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My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. November, Winter mood. Part 10

ArtTravel

This part as an addition of my month of October daily sketches.

City of Toronto has the winter period, with snow, wind, when you might sit at home and enjoy the view from the window, with ice skating and the festive atmosphere of Christmas and New Years.

All paintings in this post were done in previuos seasons.

Ontario Place, Toronto, winter. Oil painting. Very far away is …yes the CN Tower, you might see this 0.5 km height landmark almost from any point in the city.

https://pixels.com/featured/happy-holidayscanada-february-in-ontario-place-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The winter season of Toronto Music Garden downtown is very nice and shining neighbourhood with lots of lights, and a view of CN Tower. There are couple bright yellow summer beach chairs near frozen Ontario lake, waiting for the next summer season.

https://pixels.com/featured/holidays-greetings-from-harbour-downtown-toronto-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Queens Quay West street and Spadina. The streetcar is in hurry to the next year! This imaginary art includes the Toronto tram that is coming for next New Year with Christmas sled dears with gifts is in the air. The bucket of champagne is on the trams’ way. Happy Holidays will be welcoming … especially this year:)

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetings-toronto-tramthe-bucket-of-shampaigne-christmas-sled-deers-with-gifts-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Another Toronto Music Garden’s warercolour painting. The snowman is sitting with CN Tower background and the silver christmas ball nearby. It was completed in previous winter when we had lots of snow even on the south of Toronto, nearby of Ontario lake. Not very often snow in this area of the city.

Maybe it was a family that had fun time together, playing in snowballs and making the snowman.

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetingssnowman-winter-activities-and-cn-tower-christmas-ball-tamara-vitsenkova.html


A beautiful frosty twilight of the downtown of Toronto with a view of featuring of the Financial district and its high risers, CN Tower and Thompson Hall. I added a gold powder to the painting.

https://pixels.com/featured/holiday-time-in-toronto-cn-tower-thompson-hall-and-christmas-balls-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Gold fantazy with the CN Tower and Thompson hall and large christmas balls.

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetings-clock-champaigne-and-cn-tower-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The romantic holiday painting with the beautiful night view of Toronto, featuring cheerful downtown during the holiday season. Clock countdowns minutes to the New Year, Champagne is ready.

…and winter sunset skyline of Toronto downtown with CN Tower and Rogers centre. My dream shows lots of Christmas balls up in the air with my favorite places in Toronto – CN Tower, Rogers centre, Zoo, ROM Museum, Thompson Hall, Union station, AGO Museum, Pearson airport balls. Everybody can find their interesting places and buildings in the city.Watercolour painting with the landmarks and museums  of the City on the christmass balls, impressionism

https://pixels.com/featured/seasons-greetings-toronto-christmas-balls-up-in-the-air-with-cn-tower-and-rogers-centre-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Nightly blue colour of the Music Garden, Toronto

Blooming branch with flowers,drops of water. Impressionism.Still life

Hope that my posts about Toronto show the beauty and welcoming city:)

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

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My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. Music Garden, downtown. Part 9

ArtTravel

This the last part of my daily “travel and art” journey of my home city Toronto in the month of October. This post is about my neighborhood and the local piece of nature called the Music Garden.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-harbour-spring-tamara-vitsenkova.html

The current unusual year with #stayhome and #lockdown is giving me opportunity to discover the bright and friendly place I live in.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-street-art-impressionism-tamara-vitsenkova.html

This painting is mostly for fun:) Honestly the main subject is the bright yellow street note for the pedestrians to be careful – “Sidewalk maybe slippery”.

I used to go this way every morning to my office. Not this year…Almost all locals are working from home except our essential and frontline workers, thank you! This is the bridge on Spadina avenue at Front street.

The garden is still blooming, very warm autumn this year.

https://pixels.com/featured/romantic-weekend-golden-fall-tamara-vitsenkova.html

My fall “travel and art” in October’s Toronto ended. There are many lovely places in and around the city.

https://pixels.com/featured/canada-golden-fall-in-toronto-high-park-tamara-vitsenkova.html

I did photo of some daily sketches this month, some editing tasks in my art “office”:)

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. Weird statues. Part 6

ArtTravel

My “travelling and art” journey in my city of Toronto, and the next chapter is some… weird sculptures:) The idea is to enjoy a city and study its history and architecture while walking around the city and making sketches.

