Just a sunny landscape

No more, no less, as Shakespeare said... Just a sunny, vacation like Québec landscape, somewhere near Baie St. Paul (je crois)... In a painter's cuisine this would equivalate to a "soufflé", quelque chose d'aerien, de light, just a quick watercolor to match a beautiful summer day and a sunny disposition. Since outside the winter winds are hauling, as Sting said, it seemed appropriate to encourage myself a bit with some sunny summer images...The rich québecois are now flying off to Miami or to Caraibes, to Cuba... The ones not so rich brace themselves and "monte le chauffage"... And it seems, the meteorologist predict, that it will be one of the coldest winter in Canada in the last 15 years... so much for global warming...

Casandra's story

She was a little girl of 12. But when you look at her you wouldn't give her more than 7-8 years old. She was slim (not to say skinny). She had big, blue eyes (beautiful eyes!)and 2 big, too big, front teeth. In fact, she looked just like a skinny, very hungry, nervous she-rabbit. Put some big, grossly rim glasses on her nose and you have almost her portrait true to life... Final touches: a runny nose, a stressed, anguished mother-hen look (she had at least two visible smaller brothers, all ultra-extra agitated and hyper active, all with runny noses and beautiful blue ayes...) And, cherry on the cake, somebody inspired gave her the bad-fated name of Casandra... Finally, she spoke the parisian outskirts dialect - because she, and her brother and her father and mother (those last ones weren't visible for the moment; probably buying - and drinking - beer, somewhere in the Jacques Cartier parc in Sherbrooke, Québec) were Francais de France. She was the in-charge-"mother" and when me and my friend Clement propose her to make her portrait she wasn't sure, at the beginning. She looked for her little brothers and only when we proposed to do their portraits too (which made them less agitated, having on them a ritalin-like effect...) she accepted. To tell you I felt a warm compassion for her would be an understatment... Drawing her portrait - twice, in order to conserve one portrait: the one you are looking at...) we knew a bit more about her life... At twelve, she was remplacing the mother - I'm afraid in more ways than one! - of a large family of poor Frnçais de France immigrated to Québec. I don't think she had a lot of gifts - personal gifts - coming her way, lately (or ever) so she was very glad when she had the watercolor and the pastel portraits we did of her. Especially that I did my best (for once!) to embelish her a bit. Let aside the runny nose, ameliorate a bit her big front teeth and gave all the color to her truly beautiful eyes. That day I was pretty satisfyied with myself. A good deed is a good deed. At the Last Judgement, I hope, the Lord will take it into consideration to balance my numerous sins...

Jackie has the blues...

This is, of course, Jackie, and she had the blues (I don't know if she still has it...) Posing for 10 minutes could be pretty tiring and if you are posing nude, in a provincial town like Sherbrooke, it means you really need the money... I'm just guessing... I've tried to "catch" some of this sadness and, surprisingly, I used more warm colors and not really the blue... It's a watercolor & acrylic ink painting, 9" x 12", on Strathmore 300 g paper.

Karin orange

No comments.(None needed, I think...)

9" x 12", acrylics and watercolor on Strathmore 300 g paper.

A nude, no more...

An acrylic ink and watercolor, 9 x 12 inches, on Strathmore watercolor paper (no acid there),
Since in my book this nude is a "sonderklasse" (exceptional class) so, if somebody wants it, it will cost Ca$ 300.