Sketchbook: flipping through the pages

It's been almost a year since I came back to sketching and field journaling with the kind of dedication I had during university days.  It is cathartic, exercise for my mind and muscles, and helps build a record of what's going on around me.  I don't intend to let the practice lapse again.

Here are some sketches from the past few months - ever since the weather turned cold and most location sketchers in the northern climes moved indoors.

Biodome Montreal

In November, I passed several giddy hours scribbling, capturing the many critters living in Montreal's Biodome.  Jerod was oh-so-patient.  

Those are "duck butts" on the left (below).  We could see them from the bottom of a huge tank.  From the top, we found they were seabirds such as eiders, puffins, and penguins.

Musée de la civilization

The Musée has had a samurai exhibit on for several months, and I managed to squeeze in a few sketches.  The armor is absolutely amazing - intricate, ornate, much of it nature-inspired.  The pieces of armor are not just "tools" of a trade, but exceptional works of art and heritage in their own rights.

Musée de l'Amérique Français

For the January 2013 SketchCrawl, a number of local sketchers gathered in the chapel of this museum.  Incredibly ornate, astonishingly tall, and oozing with history, the space was just the sort that begs to be sketched but is nearly impossible to do justice.  See more efforts to do so on the Drawn to Québec blog.