Category: Sketches / Drawings / Paintings

Finally have internet high speed! Yeah! We are settling in nicely in our new condo in Sandy Hill, Ottawa. So happy with our choice and a new style of living begins. Our bikes are being tuned and ready for the great bike paths of Ottawa. I can hear birds chirping away all day long, so the Mrs. is happy -) This is a view from our balcony which overlooks many embassies… Australia, Brunei, Brazil, Germany, Kenya, Croatia, Serbia, Egypt and many more. You can see the Australian Embassy’s flag just to the right of the red brick house on the left… if you wish to take out your magnifying glasses…

Finalement nous avons l’internet! C’est comme manquer d’électricité, aussi pire à mon point de vue. On s’installe tranquillement et sûrement dans notre nouveau condo de Sandy Hill, Ottawa. On est très contents de cette nouvelle vie en ville… et j’ai des oiseaux qui chantent aussi -) Nos bicycles sont en train de se faire tuner pour rouler sur les pistes cyclables de cette belle ville. Contente la madame! Voici une vue de notre balcon qui donne sur de nombreuses ambassades… Australie, Brunei, Brésil, Allemagne, Kenya, Croatie, Serbie, Égypte et bien d’autres encore.

Sun warms the lizard’s back
and the humble back of the mountain.
A raven croaks from the top of a thermal.
The valley oak above the barn,
dying a huge branch at a time,
stands in calm mortability, content
with the warm light that has fed its leaves,
the dark waters that have fed its roots,
its acorns that have fed the woodpeckers
for five hundred rainy seasons.
— Ursula K. Le GUin

I have always loved being a student, and I remember in my very young years when school stopped in summer I would be one of the only ones that was sad. In retrospect, during the winter months, my family and I lived in a middle-sized city and in the summer months, totally reclusive… on a beautiful and wonderful lakefront. So my friends got to be divided in two… the winter friends and the summer friends.

This is a bit like this. Some of my winter friends are right out there in the past, and my summer friends seem to be closer to me. So weird in a sense, if you get what I mean.

This is totally unfinished as I am starting over tomorrow morning. The first mistake that I made was the horizon. The horizon, right smack in the middle of the page? No. So tomorrow you will get another version of this… hopefully improved. Even though I really like this.

Paper: Saunders Waterford 12″x9″
Colours: Hansa Deep, Cobalt Blue, Raw Umber, Payne’s Grey

We came from the far side of the river
of starlight and will cross back over
in a little boat
no bigger than two cupped hands.
Thinking about compassion.
A firefly in a great dark garden.
An earthworm naked
on a concrete path.
I think of the journey
we will take together
in the oarless boat
across the shoreless river.
— Ursula K. Le Guin

I remember the first time that I biked with no hands… exhilarating to say the least. Well this painting is a bit the same. I painted this with absolutely no lines before… straight with watercolours. A feat for moi, for sure! So bloody difficult even if it does look easy… It certainly is a challenge, for someone who loves drawing and using “lines” everywhere. Hah-hah!

Paper: Saunders Waterford 12″x9″
Colours: Hansa Medium, Q. Rose, Cerulean and Ultramarine

:: Flanders Fields ::

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— by John McCrae, May

This seems to be a common theme of mine lately. Well yes, let us remember and not forget… in these troubled times.

“I suppose what you’re doing as a painter is making a record of your trip through life.
I can’t think of any job that is quite as satisfactory as doing a painting.”
(Robert Genn (1936- 2014))

The quote above rings true for me… it is true that this blog records part of my life in a way. After preparing for my Book Club for tomorrow night, I now have the leisure of time on my hands… and what do I do with it? Going through some of my older paintings and see what comes up. By the way, her class is spectacular. As a teacher, she invests herself totally in it and she expects you to be totally invested too. An awesome combo.

I had not looked at this painting for over a year as this was done in a class given by Uma Kelkar. Quite interesting to revisit after this time. I really had a lot of fun doing this as it was difficult and challenging. The aim was to look at the reflections (incident light coming from the sun), cast shadows, diffused shadows and shadows and make them believable. I changed some of the blue colours along the way too.

La fin du monde est à sept heures
Annonçait le téléviseur
La fin du monde est à sept heures
La fin du monde est à sept heures
On voit les signes avant-coureurs
Les voisins ne se parlent plus
On ne rigole plus dans la rue
Les gens ne font que travailler
Ils sont chanceux et occupés
Le samedi, ils magasinent
Avez-vous vu leur triste mine
— Jean Leloup, “La fin du monde est à sept heures”

Painting done in direct watercolour, no lines, directly on watercolour paper, Saunders Waterford CP. So hard to do and so proud too. Wow! Never thought that I would be able to pull this off. All a question of values… value 2 for the mountains, value 4 for the strokes in the stone and value 5 for the shadows. Still so much to learn, but I am following a path…