Notes from Nola Noreen!

Looking for some sketchy inspiration?

HOW TO USE THESE NOTES: These notes are dynamic.  I’ll post a note and return later to add an additional sketch or a link to another post, as they are completed.  It’s almost more of a bulletin board in that regard. 

Why I Chose Art Storefronts (For Better or For Worse)

For better or for worse, artists need to be online these days and that's why I was looking at Art Storefronts.  I am probably the most left-brained artist you've ever met.  I've spent many more years running businesses as a Chartered Professional Accountant (with a...

5 Interesting Places To Urban Sketch (That You Haven’t Thought Of!)

Looking for interesting or undiscovered places to Urban Sketch?  Here’s a handful that you probably haven’t considered, but should! Sketchy Location #1 - Legislative Library Legislative libraries across Canada are quiet but powerful research hubs that exist to support...

Sketchy Story Behind Dawson City Radio’s Urban Sketch

My Sweetie and I visited Dawson on our honeymoon in July 2025. We travelled from the Atlantic Coast across Canada in Vinny VAN Go, our mini-van converted for camping. Up the Dempster Highway we went to Inuvik and got married in the “igloo church”. Just the two of us....

Rebel Urban Sketching? Using Reference Photos

Urban Sketching has official rules.  One of those rules is that you must sketch onsite from direct observation. Great rule...but what about reference photos?There are 3 times that reference photos and urban sketching are perfect companions, in my opinion. 1. When...
Wild About Wild Camping!

Wild About Wild Camping!

A site in New Mexico while road-tripping from California to New York, USA.30AUGUST 30, 2023Off-Grid AdventuresFree Camping FunReconnecting With NatureWild camping (aka stealth camping) is a free, off-grid getaway that reconnects the soul with nature.  It is a go-to...

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Tough Days (How to Survive Them)

Tough Days (How to Survive Them)

My Sweetie’s father has passed and we have just gone though all that follows. Visitations, funeral, burial and the complicated process of grieving and saying goodbye, which is likely to continue for some time to come. This has gotten me thinking about hard days and...

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Permission Granted (To Redefine Success)

Permission Granted (To Redefine Success)

I’ve wanted to start a blog for a very long time. I’ve purchased no less than 5 URL’s and began a blogging project only to shut it down. Why? I was listening to the “experts” who told me to niche down. From among my interests, I chose a niche and began. The next thing...

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