:: Little things for my Mom :: Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
Thus the little minutes,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.
— by Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney
Today it is Mother’ Day and I wanted to paint a bouquet of wild flowers for my Mom, as I know that she loves flowers. At 93 years old, my Mom is quite extraordinary. You see, when I post this, she will go on the computer, get her emails and then find my post and she will comment on it. Do you know many 93 year olds that can do this? She also has a very good spirit, has a solid sense of humour, is able to relate and has tons of common sense. Oh no! She is not the type of woman to whine that her children do not come to see her enough, or that they do not care for her enough or that they should hold her hand all day long! Oh no! She does not do that. As she took care of her own father for most of her life, she is very much aware of the toll — however I must point out that when I go to see her, it makes me happy and not the reverse. When I meet with her she can talk about politics, world events and casualties and always always knows how to appease me. One of her famous quotes to me is: “Don’t worry Jane, things will take care of themselves… don’t push things around, everything falls into their proper order.” One day I asked her if she was satisfied with her life. And she said: “Absolutely! I have never desired more than I ever had — I was always happy with what I had and never asked for more.” Wow, wow, wow! I think that she needs to teach all of us some lessons in life. Have a good one Mom, hope that you sleep well and that you eat your proteins tomorrow, at least enough to sustain you for the day! Keep up your spirits, as they are fabulous!
Jane, Your Daughter
Paper: Travelogue Sketchbook 8″ x 8″
Colours: Pyrrol Crimson, Q. Rose, Q. Gold and Ultramarine
Location: Rigaud, Québec, Canada
www.janehannah
:: School’s out :: Well we got no choice
All the girls and boys
Making all that noise
‘Cause they found new toys
Well we can’t salute ya
Can’t find a flag
If that don’t suit ya
That’s a drag School’s out for summer
School’s out forever
School’s been blown to pieces No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher’s dirty looks Well we got no class
And we got no principles
And we got no innocence
We can’t even think of a word that rhymes School’s out for summer
School’s out forever
My school’s been blown to pieces No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher’s dirty looks Out for summer
Out till fall
We might not go back at all School’s out forever
School’s out for summer
School’s out with fever
School’s out completely
— Alice Cooper
And yes school is finally over, at least the correcting, prepping and teaching parts… I still have things to do for school and I need to prepare for my next semester, but I can start concentrating on getting in shape (as I am definitely not at this point) and painting. Two goals for moi -) and of course puttering around the house, doing some daily chores.
I painted today just around the corner from my house, a century old house on 60 acres of forest land… quite a beautiful spot.
Paper: Travelogue Sketchbook 8″ x 8″
Colours: Sennelier Yellow, Q. Rose, B. Sienna, Cobalt Blue, some Indanthrone
Location: Rigaud, Québec, Canada
www.janehannah.com
:: May’s Iris :: Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.
— The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien
One of my previous students posted a photograph that she took of one of her irises last summer and I kept the photograph which I painted today. This is May’s iris, who lives in Beaconsfield. We also had a nice brunch with some friends this morning and then went on to visit Shari Blaukopf’s solo exhibit in Pointe-Claire and wow! She is such a beautiful watercolour artist. Congratulations Shari –) This iris was painted with watercolours in a Moleskine sketchbook using tons of pigmented water being dropped on the page, and not scrubbed in. (See yesterday’s post if you are perplexed). I first drew it in and then painted it… Glad with the result and I really don’t know which one that I prefer… how about you? Can you guess the answer to the riddle?
Sketchbook: Moleskine
Watercolours: Mineral Violet, Ultramarine & Q. Gold
Location: Rigaud, Québec, Canada
:: Rainy Day 2 :: This thing all things devours;
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats mountains down.
— The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien riddle
I don’t know why I love painting in a Moleskine Sketchbook so much as it is not really made for watercolour. It is mostly a drawing type of paper as it has some type of glaze on top of it that makes the watercolour pearl into drops onto the page instead of being absorbed… and I love that quality! It makes for very intense and deep colours. The trick is to manage to let the watercolour pearl on top of the paper instead of scrubbing it in and let it dry from a long time -) Can you guess J.R.R’s riddle from The Hobbit?
Sketchbook: Moleskine 5″ x 8″
Watercolours: Q. Gold, Cerulean Blue Chromium & B. Sienna
:: Rainy Day :: “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”
— Plato
As today in Rigaud it is a rainy, cold day the idea of going out for sketching is not very appealing and looking at my calendar, I realized that I have not posted for a very long while as a few weeks ago I was inundated with school work, then caught a cold which developed into bronchitis and now, finally, I am slowly coming back to my old self. When I have not painted or drawn in awhile I always feel “rusty” and today I decided to draw, which is my very first love. The sense that drawing gives me is always one of well being and of a certain accomplishment.
:: Roma Pizza Restaurant :: “I asked him for some of the money I need to continue my work.
He told me to come around on Monday.
I went on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and there was no money.
On Friday someone else came to the door and threw me out.
I’m discouraged about getting paid for this job.”
-- Michelangelo on May 12, 1506 to a friend -- LINK -- On Friday between two appointments I was in St-Lazare and was parked right in front of this restaurant... what better opportunity to draw this cute little restaurant? So I drew and inked it on location, but painted it in today. Today was a beautiful spring-like day even though the temperatures were cold at -16C and we still have tons of snow at my house... no asphalt to be seen around here. But the sun was glorious and warm so all is good.
Paper: Travelogue Sketchbook 8" x 8" spread
Watercolours: New Gamboge, Pyrrol Crimson, B. Sienna & Cobalt Blue
Location: St-Lazare, Québec, Canada
www.janehannah.com
