“i2P - Gobi Desert 2013”
Today, Ray Zahab and Kevin Lin started their latest adventure - running 2300km days across Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, one of the most remote deserts on the planet. To put this into perspective, they will run close to 70km, each and every day for 35 days! Today was their warm-up day, and they ran 61km through mosquito infested fields, testing out their equipment and shoes. These guys are absolutely amazing.
What fascinates me about Ray Zahab and the impossible2Possible team is they have total clarity of vision. They are totally and completely connected with the “WHY”. Why they get up each day and train; why they do all these crazy endurance expeditions; why they challenge some of the most hostile environments on the planet over and over. You only have to go as far as the front page of their website to understand their “WHY”. It is three simple words:
EDUCATE
INSPIRE
EMPOWER
And inspire they do.
For the next 35 days, I will be following Ray’s journey and creating a painting a day inspired by Ray’s expeditions. The way I look at it, if Ray and Kevin can run 70km per day for 35 days, I can produce a painting a day for each day they are running theGobi Desert.
Good luck Ray! I look forward to hearing the stories when you get back to Ottawa!
"72 Hours in Toronto"
A lot can happen in 72 hours. You just have to pay attention to the small stuff.
This is the first instalment of a short illustrated 72 hour whirlwind journey to the "Big Smoke."
"It's Only a Beard Dude!"
As I bomb around the city on my Brompton, I have noticed that there is a new fashion trend on the rise. I keep seeing these dudes, sporting these huge beards! There is nothing particularly new about the beard, but these are definitely different - They are bigger and bushier.
Facial hair has alway been a symbol of manliness (no pun intended). I am certainly no expert on beards, in fact I couldn’t grow one until I hit my forties, but my guess is that the beard was an evolutionary thing, to make men appear bigger, stronger and more intimidating to their enemies and competitors. Why do you think hockey players sport the playoff beard - it’s not for good luck, but is intended to intimidate the crap out of the opposing team.
Men wear beards for many reasons. They are often worn for religious beliefs. Followers of Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Sikhs, Hindu and Rastafarianism believe strongly that maintaining their beards is a function of their faith. Beards were worn by kings, emperors and world leaders as a symbol of power and aristocracy - Emperor Meiji of Japan, Czar Nicholas of Russia, Henry the 8th, and President Lincoln to name a few. Beards came and went over the ages as fashions changed.
Beats, poets, philosophers, athletes, artists musicians, rebels, hippies, hipsters and grunges all sported beards. Some notable beardo’s include Charles Darwin, Carl Marx, Earnest Hemingway, Brahms, Che Guevara, Castro, Henry David Thoreau, Jesus, Brad Pitt, Alan Ginsburg, Chuck Norris, Walt Whitman, Kimbo Slice, Kenny Rogers, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill (ZZ Top), Santa Claus, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rasputin, Rembrandt, Gerry Garcia, John Lennon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Macho-Man Randy Savage, Luciano Pavarotti, Sigmund Freud, Gandalf, Lanny McDonald, Joaquin Phoenix, Colonel Saunders, Curt Cobain and of course you can’t forget Clint!
As I read various webpages about beards, I have come across some interesting anecdotal tidbits of historical facts, truths and hyperbole. Did you know Alexander the Great banned beards in his armies because he was of the opinion that enemy soldiers would grab them in battle? I read that online - it must be true!
So as I said above, there is definitely something going on. I keep seeing these big awesome beards all over the place. Skaters in the parks, hipsters in the coffee shops, bikers (as in cyclists), and musicians, all sporting these big, bushy, kick-ass Viking beards. Call em hip, call em cool, call em funky, whatever. All I can say is this dude, is suffering from kind of beard envy!
I may just have to grow me one of those “Attitude Beards!” Haha! Now that would be a sight as I play my banjo!
"The Plein Air Bug!"
Spring has finally arrived in Ottawa and I immediately took advantage of a few beautiful days to get out and paint outdoors. Painting out doors, or Plein Air, is very different from painting in the traditional formal studio environment. I find that when I sketch or paint in the studio, I tend to over think the work with the ultimate goal of producing a piece of art. Painting outdoors is about seeing, and quickly and somewhat subconsciously expressing that on a panel. There is no time to intellectualize or concern yourself with the final product. You have to act fast because the light changes by the minute.
One of the things I like most about painting or sketching outdoors is it forces you to take the time and really appreciate where you live. We often take our surroundings totally for granted. Often we forget, or simply do not notice our surroundings because we become so wrapped up in our day to day routine. We don’t take the time to truly see. Painting outdoors allows me be a tourist in my own town - to see it in a completely new light.
