Archive for the ‘montreal’ Category

February 18, 2022 0

News Extra

By in black and white, montreal, sketches

This was such a fun freelance gig. I did illustrations and writing for NEWS EXTRA, a newspaper tabloid sold at supermarkets and gas stations. It pretended to come out of Florida, but was actually published from an office in the Notre Dame de Grace neighbourhood of Montreal. Every other week or so I brought in […]

January 16, 2018 0

Housing Clinic

By in ballpoint pen, black and white, montreal, pen and ink, sketches

Sketches taken during a visit to Arnold Bennett’s housing clinic in Montreal. He does good work with people who have apartment problems.

July 30, 2017 0

Mount Royal Sketches

By in color, montreal, paintings, parks, sketches, watercolor, watercolour

Yesterday, I went to a friend’s place just over Mount Royal, Not far from the Côte-des-Neiges Cemetery gates. And it was such a nice day I sketched this elaborate monument just inside the gates. Got to the other side of the “mountain.” That’s the part I call the “front” because it faces what used to […]

November 21, 2016 0

First Snow

By in montreal, ruttan's place

My nice neighbour Sylvie is trying to coax a little declawed cat out from under a front porch around the corner. Unfortunately, she’s doing this by rapping with spoon on a closed can of cat food. I think she’d do better with opening the can, leaving it a little distance away from the gap under […]

November 14, 2016 1

A Montreal Moment

By in montreal, ruttan's place

I have a middle-aged neighbor named Michel, who lives across the way here on rue de Rouen. Yesterday afternoon, when I was lugging my bike down my front stairs, he beckoned to me, and crossed the street, wanting to talk. I was headed off to Expozine, the November book, comics and alternative art fair. But […]

November 13, 2016 0

Shrine to Leonard Cohen

By in montreal, ruttan's place

Coming back from Expozine, the November book and alternative art fair, I thought I’d take a detour and visit Leonard Cohen’s house at the corner of Boulevard Saint Laurent and rue Marie Anne in Montreal. My friend used to have an apartment around the corner, so I knew this place well. Never saw Mr. Cohen, […]

October 19, 2016 0

Remember the Days In the Old Schoolyard

By in color, montreal, paintings, ruttan's place, sketches, watercolor, watercolour

Kids in the schoolyard facing my balcony are playing in the leaves. I couldn’t resist sketching them. They move too fast, so this is mainly imagination, but I hope I’ve captured a hint of the colours and fun.

August 15, 2016 0

Dig Pigs

By in ballpoint pen, comics, montreal, watercolor, watercolour

This morning I was annoyed at all the construction noise outside, so drawing this felt like a good way to get rid of my frustrations. The title “Dig Pigs” is from graffiti I saw on one of this city’s ubiquitous “ROAD CLOSED” signs. It made me laugh.

August 10, 2016 0

Colour Pictures

By in color, montreal, paintings, sketches, watercolor, watercolour

July 13, 2016 0

Two-Two-Two-Oh, rue Parthanais

By in black and white, montreal, pencil, sketches

Drat, forgot the little fruit juice bottle full of water, so this is pencil only. This is the artists’ co-op on Parthenais street. Someone trusted me enough to let me watch their bike as I sketched this. Glad they weren’t away for too long.

March 4, 2016 0

New Paintings

By in color, Jack's House of Cats, montreal, paintings, watercolor, watercolour

It’s been a while, but here are some new paintings for “Jack’s House of Cats.” Both of them are re-imagined a little. I snapped the Hotel Kent in the early 90s, when the sign was still up. But in this, I tried to picture what it was like in its “heyday.” The Bain Morgan is […]

March 4, 2016 0

Iffy Paper

By in color, Jack's House of Cats, montreal, paintings, ruttan's place, watercolor, watercolour

Found this sheet of sort of cardboard-y paper in my files. After my recent 1941 Whatman experience, I wondered whether this was one of my better types of paper (it was stored away, and did have “deckled” (ie. neatly torn) edges). It might have been Arches Cold Rolled, or some such thing. So I stretched […]

February 15, 2016 0

New Animation Studio

By in color, Coloured Pencils, heads, men, montreal, pencil, Portraits, self-promotion, sketches

Thrilled by the news that a new animation studio is opening up in Montreal (a side-effect, I think, of the low dollar making it more tempting for foreign operations to invest here. Not to mention the high number of talented artistic types in this city). In honour of that fact, I’ve done this amazing, highly-detailed […]

October 7, 2015 0

Blue Metropolis

By in montreal, sketches, watercolor, watercolour, writing

Gene Luen Yang Finally getting around to this. The Blue Metropolis Book Fest is Montreal’s premiere English language lit bash, taking place in April. This year I attended a couple of events, mainly centred around graphic novels and their creators. It was great seeing Gene Luen Yang, who gave a workshop on graphic storytelling, and […]