Sketchy Behaviour at the Canada Summer Games

Running on caffeine, optimism, and waterproof pens

Ah, summer.
A time to relax and soak up the sun—except around our household.

Right now, I’m getting ready to draw the Canada Summer Games that are taking place in St. John’s, NL this August.

Yep. I’ll be on the sidelines with my sketchbook, capturing the action as it happens.

Now, I’m probably the least likely person you’d expect on a sports field, but here I am, preparing to race between venues with pens flying.

How did this happen?

Great question.

After leaving my job to pursue illustration, I joined a local life drawing group called The Group of 77. Around the time I started volunteering, the group lost its arts funding—money that helped cover models and our year-end exhibition.

We were trying to figure out how we’d keep going. Thankfully, a fairy godmother and godfather stepped in with some short-term financial help. But we were still worried about what came next.

Then one evening, I floated an idea to my partner (who works with the Canada Games): what if they hired us to draw the Games? After all, we draw people.

He pitched it, they loved it, and just like that, we were in.

I put out a call for volunteers, and 26 of us will be sketching events across two weeks.

We’re now a month out, and I’ve started “training”—working on speed, simplifying my materials, and prepping for all kinds of weather. (This is Newfoundland, after all.)

Here’s a recent sketch using only gouache, Posca pens, and pencil crayons with a limited palette. I'm still figuring out how to make gouache work outdoors, but I’m getting close to a solid kit.

Process pics - I like how this was built up

I’m so excited. After years of drawing in cafés and public spaces, I am getting to draw the event of a lifetime.

Let the sketching begin.