The placid watercolours featured this month at the Gumboot Café in Roberts Creek may be a stylistic departure for professional cartoon character developer Matt Boismier, but there is one subtle feature in common: animation.

Cars trundle under the neon-lighted entrance of Granville Island. A pedestrian raises an umbrella in rain-slicked School Road. Bathers tiptoe into the azure waters of Hopkins Landing, while a diesel-powered leviathan steams sedately past Howe Sound promontories. Even a sleepy island scene (Savary Transport), which shows a bicycle at rest in an evergreen’s shade, hints that the two-wheeled conveyance dreams of takeoff.

Boismier — who works for the TV and movie animation industry under his sobriquet Tooninator, by engineering the characters for new productions — opened his home-based gallery to Art Crawl visitors for the first time last fall. (He and his wife moved from Kitsilano to Gibsons during the COVID diaspora.) He put his favourite works on display, depicting airliners under tow at YVR and tankers sighted from the Kits beach volleyball pitch. To his surprise, an unlikely subject attracted buyers, again and again: his brutalist portrayals of coastal ferries.

“No one’s looking at that going: ‘that’s beautiful,’” Boismier chuckled. “It’s industrial, it’s grey. But we all know it. We all know it very well, and there’s a lot of life around it. I just draw whatever and hope it sticks.”

In his Horseshoe Bay Bound, the car deck’s double doors open to reveal the approaching terminal. Pools of reflected light soften the vessel’s rust-accented interior. A ferry worker wearing incandescent safety gear meanders unhurriedly to his station.

“These [paintings] are just things that I was interested in and that I thought were challenging to capture or to evoke a certain emotion, so that’s why I painted them,” Boismier said. “They weren’t meant to be masterpieces because when I do that, the life kind of goes by the wayside, and it’s sad.”

Last Friday he competed in the Kube gallery’s high-spirited art battle, scoring a victory in one of the timed competition’s frenetic rounds by wielding spray cans to fashion a fast-paced creation.

Boismier grew up in Ontario drawing freelance portraits and caricatures — even while working at Canada’s Wonderland, a Toronto-area theme park. He competed as a member of the International Society of Caricature Artists. “Animation is such a good background for bringing life and storytelling to anything,” he observed.

While American comics are usually fixated on superheroes, he notes that in other graphic novel traditions — in France and Japan, for example — artists employ different ways of creating compelling scenarios. With such sophisticated influences shaping the industry, he laments the fact that high-achieving animated films are still relegated by the Academy Awards to a sandboxed category instead of being considered for Best Picture.

After a day of guiding designers and tending to the demands of producers, Boismier typically puts his newborn to sleep around 8:30 p.m. then paints until 2 a.m. He’s fascinated with the play of light in everyday locations — including the local service station that he depicts in Wilson Creek Ice Bin. During a recent visit to New York, he ran to the end of the block, saw an angle he liked, and pulled his omnipresent sketchbook from his pocket. “I’m obsessed,” he admitted. “I love it, and I just want to draw or paint all the time.”

Boismier credits the supportive arts community on the Sunshine Coast. During his decade in Vancouver, he was unsure how to build a local network. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” he said. Since coming to the Coast in 2021, he’s become a fixture of the Drink + Doodle gatherings at the Tapworks Brewing Company, and will show his work again during this fall’s Art Crawl. “I think the Sunshine Coast is just a little more chill,” he said.

Life in Watercolour by Matt Boismier remains on display at the Gumboot Café in Roberts Creek until the end of June.

According to university data, over 6,000 students enroll in ISU summer courses annually, with more than 400 unique courses offered in online, hybrid, and in-person formats. 

Dr. Benjamin Withers, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS), emphasized the strong demand for summer courses, especially in foundational subjects. 

“Our most in-demand courses measured by total number of students enrolled are in computer science, physics, chemistry and math,” Withers said. “Courses such as Introduction to the Design and Analysis of Algorithms (COMS 3110), General Physics I (PHYS 1310), Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 3310), and Calculus I and II consistently attract high enrollment. English courses such as Business Communication and Technical Communication also remain popular.” 

Dean Withers noted that students enroll in summer classes for various reasons. 

“Some see it as an opportunity to get ahead and maybe graduate a semester early, while others take advantage of the summer to catch up on required classes after switching majors,”  Withers said. 

He added that many students use the time to explore electives in areas like mythology, ancient civilizations, and computing theory, which sometimes leads to adding a second major or a minor.

“While the content and learning outcomes remain the same as in fall or spring, the courses are accelerated. This allows students to concentrate more deeply on fewer subjects. LAS offers many courses online, accommodating students who may be working, traveling, or living off-campus during the summer. Faculty members regularly participate in workshops offered by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) to enhance the delivery of online and hybrid courses,” Withers said.

Dean of the College of Human Sciences Dr. Laura Dunn Jolly, said, “Faculty look at course planning at a high level, taking into account enrollment, credit requirements, course sequencing, and student interest. Our MAT program gives students the opportunity to earn their master’s degree and teaching license in 12 months.” 

“These summer courses have helped me stay on track and even get ahead, which helps alleviate stress in the long run,” Kaitlyn Krebs, a graduate student pursuing a degree in athletic training said. 

 Krebs found that summer classes allowed her to prioritize general education requirements in previous years and focus more intently on major-specific courses during the academic year. She described the pace of summer courses as intense but manageable.

 “Summer classes are typically only six to eight weeks, so the pace is much quicker. I find myself studying almost every day,” Krebs said. 

While she appreciated the flexibility of online classes in previous summers, she acknowledged the immersive nature of in-person sessions.