Painting outdoors really is a pleasant experience......sometimes. On a warm summer day it can be a fantastic way to spend an afternoon, breeze in your hair with the warmth of the sun on your skin. Then there are those times when you are totally into your zone and the rain kicks up, or the mosquitoes feast on you. And of course there is the winter cold. Once you start painting outdoors though, these minor irritations become less of an issue. I personally love the outdoors so I try to get out and paint as often as I can. You just have to be prepared for the elements. It reminds me of a great marketing tag line used by Mountain Equipment Coop - “There is no bad weather, just bad gear!”
The key to painting outdoors is to pack light. My first forays into plein air, it was a pain because I never knew what to take and I ended up with half my studio. That was fine when I owned a car, but I now head out on my bike which means everything has to fit in a small packsack. It has taken a long time but I have managed to pare down my supplies significantly. Now when I head out I take only what I need.
I typically work in one of four mediums when outdoors - ink, watercolours, acrylics or oils. I decide ahead of time what medium I intend to use and I leave the rest at home. These are the mediums I typically use, but there are all kinds of other materials that artists employ when sketching or painting outdoors such oil pastels, chalk pastels, pencils, charcoal, conte to name a few.
I always carry a small pocket sketchbook and a fountain pen. I personally like the moleskin watercolour sketchbooks. The paper is high quality and takes ink well and are great for watercolour washes. I use my sketchbooks to quickly draw anything I see that I find interesting. I work hard not to be tempted to use a camera, and make mental notes in sketch form. I like the challenge of developing these thumbnails into future paintings. This forces you to truly see, and not simply copy a photograph.
Coffee shops are my favourite places to sketch. They are always entertaining for an artist. The next time you are in a coffee shop, just sit and look at the people - you will be blown away by the cast of characters you will see. The great caricature artists need only frequent their local Starbucks to have endless inspiration!
If I am participating in an Urban SketchCrawl, I will throw a small watercolour kit into my bag. Urban sketching is exactly what it sounds like. You head out and sketch your city, town or environment. I like to sketch in permanent india ink and use a watercolour wash to liven the drawings up. My entire kit can fit in my jacket pocket or knapsack. Buy yourself a small pocket sketchbook, a pen or pencil, a small watercolour kit of 6 colours and you are set to go.
I would say my favourite medium for plein air painting is oil paints. I have always had an affinity to working with oils - they have a buttery texture and you can work them and blend them to create very interesting textures. Oils can be challenging though as they can become very muddy if you work them too hard. I love the challenge of using oils quickly outdoors.
I bought the coolest pochade box for my oils online from a company out of Colorado called Judsen’s Fine Art Supplies. For those that have never heard of a pochade box, it is basically a paint box that opens up, stores your paints and mediums and holds your small canvas or wood panel upright, kind of like an easel. I have a small 5”x7” thumb box that I can hold in one hand or on my lap. I will typically put my paints directly on the built in palette ahead of time (oils stay wet) so I don’t necessarily have to carry a bunch of paint tubes. The kit is so compact that it fits in a small day pack. This particular pochade box allows me to carry two wet oil paintings back to back undamaged. When I paint outdoors I tend to paint small and I like the flexibility of having my paint box with me always, even when I am traveling.
I have recently become very interested in the art of the sketchbook. I really like the idea of creating an actual book of original paintings, probably more so that painting large canvases that you hang on the wall. I guess this comes from my love of travel and wanting to paint on site, and sketchbooks are very portable. If you use a sketchbook when painting, then oils are not the best medium to use because of the drying time. Painting with oils in a sketchbook is fine in the studio where you can let it sit and dry, but painting outdoors poses a bit of a challenge. This is where acrylics come in. I really like the ability to paint in my sketchbooks on site. I prep my sketchbooks in advance by applying gesso to the pages, I often apply a wash of yellow ochre or another light colour to provide a colour base. I prefer this to a blank white page. The beauty of painting with acrylics is that they dry very quickly and you can easily transport your sketchbook. With acrylics you have to carry your tubes of paint with you. Unlike oils, the acrylics dry very quickly so applying to a palette in advance does not work.
So I challenge you to get out there and paint or sketch outdoors! Carry a sketchbook, get on your bike and just go. Take a half hour on your lunch break, sit in a coffee shop or a park and sketch the characters you see. It is not about the final product, it is about exercising a creative muscle. You may even see a few things you never noticed before. The most important thing is to just have fun with it.
Happy Sketching!
