Once Upon A Time We Had A Zoo

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Larry Marshall

There was a time when Quebec City had a zoo. It was a good zoo. It was a place where you could go to not only commune with animals but also to walk the large, wooded grounds and have a picnic. Then a really dumb, and completely unavoidable political decision, was made and we no longer have a zoo.

What do you do with a huge tract of land that had a bunch of moats, fences, and buildings scattered all around it. What Quebec did was fence off most of it and turn the front section into a small park to serve the population in the northern portion of the city. It’s a beautiful park, with waterfalls scattered along the small river that runs through it. It’s also just a short bus trip from my home.

My daughter and I went there. She took her Kindle. I took my sketchbook. We had a grand day, enjoying one of the first days where we could be outside without coats. I chose this scene. The small building used to be one of the administration buildings of the museum.

cheap toned paper sketchbook, Pilot Prera, Noodler’s Lexington Gray

Rocks In My World

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Larry Marshall

One thing I want to do this summer is draw rocks and trees. I struggled with both subjects last year so they became part of my ‘figure it out’ list. There aren’t a lot of rock piles in the middle of our city but there are some, scattered around in our parks as points of interest.

As I was walking home I sat down in a park and drew these. Note little bits of green on the foliage. We’re just starting to see leaf buds bursting and even our grass is starting to green up. It’s a welcome sight.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9x6), TWSBI Mini, Platinum Carbon Black

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9×6), TWSBI Mini, Platinum Carbon Black

Sketching Parliament

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Larry Marshall

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9x6), TWSBI Mini, Noodler's Lex Gray

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9×6), TWSBI Mini, Platinum Carbon Black

The Quebec provincial parliament building is huge. The front of the building is actually the narrow side of the building and yet it’s a couple blocks long. When it gets a bit warmer I hope to find a view where I can capture the entire face of the building.

On Tuesday, though, the temperature was border line so I decided just to draw the main tower over the entrance. Even so, by the time I’d finished the ink sketch I’d cooled down enough that I felt the need to move so I quickly dashed on some color when I got home. It was good to see the sun while sketching. It’s been a long time coming.

Are You Sure It’s May?

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Larry Marshall

I was walking back from the museum and found this guy, sitting in the park, looking out at the river. I could almost see what he was thinking. All of us who live in Quebec City are thinking it. Note his heavy coat. Note the lack of vegetation of any kind. This is nearly mid-May and while Quebec City is known for its cold, this is getting ridiculous (grin).

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9x6), TWSBI Mini, Noodler's Lexington Gray

Stillman & Birn Alpha (9×6), TWSBI Mini, Noodler’s Lexington Gray

Sketching The Bar Laitier

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Larry Marshall

One of the things I’ve always wondered about are the small ice cream places that exist in Quebec City. We have a fairly short summer and most of them simply close up in the fall and sit idle all winter. Things must be moving slowly for them this spring as we haven’t had much ice cream weather thus far. But the stores persist, in spite of the short selling season. I wonder how.

This is one of the cutest. It’s on chemin St. Louis in the old city and is very inviting, or it will be when it warms up a bit more. Done in a Stillman & Birn Alpha (9×6) with a Hero 9296 pen and Lex Gray ink. New pen for me but so far I like it. I always like new pens.