2022, January 26

It's only been four years since I posted anything to this blog, but I HAVE been sketching and painting throughout that time.  I hope you enjoy seeing some of these works from that time period.  It will take a few posts to give even a small sampling of the 270 images I've saved to my computer since then, never mind the majority which never go beyond the sketch books!

A Flicker of the Heart-  Two Common Flickers star in this Valentine gift for one of two sister students I was tutoring at the time.  Acrylic on canvas.

A Hearty Lunch-  A young Northern Cardinal and her mother share lunch.  A V-Day gift for the other sister.  Acrylic on canvas.

 

Islanders Meet Highlanders- This group of wedding partiers are from a Jamaican heritage and were at a wedding in the Cape Breton highlands in Nova Scotia.  Acrylic on canvas.

Fair Trade- A congratulatory card for a friend whose Song for the Mira won a folk music hall of fame accolade.  The chorous includes the line "I'll trade you ten of your cities for Marion Bridge and the pleasure it brings."  See if you can figure out the cities! 😉 Acrylic on paper.

Another wedding program cover.  You can see it took place in the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia.  The couple wanted wanted something reminiscent of the old Canadian Pacific Railway posters which I tried to parody.  The colourful logo at the bottom is my adaptation of the paintjob on the old CPR locomotives.  I sent them the original artwork which, at last report was hanging in their home in Karachi, Pakistan. Acrylic on birch panel,

No Goalie!  Sometimes, when a few kids get together for "street hockey", there's only enough for two on two.  A couple of lumps of snow or a pair of boots make goal posts and there's no goal tender, the "goalie".  This street, Merkel Place, is in the Hydrostone neighbourhood of Halifax, Canada's first planned community, built after the devastating explosion in the harbour on December 06, 1917.  A gift for some friends in Ireland who lived on that street one year while teaching at St Mary's University in the city.  Acrylic on birch panel, if I remember correctly.

Sketch of the painting above.  It's often helpful to do a small full colour sketch before tackling a painting.  Here's the one for "No Goalie"   Acrylic on paper.

The "Little Prince" Visits the Big Apple.  This little fellow was six and at the Lincoln Center in New York City to see his grandmother direct a choral production.  He wore a snappy blue suit, but he reminded me of Antoine de St. Exupéry's little hero so I gave him his outfit and name.  Acrylic on birch panel.

DR. A. Retires.  And here's the Little Prince's "Nana".  When she retired from the University of Toronto she had the honour of carrying the mace to Convocation Hall.  I couldn't let that go by without a fun sketch.  Acrylic on paper

Allo, Allo, Allo.  The Little Prince isn't always on his best behaviour.  Once, while suspended from "screen privileges", his auntie who was visiting from London, England, caught him sneaking a peek at his sister's iPad.  The auntie was given this cartoon to take back to Blighty.  acrylic on paper.

Jordan Bennett, the renowned and talented Mi'kmaw indigenous artist came to speak to our group of guides at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia one day.  I sketched him as he spoke and later gave this to the gallery's indigenous art coordinator for Christmas.  Ink on paer.

Seumas and Iain, two world-leading experts in the Gaelic culture of Nova Scotia, on two occasions participating in a milling frolic, fulling newly woven cloth while singing Gaelic work songs.  The watercolour was for Seumas and the acrylic on birch panel for Iain, the man with the long sideburns.

LW Portrait.  LW is a star collaborative pianist here in Nova Scotia.  I painted her portrait as a gift to her and a souvenir of Choir Camp in the Annapolis Valley.  As luck would have it, the background scene which I randomly created, reminded her of her home in Saskatchewan.  The hinges are from her church in Halifax.

OK, Just one more Hand.  A late night crowd at Choir Camp.  Inveterate bridge players.  One of them asked for the sketch and got it. 😀

CB Unites the Choristers.  CB, is a multi-Grammy award winning who shares so much talent when he has come to NS choir camp.  Some altos work with him in this scratchy sketch.

Yoga Starts the day at Choir Camp.  Every morning begins before breakfast with yoga outdoors, under the towering hemlocks at choir camp. Another quick sketch.

BP Rallies the Sopranos.  BP is a wonderful soprano and a respected section leader at choir camp.  Here she is helping rearrange the seating before afternoon rehearsal.  Acrylic on paper.

PF, Coffee is a priority.  This talented chorister and retired math professor, PF, showed up at a choir camp meeting armed with his coffee.  It's all about getting your priorities set out.  Acrylic on Paper.

Three Wheeler-  In normal years, summer brings the NS British Car Club show with neat, old rigs like this three wheeler.  Acrylic on paper.

Triumph TR-4  Another car spotted at the Nova Scotia British Car club show of 2017.  Acrylic on paper

Woman with Blonde hair-  I sometimes try to beat the clock while sketching.  You can see this sketch took ten minutes.  I can't remember who the woman was in the photo.

Louis Muhlstock-  Another ten-minute sketch.  It's safe to give this man's name as he is long gone, but was a famous artist and one of the Beaver Hall Group back in 1920s Montréal.  It's my quick version of a portrait of him as done by Lilias Torrance Newton, Canada's foremost portrait artist of the early 20th century and the first Canadian to be commissioned to paint a reigning monarch (QE II)  Her version is better!.  Acrylic on paper

L.A, Cape Breton Fiddler-  L.A. is a well-known fiddler and fiddle teacher, now living in Halifax.  I snapped a picture of her at a book launch by a piper friend and then sketched her as if standing near Cap Rouge on the famous Cabot Trail in Cape Breton.  She's from Sydney Mines, but "her people" were Acadians from that other side of the island near Chéticamp and Cap Rouge.  I gave it to her later a square dance where she was cracking out some great tunes, as always.  Charcoal on paper.

Fidel Castro- The late Cuban revolutionary and president-almost-for-life.  I gave this to a Cuban friend, but I don't know if he was a fan of Fidel or not.  Acrylic on paper.

Susan Turnbull Retires.  This nurse, ST, is a style-conscious woman who nursed with my wife at the Victoria General Hospital in Halifax, NS.  Can you spot the VGH logo?  ST's parents were deaf and she grew up speaking to them in sign language, so  I put her right hand in the American Sign Language symbol for "Bye-Bye."  Her age and retirement date are also hidden in the image.  Acrylic on paper.

Well, that's a few for now.  I'll get back at this a lot sooner that the four year gap since the last one.