Summer Sketchbook

I started a new sketchbook on May 26, 2020, on the 3rd day of the “pandemic reopening” at The Bookmark; it’s a paper-oh Circulo Orange on Grey A6, an old favourite.

I try to carry the sketchbook with me everywhere I go–you can’t sketch sketches without a sketchbook–and to fill the time I would otherwise spend mindless on my phone with making a sketch of whatever is handy while I’m eating lunch, or waiting for someone, or just taking a break.

Province House Hoarding

July 10, 2020. This is a corner of the hoarding around the Province House restoration site, colourfully emblazoned with Parks Canada messaging. The tiny window on the right is where you can see Eckhart.

Receiver Coffee on Victoria Row

July 13, 2020. While sitting on the patio drinking coffee at Receiver on a still-cool summer morning. A helpful reminder of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter both.

From Victoria Provincial Park

July 19, 2020. Oliver and I got takeout lunch at Casa Mia by the Sea and took it to Victoria Provincial Park to eat; I made this sketch of the Westmoreland River and the hills beyond sitting in back of our car in the shade of its hatchback.

Phở Queen

July 20, 2020. Another sketch from the patio of Receiver Coffee on Victoria Row, this time facing the opposite direction, looking at The Guild (right) and Phở Queen, the new Vietnamese restaurant next door to it.

Victoria Row Flower Box

July 29, 2020. Another Receiver patio sketch: the flower box at the downstairs entrance to Happy Glass.

Rob MacDonald at Work

July 29, 2020. Rob MacDonald and I often share Receiver Coffee in the morning, and Rob, who’s “at the office” when he’s there, is almost always wearing headphones. Yesterday I was sitting right behind him, and couldn’t pass up the chance to capture the moment.

Cherry Valley School

July 30, 2020. Several years ago the daughter of a good friend landed on PEI with a group of friends intending to stay at a cottage in Earnscliffe. Their ambitious plan to cycle there from town was aborted when they realized how far it was, and so I volunteered to drive them out, catching a glimpse of the old Cherry Valley School on my way. I returned there this morning to make this sketch. It’s a lovely building.

Christ Church Cherry Valley

July 30, 2020. Christ Church Cherry Valley is a church in the least likely of places, down a one-lane road where only a tiny sign at the highway telegraphs its location. I set myself under a tree and made this sketch this morning.

Point Prim Lighthouse

July 30, 2020. The Point Prim Chowderhouse was my ultimate destination this morning; after placing an online order and having 20 minutes before picking it up, I drove down the lane to the parking lot by the lighthouse and made this sketch.

While I’ve been in the habit of simply taking photos of my sketches before posting them online, this time I used a Konica Bizhub C554e photocopier to scan them as 400 dpi JPEGs, full-colour. It’s a less forgiving method, but I like the results.

I used to push my sketches to a Google Photos shared album, back when I was an Android user, but I’ve since gone all-in on Apple’s ecosystem, and there’s no obvious analogue. Which is probably good, as The Dark Ages of Share on OVI taught me. So I’ll post them here from time to time.