"Results for Ottawa SketchCrawl"
It was a bit chilly, and we had a dump of snow yesterday, but we had our best turn out to date for the 39th International SketchCrawl. We had eight sketchers who braved the weather including some students who totally embraced the Urban Sketching concept. This is awesome - if we can get a few sketchers out on a day like today, just wait for the summer!
Here are my results from a very full day of urban sketching. I spent most of the day drawing in and around the Byward Market in Ottawa plus I did a couple sketches en-route to and from home. Needless to say, I am one tired artist tonight!
Don't forget, all of these sketches are for sale and I will be donating 50% of the proceeds to impossible2Possible.
Louise Bourgeois' "Maman", in front of the National Gallery of Canada
Park of the Provinces, across from the National Archives Building in Ottawa.
Notre Dame Cathedral from the Beaux Arts Court in the Byward Market.
Hot Dog Stand - Bank Street. Terry Scanlan has owned and operated this Hot Dog stand for 31 years!
Sculpture in the plaza next to the Bank of Canada Building.
Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library.
"Dancing Bear!" This sculpture was donated to the City of Ottawa by former ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings. Peter Jennings studied Journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Courtyard behind Clarendon Lanes in the Byward Market.
Clarendon Lanes Courtyard.
Sketching "Maman."
Sketching "Dancing Bear."
Our group of Ottawa Sketchers. We have just created a brand new Facebook page called "Ottawa Sketchers" - Check it out - we will be posting our Urban Sketches. Our goal is to grow our Ottawa group of Ottawa Urban Sketchers and we will be posting not only our drawings but our upcoming SketchCrawls - come on out and join us!
Cheers!
"SketchCrawl in Support of i2P"
Sketchbook, pen, watercolours are ready!
Tomorrow, Saturday April 13th, 2013 is the “39th International SketchCrawl”. This is seriously, one very cool idea! The brainchild of San Francisco based artist and illustrator Enrico Casarosa, the SketchCrawl is a one day sketching marathon, held several times a year, where artists from all over the world, participate by getting out there and sketching their city, town, home, environment, all on the same day. The sketchers then post their results to the online forum hosted by sketchcrawl. com.
Enrico came up with the idea after attending a friend's stag pub-crawl back in the early 2000’s. He thought it would be fun to use the idea of a “Crawl” and created the concept of “SketchCrawl”. He decided to take an entire day and go out and sketch. With a sketchbook, pencil and watercolours in hand he ventured out and drew everything from the first cup of coffee in the morning to the buses he rode and restaurants he ate in - everything he did that day was sketched. I have seen postings of Enrico’s first SketchCrawl and what a Marathon it was! He actually took it to the extreme and filled a sketchbook of every moment of his day!
Eventually Enrico grew the idea, and 8 years later the SketchCrawl has participants all over the world sketching simultaneously. Check out the SketchCrawl website and forums - very inspirational for those who love sketching and art.
This will be my 4th time participating and now have a couple artists who sketch with me. Tomorrow we are meeting at 11am in at the Byward Market information booth. Come on out and join us! It is always a lot of fun and a great way to spend a few hours. Basically anything goes. There is no prerequisite for participation - there is no prerequisite for artistic background training or inherent talent. There are lots of beginner sketchers of all ages participating all over the world so don’t be shy!
For the 39th SketchCrawl, I have decided to make a day of it and put my sketches to work for a fantastic cause. I will follow Enrico’s lead and will sketch and do my own little marathon and sketch all day. I will post each drawing on my webpage and Facebook, and all sketches will be for sale. I will be donating 50% of all the proceeds made from the tomorrow’s sketches directly to a foundation I support, impossible2Possible (i2P). To learn more about i2P check out my blog post “Inspiring People - Ray Zahab”.
Hope to see all you sketchers tomorrow!
Happy Drawing!
Greg
"Inspiring People - Ray Zahab"
Every so often in life, you get the opportunity to meet someone truly inspiring. Ray Zahab is one of those people, and I have had the privilege of connecting with him.
I first met Ray Zahab for about 30 seconds back in 2002. He happened to be getting out of a beat up black pickup truck and entering my brother’s house which I had designed with construction just about complete. My niece was a competitive figure skater at the national junior level, and Ray was helping her with some dry land training. I remember my sister-in-law commenting that Ray was this insane crazy extreme runner who competed in ultra marathons. It was a few years later I happened to be reading an article in a magazine at my doctor’s office, about this guy from Ottawa, who decided to run a 150km run across Alaska with only a few months training under his belt. The article was about Ray Zahab, and he not only finished the race but won it by several hours. I was immediately intrigued, not realizing until later, when I connected the dots, that this was the same guy that I had met briefly a couple years back.
