EDM 72 - Draw somewhere new.

Alexander and I went to Tillsonburg, Ontario for the first time ever on June 10th to support my friend Darylnne McAvany and her family in the Relay for Life 2011 fundraiser. My friend's family fundraise under the banner "Jackie's Butterfly Brigade" in memory of their mother who died of cancer.

The above drawings represent our visit. The little angels were in the small parade around the site, then beside that drawing, is Darlynne in a golf cart in same parade.  The two bottom drawings are of Darlynne and Alexander at the camp site. Alexander is playing his ukulele and singing for us.

It was wonderful to see Darlynne again, and great to meet her sisters and family.

The McAvany family have a great banner and display. They won best decorated campsite. They also raised quite nice chunk of change for the cause.

Darlynne McAvany - Survivor

We met when I went to work for Nationwide Advertising Services (1985) and Darlynne was the Senior Graphic Designer and Illustrator.  She was not only my mentor but my friend as well.  She is an amazing person. There is nothing this woman cannot do. She has an exceptionally generous spirit and it is a real pleasure to know her.

It was with great sadness that I heard about her bout with cancer. It was a shock to see her so diminutive and frail. However, true to spirit, she is a fighter.

I feel blessed to know Darlynne and to be counted as one of her friends.

March 9, 2009

Later tonight I went to Williams Coffee Pub to meet with my friend Patti for a coffee. Her son, Drew, plays soccer at a nearby school and she has an hour to kill in my neighbourhood. It is always nice to see Patti. Williams has a display of art by Lido Pimiento. Lido's art is light and whimsical. There were soft sculptures and painting on display. We were sitting under the sculpture illustrated above. I thought the work was amusing. You can see more of Lido's work on her blog: http://mishimushi.blogspot.com/

In the drawing above you see the sculpture on the brick wall. There is a black pull-down shade on the window beside the wall (where I wrote) and beneath that you see the reflection in the window of the woman at the next table.

March 7, 2009 (EDM # 51)

Our friends, who own the comic book shop L.A. Mood, had a special screening of Watchmen this morning. It was really quite good. If you like comic books and/or graphic novels, then you will enjoy this film. We are going to have to watch it a few more times because of all the things going on in the film. I won't spoil it by telling you about it (as tempted as I am).

EDM # 51 - Draw your TV.

We were watching OASIS HD channel. We like that channel. We tend to watch a lot of documentaries and nature programs in our household. We also like movies and Sci Fi (now known as SF).

March 1, 2009

Today I went to the United States to help celebrate our friends' 35th Wedding Anniversary! David and Joyce have been happily married for 35 years!

Anthony and Alexander could not go, so I got a ride to Farmington Hill, Michigan with Ian and Storm. We had no problem going over the border.

Unfortunately David's father was not able to make it, unexpectedly being in the Cardiac Unit of their local hospital. David spent the morning with him.

Many of their family and friends were there. I finally met their eldest daughter, Allysa, and of course, it was a pleasure to see their younger daughter, Michelle. Both girls are beautiful, intelligent and super kids!

Joyce looked stunning in a lovely bright peach ensemble. She sparkled.


On the tables were "take home gifts" for all the women. The men had lottery scratch cards with their place cards. The women received rose scented soap petals shaped like roses inside a clear plastic heart. They also received a pretty 3-tier wedding cake shaped candle. Both are lovely.

The meal was fantastic. I had steak, cooked to perfection, potatoes, and vegetables. We had cake for dessert.

All in all, it was a wonderful time and I felt honoured to be invited to help share in their love and commitment. We have only known each other a short time, but have become good friends.

I got a ride back to London, ON with Bill and Lottie. Bill and Lottie live right near me so it made more sense to get a ride back with them. It was a pleasant ride. No problem at the border and the weather held out, both ways. It was a lovely day to drive.

February 12, 2009

Leena and Ingelbert surprised me with a visit. I have not seen them in ages, especially Leena. When Leena lived here, in London Ontario, she and I were very close. She was my best friend and I shared everything with her. Since she has moved back to the States, we are still close but it is difficult with her so far away. I really miss her.

We had a great visit, but it was too short.

The above was done while I waited for them at Williams Coffee Pub (one of my favourite places to go because they have excellent coffee and food, comfortable chairs, and great atmosphere).

Leena gave me some lovely birthday gifts. I have illustrated them below.

February 2, 2009

Most Monday nights, for the last little while, I meet with my friend Patti Murphy at Williams Coffee Pub for a coffee. Patti comes into my end of London (Ontario) from Lucan (Ontario) on Monday nights so that her son can attend a soccer practice at a local high school. It is great seeing her once a week.

Last night I arrived a bit early so entertained myself by drawing in my new Moleskine sketchbook. I drew what was in front of me on the table. The sketchbook is 3½" x 5½" so this is a pretty small drawing. Since so many things were incorporated in this drawing, I decided to use this as a submission to several EDM (Everyday Matters) challenges (listed above). The above sketch took about an hour to do. I started it while I waited for Patti and finished it later, at home (added the shading). That is a lipstick stain on my mug.

You can see the bleed through from the first page (the pen & ink) that I did. Although I liked the way the ink laid down, I did not like the bleed through. The graphite worked very well and smoothly.

Tools used on above sketch:

• Moleskine sketchbook
• 2B Mechanical pencil
• Kneaded eraser