Faces and a Few Fiddles

It's been almost a year since my last post to this blog.  High time I showed my work as our old math prof used to say.  I've been sketching and painting almost every day for anywhere from two to six hours, so you'd think there'd be a lot to show.  Well, not every piece is a masterpiece, but here are a few that will show you a bit of what I've been enjoying my time doing.  I hope you enjoy looking at them.

TM and Daughter in Paris.
TM is a nurse working with my wife.  Last year she and her daughter spent March Break in Paris.  Here they are up the Eifel Tower with the Trocadero behind them.  Weren't they lucky?















MEG with Chicken Little We're missing my mother-in-law MEG who passed away just at the time of my last posting to this blog.  She lived on her farm in Cape Breton.  Here she was with a little friend who came in from the barnyard for a visit.



MEM With Eyestone-    MEM was named for her grandmother MEG.
One of her cousins is an artist and MEM found this painted beach stone outside of her studio last winter.












Park and Ride Ave.  This three paintings are about bicycling here in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  Park Ave, is lined with cherry trees which are gorgeous in the spring.

Power Shift- The three striped smokestacks are a well known landmark here in Dartmouth.  This little painting is about shifting priorities and our ways of thinking.


Happy and Gloria's-  Gloria is our well-known local member of city council.  She's a big booster of Dartmouth in our regional government so I gave her the Dartmouth Ferry for her bike helmet.











Vera after Varley-  At a portrait workshop recently we were offered famous portraits to copy.  Here's my copy of Fred Varley's 1931 portrait of his student, Vera Weatherbie.  I've admired this work for years and was happy to have an excuse to paint a copy.  You can find the original in the National Gallery of Canada. Check out their website or just Google Vera Varley Image and see if I got anything near his wonderful work.  I must admit, copying a masterwork taught me more than I expected.


Ceitidh is Mobile- A local gallery celebrated its sixteenth anniversary this year.  Artists were invited to help a fundraiser by creating and donating a painting on the theme "Sixteen".  One of our neighbours turned sixteen in the spring, so I figured a driver's license might be in her future..  Those are her shorts alright, but she tells me she can't find them now.  Too much trading outfits with her friends!




H Channels Henderson- HA is a professor of Choral Conducting at a large university in what we still call Upper Canada.  She came back to her native Nova Scotia last summer to conduct our NS Choral Federation Choir Camp.  She chose, among others, a beautiful piece by Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson.  It was a hot week down in the Annapolis Valley and I tried to show that warmth in this watercolour.

  LEM Sketch-  Here's a sketch of my brother from a snap taken at our sister's birthday last summer.  This is the only sketch in this post, but I'm still trying to do a few portrait sketches every day.  A local artist one time told me "Drawing is the grammar of art."  So, I try to keep working on that basic skill.













JM At the Birthday Party-  Our cousin, JM, was also at the birthday party.  Oops, I guess this another sketch after all.  It's in charcoal with some pastel highlights to give it that party atmosphere.















BM at Irene's- BM is as close as any member of our family and she also popped into the party at Irene's pub in Ottawa.














Hintonburg Park-  While in Ottawa I received a commission to do two paintings in the neighbourhood of Hintonburg.  Although most of the locals call it by its more prosaic name: Mechanicsville, named for the workers at the nearby railway roundhouse, now long gone.  If you know Ottawa, that's St Francis of Asissi church on Wellington St.




Carruthers Avenue- Here's the second painting form that commission in Mechanicsville/Hintonburg.  It's the front porch of ZL the lady who commission the works so I worked her initials into the wrought iron frame.


The Great Escape-  A lot of my artist friends love painting florals, but I'm rarely moved to follow their lead.  But this plant (can't remember the name) escaped from the beautiful garden of one of our neighbours and popped up through the concrete right in the middle of their laneway.  They let it grow all summer and only the first snows did it in.

Ice Cream Sunday-  A quick acrylic on paper of AML and friends at the Broad Cove Concert in Cape Breton.  He looks relaxed but he was in the middle of reading something over a hundred novels as he was a judge for the Giller Prize in Canadian literature this year.  It's the 60th Broad Cove Concert this year.  Last Sunday in July.  Be there or or miss a great time.

New Zealand Farmer- This commission is going to this farmer on North Island, New Zealand.  He adopts rescue dogs and trains them to be sheepdogs.  

TMN and MMN in Big Beach-  A mom and daughter pair in Cape Breton.  They also double as local school principal and diligent high school student.  ;-)

True Primary Love-  Our Dartmouth Visual Arts Society challenged us to do a painting featuring the primary colours- red, blue and yellow.  So I gave the Dartmouth, Nova Scotian and Canadian flags to these kite surfers at West Lawrencetown Beach near Dartmouth.

