Buddy is a great model ... when he is sleeping! Sketch in ink and white pencil on grey toned pastel paper. Quick sketch before he moved again.

I started a new sketchbook in December ... The Beer Sketchbook: Some people take photos of their food, I draw pictures of my beer. There are so many different kinds of beer: domestic, import, micro, craft, local, international... Why not taste test, record it and have fun doing it! Each recorded beer has to be unique. So the question is - how many different kinds of beer will I have over the course of a year?
This sketchbook project is a part social, (the conversations are always more interesting over beer), part history (could be the history of the beer, the brewery or maybe the location), part journal (the when, why, who). 
This is BEER #19 (Moonshadow, a Berliner Weisse). After checking out the the 8th Annual Heritage Fair, Kym and I visited Storm Stayed Brewing Co.

I am excited and honoured to have my Dundas Streetscape (Clarence to Wellington) officially hanging at the new location of the London Arts Council. They just moved to their new office at 267 Dundas Street, London, ON, corner of Dundas and Wellington. This organization truly enhances the quality of life and creative vitality in London, through their various programs, services and incredible staff members. I appreciate their support over the years.
This illustration was started in 2012, when I took the photo reference. I put all the images together in Photoshop, to figure out how big to draw each buildings, in order to have the streetscape fit on a sheet of watercolour paper. I completed the ink drawing in 2012, but then got busy doing two books: Barhopping into History, London Ontario (2013) and Hopping into History, London's Old East Village (2015). Both of these books were supported by the London Arts Council. Finally in 2018, I got back to the illustrations and completed them. My original plan was to draw every building from Museum London (I worked at the Art Rental shop) to the London Clay Art Centre (I still work here). To date, I have only finished 3 blocks. Maybe its time to continue with this series...

The real reason for visiting Las Vegas was a trade show (NAHB - National Association of Home Builders and KBIS - Kitchen & Bath Industry Show) ... but managed to play a couple rounds of golf. Club Corp - Bear's Best Las Vegas is made up of 18 holes selected by Jack Nicklaus from his 270 designs worldwide.
It's not hot in Las Vegas in January, but it is much warmer than Canada! Daytime high was about 19°C (or 66.2°F), with nights getting down to 7°C (or 44.6°F).

A trip to Nashville in December, included golf, music, hockey, historic architecture, neon lights, great weather, lots of people… maybe too many people for me! Played a round of golf at the Hermitage Golf Course, it took a while to get accustomed to the colours. The grass on the fairway was dormant, so yellow ochre or brown. The greens were the only green on the course. 

Finally got back to a figure drawing session at TAP Centre for Creativity. These sessions are open to all, there is no instructor, just show up with $10 and your tools and draw for three hours. Great way to spend an afternoon.

My dog Buddy waits so patiently for me to take him for a walk. But once he thinks it's time (and it's like he can read my mind) ... he gets so excited! We all should enjoy a walk as much as he does. This morning, we saw a mother deer and fawn, a great blue heron and the two osprey in their nest at Labatt's Ball Park. ​