To give you a bit of history, in 1999, Ray was a committed party animal and heavy smoker, and certainly not living the life of the athlete he was to become. It was the Millennium New Years and he decided to make a massive change in his life, butting out his last cigarette just before midnight, December 31st, 1999. His brother John was an accomplished athlete and personal trainer at the time and Ray took up the call to get his body in shape. Ray quite candidly states that he had difficulty running a single kilometre back in 2000. Fast forward 13 years, and it is absolutely remarkable what Ray Zahab has accomplished.
Since that first race in Alaska, Ray has successfully completed multiple ultra marathons and extreme treks. In 2006, he ran the entire length of the Sahara Desert, 750km the long way. He ran the three Canadian Coastal Trails (2007) back to back and non-stop. These included the Akshayuk Pass in Baffin Island, East Coast Trail Newfoundland and the West Coast Trail, BritishColumbia. In 2008 Ray ran over 80km in each of the 13 provinces and territories in Canada in just 13 days. 2009, Ray and colleagues Kevin Vallely and Richard Weber broke the 1,100km unassisted expedition record to the SouthPole. They were the first to complete the trek to the South Pole on foot, in snow shoes. From 2010-2012 ray has continued with his extreme races where he and his teammates ran the length of the Atacam Desert in Chile, Death Valley National Park USA, and the entire 650km length of Lake Baikal in Siberia. In June of this year, Ray Zahab and i2P teammate Ferg Hawke will attempt to run 2,000km across the Gobi Desert at it’s widest point. Ray Zahab has accomplished more, in 12 years, than most could dream of in a lifetime.
These are fantastic feats, but Ray’s most important legacy is the foundation impossible2Possible (i2P) that he and Bob Cox established in 2008. Through i2P Ray and Bob have created an unparalleled educational program for youth, through adventure learning and pushing their perceived boundaries on challenging life-changing expeditions. Several “Youth Ambassadors” between 17 and 21 years old, are selected each year to participate as runners and support on the various expeditions around the world. This, combined with an educational component, creates a truly unique experience empowering the Youth Ambassadors to work on various causes supported by i2P, and to become our leaders of the future. To date the Young Ambassadors have participated in several amazing treks to such places as Baffin Island, Tunisia, the Amazon, Bolivia, India and Botswana. In May of this year the i2P Youth Ambassadors will be running a marathon a day for 8 consecutive days across some of the most spectacular scenery in Utah and joining educators, palaeontologists and scientists on an archeological dig excavating a dinosaur fossil. Impossible2Possible is a truly outstanding organization.
I ran into Ray purely by chance in a Starbucks coffee shop last year. I happened to have my then 16 year old daughter with me at the time, and I wanted her to meet Ray. I used the 3 second rule and immediately introduced myself and Julia. I was already very familiar with Ray’s accomplishments, and I wanted Julia to meet a truly inspiring person. I was not anticipating just how much of an impact that first meeting would have. Julia, since that meeting, has researched Ray’s organization quite extensively, hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and is training for her first marathon. She attributes much of this motivation to i2P.
Looking back at Ray Zahab’s accomplishments has also really inspired me as an artist and life long learner. I find myself drawn to people like Ray, and their stories - the people that have a vision, an authenticity - the ones that simply go for it. Ray’s story, and those like it, resonate with me. I know how Ray’s story makes me feel and I witnessed first hand the positive effect it has on my daughter. I read somewhere, "In this life, you have the opportunity to write your own story - you better make it good!" We all have a story - Ray’s story is amazing - an inspiration for us all, to want to get into the good chapters of our individual stories!
As for myself, I love to paint - this is what I do. If I never made another single nickel from my art, I would still draw and paint. I love it more each and every day. I now see how, following Ray Zahab’s lead, I can shift direction ever so slightly, and paint with "intention" - to find the "WHY and the HOW" - WHY I paint, and HOW I can use my art to give back.
In consultation with Ray and Bob, I have found a way to use my talents as an artist in a positive way to give back this unbelievable foundation. I now donate a portion of every online sale of my artwork to i2P. I intend to hold a variety of fundraising efforts to give to such a worthy cause.
I2P has a goal of 1 million Youth Ambassadors, leading the way to a sustainable future. My goal is to help impossible2Possible reach their goal!
I encourage you to check out i2P - it is an organization guaranteed to inspire!
Cheers!
