Archive for the ‘painting and art’ Category
‘outside-in’
In the last few days, I was at the home of a friend and recognized a painting on her wall. I painted it years ago, in 2015, in a still life phase of my art. The things included in the painting were possessions I love and still have, mostly depictions of items normally found outside: a marble egg, a book of wild plant identification, two statuettes of mushrooms from my collection, a seashell from my Dad’s collection, a chunk of amethyst, a special fern-embossed candle holder and candle I keep on our mantle, red berries from our berry bush, and in the background, the fern curtains from our living room.
~
~
I looked up the others I had done in the series, all still life. No. 2 was a painting of the stained glass window in our house (I can see it from where I am sitting). Included in the still life are my hollow silver bird, my large glass jar, filled with potpourri, and a stack of plant identification books. The pine cones in the painting are from our yard … every year this time the big pine releases its cones in tight, sticky packages. After they sit in the sun a few days, they dry and open, releasing their seeds.
~
~
The first in the series was called ‘Outside-in’ and depicted the large green resin dragon I keep among my indoor plants. It also shows my moss garden inside its glass cloche. I makes me sad to see the vines of my Mom’s lipstick plant which died a few years ago.
~
~
In these days of de-cluttering and getting rid of things, I am glad to still have all the items in the paintings (except the vine). However, the paintings themselves are no longer with me, sold in Isaac Way’s Art Auction in Fredericton. Who purchased them? I only know the whereabouts of the one in the home of my friend.
~
Perhaps I will be inspire to do a 4th painting in the still life series, depicting some of the other things I love. We will see.
~
All my best,
Jane (a.k.a.) Alexandra
Gargoyles?
I am working on my poetry manuscript ‘a glimpse of waterfalls.’ As always, I workshop some of the poems with my writing group Wolf Tree Writers. Wolf Tree has been together over thirty years and has assisted me greatly in improving my poetry.
~
This past week I read a poem to Wolf Tree called ‘from a window on the 3rd floor.’ In the third stanza, a gargoyle is mentioned. We talked about how a gargoyle is an ‘Old World’ (European) reference. It made me curious about gargoyles in Canada.
~
~
A gargoyle is a sculptural architectural feature used like a waterspout to transport rainwater away from the building. A gargoyle often depicts a grotesque other-world figure and also serves to frighten daemons away and remind people of the perils of doing harm. Sculptural features which look like gargoyles but which do not convey water are called grotesques.
~
~
Canada has many examples of gargoyles, occurring wherever architecture is gothic in design. There are many examples in Montreal, including on the campus of McGill University (Redpath Hall and Library), on churches (Christ Church Cathedral) and on private buildings (the Elspeth Angus and Duncan McIntyre House). The Peace Tower (Parliament Building) in Ottawa has numerous gargoyles and grotesques. For more information see https://sencanada.ca/en/sencaplus/how-why/gargoyles-and-grotesques-parliament-hills-sinister-sentinels/
~
~
from a window on the 3rd floor
~
I nudge curtain, interpret
streetscape, sirens
stream down the glass
fractal paths where drops
meet and coalesce
meet and coalesce
~
the puddle on the cobbled street
a pool at the base of a waterfall
edged in rock and fern
candy wrappers, paper coffee cups
brick an escarpment, rain spills
from ledges of stone
edges of stone
~
above, a gargoyle gushes
glimpse of reckless sky
heartened, I consider
merits of solitude
building facade
pavement pulses
red and blue
red and blue
~
~
Are there any gargoyles in the architecture of your area?
~
All my best!!
Jane
my place, my niche
All of us, as we self-isolate and stay at home, have become more familiar with our own place or space. We also have become familiar with our ‘niche.’ It is also a sort of space, but is more about how we use that space.
~
My space, on the macro-scale, is in the Northern Hemisphere and the temperate zone. I love the four seasons: perhaps summer, with it’s high humidity, least of the four. I live in a rural area; the bird chorus I hear each morning is associated with mixed hardwood and softwood. For more information on our ‘grey woods’ click here.
~
Our house seemed big when we built it 40 years ago. Today it is considered modest with two floors, three bedrooms and a loft. As I grow older, arthritis means I hang out mostly on the main floor. But upstairs, the loft stores my genealogy interests and the library holds all my books. On the main floor is my computer, my bird watching corner, my sewing basket and my drawing and painting supplies. Often, my husband is there too. So you see, I have most of what it takes to make me happy.
~
My space is more and more often in cyberspace. These days my family and friends are mostly there, on Facebook and Messenger. Just today I had my first meeting on Zoom.
