It was a great evening of indoor sketching on Thursday, November 19th.
Ottawa urban sketchers are meeting indoors to sketch for the months of November and December and Thursday was our first time taking advantage of free Ottawa museum Thursdays.
We met in the grand lobby of the Canadian War Museum and dispersed into the many areas of this great museum.
Inside the museum, there was a vast art collection (numbering some 13,000 pieces) and extensive artifact collections arranged in eight permanent collections including four Canadian Experience galleries as well as the LeBreton gallery. There was plenty to sketch!
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| Part of the Ottawa sketching group at the end-of-evening "Show and Tell" |
The challenge with sketching in museums such as the Canadian War Museum is that the exhibits are so incredibly interesting (and interactive) that you're tempted to look, read and participate in the exhibit rather than sketch. At least that was the case for a small group of us who enjoyed the temporary special exhibit "World War Women"
Despite these delightful temptations, everyone managed to complete several sketches and seemed to really enjoy the evening.
Here are some images from our night of sketching:
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| Suvitha Ramaswamy sketching in the LeBreton Gallery where part of our group started. |
"The LeBreton Gallery is an expansive space with lots of natural light, and a stunning view of the Ottawa skyline. This impressive open storage gallery enables visitors to get a close-up look at large artefacts such as a Voodoo fighter jet, nineteenth-century artillery pieces, tanks, and other vehicles drawn from one of the most extensive collections of its kind in the world."
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| Suvitha Ramaswamy's sketch of Dodge ambulance |
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| A few of the group's sketches from the "show and tell" |
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| Mari Brown Virtanen's sketch of Death Jacket of General Brock; and a sketch of a box of prosthetic eyes and the woman who made them |
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| Lots of vehicles by Cindi Foreman, Emily Lada and Suvitha Ramaswamy |
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| Suvitha Ramaswamy's sketch of fountain pen and radio |
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| Sketch of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Diane Duford |
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| Cindi Foreman's sketch of rationing at a grocers/épicerie during WW II |
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| The group at the Show and Tell at the end of the evening |
If you are interested in sketching with this group, follow ("like") our facebook page where we announce events. We always contact the organization or institution in advance to announce our intentions to sketch in a group and ask that they let us know of any guidelines for artists sketching at their venue.
Our "sketch crawls" are free and open to sketchers of all ages and levels. Anyone who sketches in Ottawa is welcomed to join us!
The next confirmed sketch crawl will be Thursday evening December 17 at the National Gallery of Canada. (see restrictions on materials allowed in the "details" section)
Other indoor venues for this winter that we are looking at include:
- The Nature Museum (they recently responded to our email request)
- Three free indoor green spaces: Tropical Greenhouse (Arboretum); Carleton Greenhouses; and Rideau Hall Greenhouses (we will be contacting them regarding accommodations for a sketching group)
Outdoor venues being considered for future sketch crawls include:
If you have an idea for a great indoor (or outdoor) place to sketch this winter in Ottawa, please let us know in the comment section below!
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| Free things to do and sketch in Ottawa |
If you are looking to do some solo urban sketching this winter, here are some of the museums you can explore and sketch for free:
Ottawa is home to a number of world-class museums, and most offer free admission to their permanent collections on Thursday evenings.
- Bytown Museum, 1 Canal Lane, 613-234-4570, bytownmuseum.com,
- Canadian Museum of Civilization, 100 rue Laurier, Gatineau, 819-776-7000, civilization.ca,
- Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod St., 613-566-4700, nature.ca,
- Canadian War Museum, 1 Vimy Place, 819-776-7000, warmuseum.ca,