“Between the eyes” Toronto street sculpture, Ontario. We know how the smile of the Cheshire Cat looks like from the book Alice’s Adventures popularized by Lewis Carroll. My guess that the sculpture shows how the Cheshire Cat’s eyes look like:) I added some silver powder to my painting with sea-colored and raspberry paints for the buildings on Yonge street.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-megapolis-sculpture-between-the-eyes-tamara-vitsenkova.html 

Another weird and funny statue is “Rising” in downtown of Toronto, at University avenue. I would say that it is a combination of an animal …maybe an elk or.. a deer or… an elephant in combination with the branches of forest’ trees. The “Rising” like the Atlant carries on himself the whole colossus of a high rise building. I added spicy brown color to the wall that gives some warmth to the cold silver’s colour of the statue.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-rising-statue-tamara-vitsenkova.html 

The next interesting composition called “Fair grounds”, consists of four pairs of stainless chairs in the middle of a street Wellington W. at John st. One pair of the chairs is “looking” in the same direction, representing a “familiar/family” relationship. The 2nd pair is “arguing” as they are set back to back, just like when two people don’t want to look at or talk to each other. The 3rd pair is “friends”: they are set facing each other, just like friends who sit down to have a chat. And the last pair is set near each other but they are looking in different directions – just like “strangers” would.

Some of these chairs are elegant, some are simple, and each has a unique style, just like people… Next time you walk by these, have a seat at this unique composition. It’d be interesting to see which pair of chairs you would chose: “Family”, “Arguing”, “Friends” or “Strangers”?:)

And adding the bright sketch of Red canoe. Why I am adding this drawing to the post with the weird statues? Because this red boat is standing on top of my neighborhood’s hill!:) Nice warm weather is helping for outdoor art. Enjoying the sun and fresh air and local sketching exersises!:)

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

my personal site http://tamara-vitsenkova.pixels.com

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. Ontario Place. Part 5

ArtTravel

Toronto daily sketches are continued…Mild autumn weather in Toronto helps my art activities.

https://pixels.com/featured/evening-golden-fall-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Ontario Place is an artificially created island park in downtown with recreation area, on the territory of which there are venues for various festivals, an IMAX cinema, a Budweiser concert stage, well this year they are quite empty..

https://pixels.com/featured/ontario-place-toronto-tamara-vitsenkova.html 

It has a small marina with snow-white yachts, and many pleasant paths for walking and cycling.

Lovely sunset in Ontario Place and its lonely standing windshare. It reminds me about its famous windmills near Amsterdam, or Cervantes Don Quichotte mills in Spain or a flour mill of my grandgrandparents as per our family’s legends in Belarus. Yes, I am missing so much our annual vacation in Europe, hope that this “stayhome” will be over soon…

Toronto’s fall is very soft and warm, so you can enjoy all this beauty, leisurely walking through numerous the local parks and the picturesque waterfront of Lake Ontario.

https://pixels.com/featured/trees-golden-fall-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Beautiful maples, painted in bright red and gold, are planted along the Ontario lake’s parks.

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

My favourite art store in Toronto is Deserres @Spadina avenue.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. Marine theme. Part 4.

ArtTravel

The marina theme of Toronto’s daily sketches is quite expressive. Ontario lake and Kawarta lakes are within an hour driving. It gives some rest during long summer weather from May until October. Yes, Toronto has 2 main seasons- summer and winter with short periods of spring and fall.

The city of Toronto is young, lively, developing, sometimes it is frightened as in current lockdown times.

Toronto downtown sketching was done one quiet morning with some boats near the Music garden near Ontario lake.

I painted this picture in the late afternoon at #Toronto #downtown, before another #downpour this evening.  It was quiet in the park – that perfectly calm feeling before the storm – with only lightly swaying boats creaking in rhythm on the waves. 


The scent of ozone signaled stormy weather so I ran away just before the rain started pouring- but I captured the atmosphere – see there are actual rain drops in the painting? I love summer storms.

