urban sketcher photos, but I managed to capture two this time!