Garlands, Golf in Michigan

Weekend trip to Garlands Golf Resort in Northern Michigan. I had a Saturday off work, so felt like a long weekend. Left after work on Friday night, 4+ hours of driving later we arrived, service, accommodation and golf courses were great. A little bit of rain on Saturday, but managed to play 36 holes of golf and another 18 on Sunday. Sunday was warm and the sun came out! We were a twosome on Saturday, amongst all the foursomes, so felt quite slow. But for me "waiting" met more time for sketching. Eight sketches on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Fountian, No. 4

Monarch, No 15

From Driving Range

We took a more scenic route home. Drove through "Black Bear Capital of Michigan" Curran, "Wild Turkey Capital of Michigan" Fairview, and "Michigans Smallest City" Omer.

Here and There, Switzerland

 

Here and There, Switerland (size: 7" x 9")

Commission artwork, with style based on a previous painting. After visiting Switerland, this is the painting to commemorate the trip. I started with the figure, from a Monday night session at The ARTS Project. I looked through the photos from the trip and picked out images that I felt suited, windows and mountains. I used the greenery to tie it together, similar to “Here and There”. “Edelweiss” the unofficial national flower of Switzerland. (The common name comes from German edel, meaning "noble", and weiß (also spelled weiss) "white", thus signifying "noble whiteness" or "noble purity".) Windows are interesting and symbolic.... they are an invisible division between private and public, are you inside looking out or outside looking in. Windows are said to symbolize enlightenment.

Here and There (size 6" x 12")

A short explanation of the original artwork, created in 2008 ... The human figure is at some level a self portrait. This represented my new found appreciation of the architecture in downtown London. This artwork was done after I came back from Limoux in the picturesque Languedoc area of Southern France, in 2007. The windows: one from a small town in southern France and and one from downtown London on Talbot Street.

Lack of Golf

Too much rain, not enought golf. Can't be on the course drawing, but can still draw from photo reference. These are ACEO cards. Top is Greenhills, bottom left is Heron Point and bottom right is Rocky Crest.  ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals". These cards have one main rule - they are 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches - the size of a trading card.

SS01 Talbot Street, London

SS01, Talbot Street, London, ON

Another streetscape of beautiful, downtown London. The distinctive Victorian architecture of the Talbot Inn, was incorporated into the new London Sports and Entertainment Centre (JLC) shown in this ink and graphite drawing, size 4" x 12". As long time fan and supporter of the London Knights, I have spent allot of time in this building, including the historic season when the Knights broke a CHL record, going 31 games in a row without a loss (29-0-2). Having said that, I was also witness to the record breaking season of 1995-96 at the old Ice House, south of the 401, when the Knights set a record for winning only three games all season (3-60-3).
"This building was originally constructed as the Hope Hotel in the 1840s by William Balkwill. It burnt down in January 1865 and was reopened in September 1865 as the City Hotel. It was renamed the Belvedere in 1871 and later the Talbot Inn. The building was demolished in 2001 and its facade was recreated on the John Labatt Centre which opened on the site in 2002." More info:  Talbot Inn.

Image size: 4" x 12"
Matted with 2" border all around, outside diminsion: 8" x 16"
Price is $65.00