~
I spend about half of my day on the computer, in one phase or other of one of my writing projects. Last week our wifi went down for four days. Usually, I refer to the on-line dictionary or thesaurus about once every fifteen minutes. With the wifi down, I wondered for a moment what to do and then thought, “Thesaurus. Dictionary.” A little dusty but serviceable.
~
So what is not part of my niche?
Music. I have a piano which I can play. And a guitar. And I have a stack of discs and a way to play them. I also have a small selection of my favourite music in my iPad. I tell myself it would be good to include more music in my life, in my ‘niche.’ So far it is only a thought.
Exercise. I will start by saying I do about 30 minutes of yoga-like stretches every morning. Otherwise I would not be able to get out of bed. If you follow my blog you know I am also dedicated to my stationary cycle but, since the first of the year, it aggravates my knees and I have not been doing this with any regularity. I have plans to reincorporate exercise into my niche, but so far, it is also a thought.
~
~
Of course, the world is full of possibilities and I have many gaps in my space/niche. I have interests in coins, stamps, games, puzzles, calligraphy and so on. I have no interest in flying kites, cooking, speaking another language or clock-making. But perhaps, someday, one of these may insinuate itself into my niche. So much to include, so little time!
~
So, what is in your space? Your niche? What is not in your space/niche?
~
All my best,
staying at home, wearing my mask in public,
Jane
next book in the Meniscus Series: the illustrations
For the last two days, I have been in a drawing mood. Not many authors illustrate their books (not including those who work on graphic novels), but I love this part of the process.
~
~
I have had lots of discussions with readers about the right and wrong of illustrating. Some think it takes away from the reader’s wonderful ability to imagine characters and scenes. Others think the illustrations take a reader deeper into the author’s intentions. As an author, I think drawings help get my ideas across. Since my books are told as narrative poetry, my words tend to be vary spare and I think of the drawings as extensions of the narrative.
~
I include two types of drawings in my books: portraits of the characters and sketches of the action.
~
The portraits are useful to me as a writer. They help fix the character’s face so the image does not migrate from book to book. I am really proud of the portraits and looking at them inspires my writing.
~
~
I am also proud of some of my drawings of scenes from my books. When the drawing is close to the idea I want to portray, sometimes it suggests new details in the text. Some drawings are not so good but I rarely re-draw. Instead, I think of these as representative of the weirdness of planet Meniscus. It reminds me of a line from my favorite TV show Lost. Daniel Faraday, on his first visit to the island says,
The light… it’s strange out here, isn’t it? It’s kind of like, it doesn’t, it doesn’t scatter quite right.”
On Meniscus, the pencil doesn’t behave quite right.
~
~
In every book, there are 23 +/- 4 drawings. Some are portraits or repeats of earlier scenes. Today, I did two drawings, both unique to Meniscus: The Knife.
~
All my best,
staying home
and staying in my two-family bubble,
Jane
blue shadows
~
blue shadows
~
crawl across the snow
reflect trunks and branches
tufts of lichen
curves of bracket fungi
curls of bark
~
blue shadows
nuanced in ultramarine
and pthalo
a dab of violet
but never grey
~
sinuous, diagonal
gaps of light
slow alteration
with angle of sun
no flicker of foliage
~
~
~
All my best,
Jane
Watercolour lessons #3
If you are staying at home more than usual in the coming weeks, I hope you have an interest to pursue, one to relax and involve you.
~
I have been taking watercolour painting lessons. As part of our recent practice of self-isolation, the lessons themselves have been postponed. But, with what I have learned, I can practice and enjoy what I find very relaxing. There is something calming about watching the colour flow from the brush to the paper, especially when using the wet on wet technique (paper is wetted prior to adding colour).
~
This afternoon I painted two studies of the Teton mountains which we visited in 2001 (totally from memory). I thought the first painting could use improvement, especially with respect to the trees on the right side and the water in the lower half of the painting. Actually, I don’t think painting 2 is an improvement. Copying watercolour is more difficult since the paint has a mind of its own. Also, the second painting lacks the spontaneity of the first.
~
~
~
As a result of this post, I give you two possible activities to help you during isolation:
1. have a look at the two and tell me which you think is best and in what respects.
2. pick up the tools for an activity you love and spend some time doing.
~
We are a social species. Although social-distancing and self-isolation are different for us, we are also a thinking species. We can understand that success against the coronavirus requires a community response. I have faith that we will soon be able to return to our normal activities.
~
All my best,
Jane
nichepoetryandprose 