Latest Medal! 10 Minute Sketches! Ann & Sandy!

St Francis Way Virtual Challenge Medal

My medal for finishing the St Francis Way Virtual Challenge arrived! The centre piece spins and on the back is a carving of Saint Francis.  The intricate design of this medal is beautiful and it now hangs with all my other beautiful medals.  I get excited when I hit the finish line of these events because I then know the medal is on the way to me. The wait for the medal is always worth it and especially so when I got to actually see this one and touch it! 

Ten Minute Sketches

There was motivation for both of us to get outside to perform ten minute sketches!  I have not done this before even though I have wanted to since mid summer.  My friend now has the time to dedicate to delving back into her artistic side.  We picked Ralph Klein Park as our first location to try our hand at this craft.  We could park the car and walk to various locations to sit and sketch.  

My sketches are on the whiter paper with the coil.  We both used graphite pencils.  My friend used two different lead sizes while I went with one width.   The timer was set on the phone for ten minutes and then we just put pencil to paper rendering what we saw in front of us.  While I have completed dozens and dozens of sketches, they were all from photos, tutorials or made up from my imagination.  This was the first time for sketching what I actually saw live in front of me.  It did not come naturally nor easy to me.  I have trouble with perspective but as you can see, that was not an issue for my friend.  

This was our first 10 minute project and we sketched it twice.  

The second try was completed a little later after a couple of the other sketches.  

It was a test to see how we improved.    

This was a unique way for us to spend a few hours.  It was a learning experience and a motivator to keep at it.  I have a great amount of headway to make when it comes to sketching what is live right in front of me.  Hopefully the weather will be on our side and we can venture along this sketching journey again! 

Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation

My hope for today was to spot some birds that winter up north!  I picked a return visit to Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation as my destination.  As luck would have it, well there was no luck, I heard a few birds and saw a flock of tiny ones here and there but none stopped long enough nor were they close enough to capture photos.  It was a dull day sky wise and ground cover wise!  

All the gates are closed to keep the cows where they should be at this time of year.  

This meant maneuvering through the pole maze to get to the other side. 

the cows are exactly where they should  be and in the perfect spot to be framed

The trails were leaf covered and the mountains were snow capped!

My skates are newly sharpened and my snowshoes & X-C Skis now sit at the top of the stairs.

I am ready for whatever Mother Nature designs for us!