weddings

Toronto 2013, Part 4

by Nolen
Oct.04.2013Oct.04.2013

On Friday after having lunch with one of Olwen’s friends, Cheryl, we dropped by Paintlounge in Markham which was owned by another friend of Olwen’s, Norris. Olwen thought it would be good for me to try out some traditional painting before we met up with another friend that evening. When I started out, I had no idea what I was supposed to paint. I started with a recollection of Olwen playing with Caitlyn in her mini-jungle gym in Jeremy and Olga’s newly turfed yard amongst a backdrop of trees. Eventually, those details proved to be precise given the the brushes I had so the painting ended up having a life of its own. In the end, I think I was happy with the result. There’s just something about the experience of using traditional media that you can’t quite duplicate with digital; the lack of an undo button, the mess, and the smell of the paint seem to enrich the experience since the final product is a lot more tangible than a bunch of pixels. Alright, enough of the romantics, moving on…

: Starting out with some blobs.

: Still trying to figure out what to draw instead of some generic trees.

: Multi-tasking… I was painting with acrylics, the hairdryer sped up the process.

: Adding in Caitlyn.

: Brightened up the background and adding the signature.

: Final product. I probably could have spent more time on this, but I enjoy the looseness of it.

Saturday was wedding number THREE starring our friends Apple and Darrin who live in Hong Kong but celebrating their wedding in Toronto with friends and family. For their reception, they had a costume party along with photographers. I thought I was the only one who had a full-sized bear costume for his own wedding…

: Sketch of Cheryl during lunch.

: Tyson hides behind Wynne when we first arrived.

: The O’s watch videos of Caitlyn on their phones.

: Apple and her dad make their way down the aisle.

: Apple and Darrin get ready for their entrance into the reception. Didn’t expect to see Rilakkuma at a wedding before.

: Congrats to Apple and Darrin! Right: Reception at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex.

Sadly, our trip was just about over. We did get a nice surprise in the morning when we were awoken by a squealing mini-batgirl. I’m gonna miss that terrible two-year old…

: Batgirl decided to wake us up for church!

: Some snoring peeps on our flight from O’Hare to Seatac.

: A sketch of my seat neighbor, Jeremy visiting from the UK. Have a great time in the US of A!

Toronto 2013, Part 1

by Nolen
Sep.30.2013Oct.03.2013

Lots to update on, so I’m going to split this up into separate posts. Just got back from a week in Toronto visiting friends and family.

This is my fifth time visiting, but this was the first time that I was bringing a sketchbook. There was a moment when my mother-in-law, I call her “Ah-Ma”, asked me why I sketched all the time. At the time, I told her that I was doing it for practice, and trying to get better at my craft, but for some reason, that answer didn’t feel quite accurate to me. When I later reflected on that conversation, I realized that the real reason was because it helped me to have a new outlook at what was before me. I never thought about how sketching forces me to be more observant about the things in front of me, how it causes me to sift through the vast amount of visual information in front of me to get to what Walt Stanchfield calls the “first impression”. And it helps me to see the story that’s behind every seemingly insignificant gesture or moment whether it be someone stirring their coffee, a couple having a conversation, or a weathered shipping yard; there’s always an individual backstory to everything and everyone.

So here were some of the moments that I managed to capture, some accurately, some not so great. Regardless, what I would’ve expected to be a routine family visit turned out to be rich with enjoyable moments and little surprises.

: Passengers wait at the gate at O’Hare.

: Samantha walks down the aisle with her dad.

: Johan and Samantha say their vows.

: Studying Samantha and Johan.

: The reverend shows off the ring.

: Lunch at Sams Congee Delight. Not “Sam’s”… “Sams”.

: Mike and Cindy share their first dance as newlyweds.

: Caricature attempts. Left, from top left, clockwise: Gabe, Leanne, Janet & Mike, Alvin (not good), Genuine, and Ben. Right: Another attempt at Ben.

: Left: Gabe; Right: another attempt at Ben.

: Jeremy coddles Caitlyn as the evening winds down.

Sketch dump

by Nolen
May.28.2013

A little late, but congrats to Sung Hon and Cola for tying the knot!

: Sung Hon finishes his words of encouragement to Cola.

: Dancing gestures

: Dancing gestures

: Dancing gestures

I got back from spending this last weekend with the in-laws in Vancouver for a wedding of their family friends. Usually when I am with them, it usually ends up becoming a Chinese lesson with me providing the laughs as I struggle with my broken Cantonese. Here are some of the notes.

: “Ah-Ma” (Polly) and “Low Dao” (Rex) enjoy some dessert after arriving on Thursday.

: Jason and Jackie, family friends, tie the knot.

: Jackie gives her vows to Jason. A couple more Jason sketches.

: Two attempts at Jackie. I think Jason was the first Mountie I’ve ever seen in person.

: Uncle Silas, a family friend, looks on. Ah-Ma and Low Dao watch the bouquet toss.

: Auntie Jenny and Mark enjoying lunch at their restaurant. Low Dao photographs an obelisk at the Richmond Olympic Oval.

: A quick sketch of the Richmond Olympic Oval where the speed skating event was held.

: Auntie Jenny had some bananas in the car much to the chagrin of Olwen. A couple value studies inside Auntie Jenny’s house. “Fei suk-suk”, Auntie Jenny’s husband, takes an order at his restaurant.