 “Smaller class sizes allow for more one-on-one interaction with professors and stronger connections with classmates, which is incredibly helpful when applying for graduate school or internships.”

‘I wanted to be able to shorten my course load going into my last semester this fall,” said Dylan Backe, a senior in finance. 

“As long as you stay organized and on top of things, you’ll be alright,” Backe said.

Assistant Dean for Engineering Student Success Dr. Cris Schwartz said, “If a course has a laboratory or design studio component, these remain central in the summer version. Lectures and labs are simply scheduled more frequently over a shorter period.”

Dr. Schwartz also acknowledged the challenges of the summer format. 

 “Some students do very well in summer courses, while others may find the pace more challenging than anticipated,”  Dr. Schwartz said. 

In the second set, Thailand struggled from the start, falling behind 0–2 and trailing 4–8 shortly after. Despite efforts to recover, Bulgaria dominated and closed the set comfortably 25–13, taking a 2–0 lead.

The third set saw a shift in momentum. Although Thailand trailed 6–12, a timeout by Coach Kiattipong helped rally the team. The Thai side gradually fought back to lead 20–17 and took the set 25–21.

Thailand carried their momentum into the fourth set, showing renewed confidence to go up 10–6. Despite late pressure from Bulgaria, Thailand held firm to win the set 25–22 and level the match at 2–2.

In the decisive fifth set, Thailand took an early 4–2 lead, but Bulgaria’s powerful attacks and consistency turned the tide. Bulgaria pulled ahead 8–6 and capitalised on Thai errors to take the final set 15–9 and seal a 3–2 victory.

Long Beach, CA – June 22 – The USA Women’s National Team lost to Spain 7-5 today at Long Beach City College. Emily Ausmus scored twice to lead Team USA while Isabel Williams and Christine Carpenter combined for 12 saves in the cage. The match streamed LIVE on Overnght with stats from 6-8 Sports.

Team USA and Spain both brought the defensive intensity to this match with each offense looking lost for long stretches. This included the entirety of the first quarter, which ended with the score stuck at 0-0. In the second period, Ausmus had the first word of the game with a skip shot strike into the back of the net. Paula Camus would begin her big day by finishing to tie the score with 2:44 left in the half and then taking the lead for Spain with a power play goal one minute later. The visitors would hold the slight edge until the very end of the period when Jenna Flynn rose up and fired home a full tank goal to beat the buzzer for Team USA and send this one into the break tied 2-2.

The third quarter saw the most total goals with five scores between the two sides. Ausmus retook the lead for the United States with a beautiful hesitation move that freed her up on a player advantage before Carlota Penalver quickly responded for Spain. Paula Leiton and Anni Espar each notched scores to push the visitors up by two midway through the quarter. Then, with the Americans on a power play, Jewel Roemer took things into her own hands to beat the goalkeeper with a cross cage goal, leaving the score at 5-4 in favor of the Spanish at the end of three. In the final frame, Penalver and Camus pushed the lead up to three before Malia Allen scored in the final minute to set the final score, 7-5.

Team USA went 3/14 on power plays and 0/1 on penalties while Spain went 2/7 on power plays with no penalties attempted.

Scoring – Stats

USA 5 (0, 2, 2, 1) E. Ausmus 2, J. Flynn 1, J. Roemer 1, M. Allen 1

ESP 7 (0, 2, 3, 2) P. Camus 3, C. Penalver 2, A. Espar 1, P. Leiton 1

Saves – USA – I. Williams 7, C. Carpenter 5 – ESP – E. Jimenez 6, M. Terre 2

6×5 – USA  – 3/14 – ESP – 2/7

Penalties – USA – 0/1 – ESP – 0/0

 

Dumas, a junior at Eastern who always races her best when it matters most, lit up the oval with a mind-blowing, jaw-dropping and heart-pounding victory, freezing the numbers on the clock at 51.14 to smash the NJ record and the meet record and win her second national title in 2 days!

Yes, you read all that right!!!

The 51.14 by Dumas obliterated the NJ record of 51.87 that she shared with the legendary Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of Union Catholic, destroyed the meet record and places her No. 6 on the U.S all-time high school list!! 

The former meet record of 52.41 was set in 2023 Adaejah Hodge of Montverde Academy in Florida. 

It took everything Dumas had to get the victory as she dove across the line to edge senior Sydney Sutton of Bullis (Md.) for the second straight day. Sutton was second in 51.23, No. 10 in U.S history. 

Dumas had equaled McLaughlin-Levrone’s state record when she ran 51.87 at the South Jersey Group 4 Championships on May 17 at Pennsauken High School. 

McLaughlin-Levrone, a 4-time Olympic gold medalist and current world record holder in the 400 hurdles, ran 51.87 as a junior at the 2016 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington High School. 

There are several more mind-numbing numbers and stats that further show just how amazing her performance was.  

On Friday, the indefatigable Dumas ran a meet record 55.99 to win the 400 hurdles for the second straight year, just ahead of Sutton. That moved Dumas all the way up to No. 2 in NJ history and No. 6 in U.S. high school history. It took a record performance from Dumas to defeat Sutton, who was second in 56.04, No. 8 all-time!

That’s not all!

A couple hours later, she split 2:03.90 on the anchor to rally Eastern, from sixth to second in the sprint medley relay in 3:53.15, No. 4 in NJ history and No. 12 in U.S. history. 

And there is still more to come!

Dumas is scheduled to run the 800 on Sunday!!

Can she win that also???

After what she’s done the last 2 days, nothing Dumas does should surprise anyone anymore!!