#Ontario #Kawarta #lakes -This watercolour was done directly on the boat on a warm summer evening as my husband was fishing 1 foot away from me in the same boat 🙂

I aimed to catch the soft evening hues of the little cottage on the shore, and the surrounding green leaves and and the monochrome stones. The lake and two birches on the high lake shore reminded me of my motherland, the far-away #Belarus. 

Ontario Kawarta lakes- all bathed in the pre-sunset golden warmth. September forest, the season is called Indian summer. The painting was done on the boat.

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

My favourite art store in Toronto is Deserres @Spadina avenue.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. Marine theme. Part 2

ArtTravel

The journey of Toronto’s daily sketches is continued. Nautical motives of urban sketching in Toronto. 

Why I like sketching ? It is fun walking around the city, during which we make small sketches – of everything that attracts attention.

Toronto is located on the shores of Lake Ontario. The city also includes a group of small islands located directly opposite downtown, that these islands have recreation areas, summer cottages, parks, a lighthouse.

Queens Quay Station – Ferry Docks

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-sculpturesteering-wheel-tamara-vitsenkova.html 

Marina Quay West has a sculpture.. as per my opinion of the Steering wheel of a Big Ship, maybe it’s just my own interpretation of the sculpture:) It took my attention and I did watercolour painting with neon colour adding some silver powder. Interesting effect:)

October evening , doing some sketching of kayaks at Harbourfront #Canoe & #Kayak Centre at #Ontario lake, waiting for a new season, maybe next summer or Indian summer this year.

https://pixels.com/featured/torontokayaks-at-ontario-lake-tamara-vitsenkova.html 

It was July lovely summer weather, I was doing some sketching of  kayaking lessons at #Harbourfront #Canoe & #Kayak Centre at #Ontario #lake.

I was in the process of sketching while the students of the school learned the basics – and then they suddenly left the place!:) I was running after them to finish the sketch.

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

My favourite art store in Toronto is Deserres @Spadina avenue.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

My Toronto. Stay home and Urban sketching. Travel and Art. Part 1

ArtTravel

I am starting a new journey. This time it will be “travelling” in my own city. I am planning to do daily sketches of city of Toronto, showing my preferred places, sometimes bright spots on its streets, sometimes… weird sculptures:)))) , the multicultural megapolis that is in harmony with its people.

Woodpecker Column – Toronto, Ontario at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-pileated-woodpecker-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

Metro Convention Centre’s woodpecker. This bird symbolizes construction, hardworking people of Ontario. It is prophetic bird, symbol of magical power, guardian of kings and trees. Even in mythology, the woodpecker is dedicated to Zeus (Jupiter), Ares (Mars), Sylvanu. In the eternal city of Rome, the woodpecker is said to have guarded Romulus and Remus, according legends.

Monument of culturalism. The statue of a man who uses all his strength to tighten the meridians of globe in this multinational city. On the “meridians” one can notice some birds perched up.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-multiculturalism-sculpture-near-union-station-tamara-vitsenkova.html?newartwork=true

This is a place where residents or visitors of Toronto arrive or leave by subway, tram, bus, train, or airport. It is the heart of Toronto with its historical Union station. The statistics say that it has an average of 200,000 passengers passing through it each day. However, during the lockdown, that number was only 10% of its usual stat. In my hope for the best (and healthy) future, I captured the moment when the sky har  the mixture of chocolate and rose hues. To complement it, I added some shades of coffee and vanilla to the sculpture.

https://pixels.com/featured/toronto-bike-share-toronto-near-rodgers-centre-tamara-vitsenkova.html

Bike share Toronto. Who doesn’t know these famous bicycles in the streets of Toronto the colour of green apple? There are stations all over the city, including near the Harbour Centre, CN Tower and Rogers centre. You can rent a bicycle and spend a great time cycling for example near Ontario lake.

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:) Stay healthy.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

You can visit my personal website pages here and find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings; purchase canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

My favourite art store in Toronto is Deserres @Spadina avenue.

Tools used for my painting Watercolour used Charvin and Van Gogh brands, Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)