KML at the Broad Cove Concert-   KML Lives in Windsor, Ontario.  But his family's roots are in Cape Breton and every year he joins them at their home in Dunvegan and we get to hear his great fiddling at the Broad Cove Concert.  

This Oughta Be Good-  Usually I don't name my subjects, but most of my followers will recognize Ashley MacIsaac and Gillian Boucher getting ready to play at the Broad Cove Concert last year.  The sound man is another talented Cape Breton musician- Neil MacQuarrie.  Yes, I know- it's another sketch with a watercolour wash.  But, did I mention... this summer will be the 60th Broad Cove Concert.  Last Sunday in July.  Broad Cove, Inverness County, Cape Breton.






























AK at Storas a' Bhaile-  Every year the Clachan Gaidhealach (Highland Village) in Iona, Cape Breton host a week of Gaelic tradition sharing.  AK has been a student of mine on a few courses and she's a dab hand at the strathspeys and reels.

So, that's a sampling of my artwork over the last year.  I hope you enjoyed it.  If so, drop a line.  I'm always glad to hear from you.  'Bye for now, -Joe

What Winter Wrought

Despite the four feet (130 cm) of snow in our backyard, the calendar says it's Spring.  So here are a few pieces of art that I turned out over the winter.

There's My Shadow

After our first few snowfalls we were still all "Isn't it pretty!"  This is Hester Street here in Dartmouth.  The landmark smokestacks of the Tuft's Cove Generating station are way back near the horizon.  10"X8" Acrylics on Canvas

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More Coming

The first week of February means the sun is still low.  This picture looking down Mott Street and across Halifax Harbour was at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.  8"X10" Acrylics on canvas.

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St. George's Lane

Orange is the trademark colour of the New Democratic Party and the people living in this house at Portland Street and St George's Lane in Dartmouth wanted everyone to know who they support.  Search You-tube for Matt Mays' song "She Grew up on St George's Lane".  This same street.  8"X10" Acrylics on Colour

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Waterfront Walkers

A few of the many tourists and locals who love to walk along the beautiful boardwalks on the Halifax waterfront.  A summertime view.  10"X12" Graphite on sketch paper

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HCL - Lemonade Vendor

It wouldn't be a posting without an image of HCL.  This was last June and she was in business with her brother running a lemonade stand on the sidewalk in front of their house.  This overhead angle makes for a real distortion of the subject's height.  8"X10" Graphite with a watercolour wash on sketch paper.

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Fossil Finder

Another image from the same overhead angle which really foreshortens the subject's height.  CIM and I were up in Joggins on the Bay of Fundy in northern Nova Scotia.  It's a UNESCO World Heritage site because of the amazing fossils which come out of the cliffs when they're washed with the world's highest tides.  20"X24" Acrylic on masonite

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Altos and Sopranos

The sopranos always get top billing!  Not this time.  Some singers at the Nova Scotia Choral Federation's Adult Choir Camp in Berwick.  A great summer summer tradition for singers from all over North America.  Check out their website.  11"X14" Graphite on sketch paper.

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O at Indy

Little two-year-old O had his scooter on proud display at last year's street party on our street.  I thought he'd look pretty snappy at the finish line of the Indy 500.  20"X24" Acrylics on Masonite

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JB at Masada

JB was visiting at my mother-in-law's home in Broad Cove, Cape Breton.  It's 500 feet up the side of a mountain, so my brother-in-law calls it Masada after the clifftop fortress in ancient Israel.  7"X5" Acrylic on canvas

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Veggie Vendor

This young woman runs a vegetable and tea stall during the summer at the Dartmouth Waterfront Farmers' Market.  7"X5" Pastel on sketch paper

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Precious Cargo

OK, here's an "agist guess".  I'm figuring this gentleman, also at the Farmers' Market, was carrying his grandson.  For sure,  he wasn't about to let him get away.  7"X5" Pastel on sketch paper 

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That's it for this time.  I hope Spring really arrives soon, but they're calling for more snow the day after tomorrow.  But we're tough here in Nova Scotia!

"You there, boy, what day is it?"

Yes, it's Christmas eve.  A good time to wish Christmas blessings for all of you and to update my art blog.

It's a misty, mild, maritime day here in Nova Scotia and not promising any of the white stuff. That makes for easier travel, but lacks a bit of the visuals which inspired Irving Berlin.

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Fishermen's Preserve- This little huddle of fishermen's huts is on what was once a small island (now connected by a causeway) on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia.  It's right beside the descriptively-named Three Fathom Harbour.  Watercolour on 200 lb. paper

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A Kat Can Look at a King-  or so says an old Gaelic proverb.  Something to do with independence of spirit and self worth.  A good line for KR, shown here talking with Prince Charles at a milling frolic in Pictou.  Charcoal on sketch paper

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Self Portrait at Pictou-  We almost perished with the cold at that milling frolic in Pictou.  Just as  I dragged my hypothermic remains out onto the street, my wife snapped a pitiful pic of me.  Herewith, the results.  Pastel on sketch paper.

