Month: March 2018

“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

From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud pied April dress’d in all his trim
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laugh’d and leap’d with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue
Could make me any summer’s story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;
Nor did I wonder at the lily’s white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seem’d it winter still, and, you away,
As with your shadow I with these did play.
— Shakespeare’s Sonnet #98

This sonnet shows how Shakespeare misses being a young man.

A bit of spring — oh I will rewind —  a whole bunch of Spring on my mind today. A sure sign that Spring has arrived (even though we still have feet of snow at our doorstep) is that I started fertilizing my houseplants last week and now I am getting ready to identify our 2000 trees that we have on our lot… We have tried keeping as many trees as we can since we building here… took out the ones where our house is, and that’s it! Nowhere else. My problem with the identification process is that I would like to tag the trees as I slowly identify them… but with what? Does anyone have any suggestions? Something that would stay permanently and does not cost too much?

The best time to identify trees is during early Spring, just as the buds open and this page acts as a quick reminder of what each tree twig looks like. I will do another set at some point in time. Hope that you liked this!

Moleskine Sketchbook #24 5.5″ x 8.5″
Fountain Pen: Pilot Falcon SEF
Ink: De Atramentis Document Black
Watercolours: DS Q. Gold, B. Sienna, Burnt Umber, Pyrrol Scarlet, Cerulean Chromium

We are at the centre of the galaxy only in our own minds.
— The Book of Life

Well as you can see I have gone over the week limit and have not been able to obtain the magic number of 100 people… however, I did get 65 in total! How did I get that? Well it feels as though I cheated today, but I have been developing an idea that might take form later on in my life and I told myself why not have some fun? So here is an imaginary scene with imaginary people. Hope that you like it.

Even though this week was March Break, for me it was a fair amount of work. Amidst correcting students that handed their projects on time, waiting for those who handed them late… argh… or not at all (what is happening with my first years?), preparing for some new projects, preparing exams, I was much busier that I had hoped for. So March Break should perhaps be called “Work week” for teachers. I was thankful though to have this week to stay at home and catch up with everything that I had to do without being disturbed… very pleasurable nonetheless.

Paper: Bockingford 30″x 22″ folded 7.5″ x 5.5″
Fountain Pen: Pilot Falcon SEF with De Atramentis Document Black Ink