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Super Buds-  My dear friend OPL and his bud R in our kitchen on Hallowe'en.  I loved the 150 Watt smile on OPL as he basked in presenting his chum to us, where he has often been since he was carried in as a babe in arms.  Charcoal on sketch paper

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Missing Those Days-  The Black Market is an interesting little shop in Halifax.   The owner sources all sorts of clothing, jewelry and nick-knacks from small, independent and fair trade craftspeople in the third world.  The young woman passing by seemed to be wistfully observing the mother and daughter who were browsing on the sidewalk.  Acrylics on canvas

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Street Beat- A couple of blocks away, the same afternoon, this young man had set up his drums outside of a shoe store and was busking away.  Something about the couple walking toward him told me that they must have strolled off one of the cruise ships tied up in the harbour.  I thought I was being so original showing the scene reflected in the window until I noticed that every second artist since the renaissance had stolen my idea!  Acrylics on canvas

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Peggy's Conservatory-  The Maritime Conservatory of the Performing Arts is a 100+ year-old institution in the heart of Halifax on a rather un-Maritime looking streetscape.  I relocated the Conservatory to scenic Peggy's Cove and put together this image.  Acrylics on gallery canvas, left side shown

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UBC, Kispiak Campus-  An image based on one of Emily Carr's paintings of the Haida indian village at Kispiak BC with the addition of a few landmarks from the UBC campus and some famous composers.  Acrylics on gallery canvas, right side shown

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Portland Street, Dartmouth-  The first of these two images was in my last post, but I wasn't happy with it, so I roughened up the front of the buildings in the sunshine to give them a bit more texture. Acrylics on canvas 

The second is at the end of the street which runs down to the harbour.  I wanted to catch the ferry leaving for Halifax and the Christmas wreaths on the lamp poles.  Just then a car serendipitously passed by, and two Christmas trees on its roof.  What luck!  Acrylics on canvas

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Christmas Gifts-  Christmas often brings commissions of portraits for gifts.  Here are two.

BML in Glasgow-  BML and his wife celebrated the freedom of their retirement by spending  a year painting and studying in Scotland.  She's a talented artist herself, so I was flattered when she asked me to paint him.  It's not so dark down in the lower right corner.  Something funny happened to this JPEG.  Oils on canvas

Summer Reunion-  These children are all grandchildren of JR.  They were at a family reunion last summer, so their auntie commissioned this group portrait.  I wish I could show the many photos they took of the kids squirming about to get something useful for a painting.  Watercolours on 300 lb. paper

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I hope you enjoyed this latest post to my art blog and that the new year brings health and other good things to all of you.  Thanks for all of your comments and encouragement over the past year.  -Joe

More Faces of Nova Scotia

Putting together this post, I noticed that I've been doing mostly portraits and figure drawings over the summer and fall.  So, yesterday I started a watercolour of small fishing village near here which will have to wait until next time.  So here are few of the faces of summer in Nova Scotia.

JE at our Canada Day Street Party.  For the last few years, the neighbours on our street have been hosting a summer street party.  All the usual stuff- free barbecues, a concert by any of the neighbours keen to get up and perform and lots of getting caught up.  Here's JE waiting to hear her daughter to sing.  Oils on canvas.

MJ waiting for the BBQ-  Another street party portrait and the ubiquitous bag chair.  Young MJ waiting for the BBQ to get going with all the patience a kid can muster.  Oils on canvas.

The Stars Are Out-  My huge staff of marketing advisors have been saying "Joe, do a few sketches of people everyone knows, so your followers can see how you're doing at getting a recognizable likeness."  Well, I'm kinda an anti-hero worship guy, but here are a charcoal and graphite sketch each of a couple of 1960s movie stars.

So-So Sophia-  OK lets see if you identify this first one.  No her head wasn't that small, but I thought it looked better as a vignette.  Graphite on sketch paper.

Audrey Speaks Out-  A little charcoal I did for BT to answer a question as to "who sings what" in the film version of My Fair Lady.  Charcoal on Paper.

What Unites Us-  The Farmers' Market here in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is a wonderful event every Saturday morning down at the ferry terminal.  There are always live entertainment, a big crowd milling through checking out crafts, art and of course, wonderful fresh baking, produce, meats and seafood.  During the summer months a few of the vendors set up outdoors.  I climbed up a stair to get a view of them, then did a small (4"X6") study, and later a final, brighter (11"X14").
Acrylic on canvas

J Brightens the Day- Anyday.  My sister's grandson is the apple of the eye of his entire supporting cast of mom, dad, and a gaggle of grannies.  Pastel on sketch paper

Set 'er up.  Four couples to a set.  A set of Irish dancers, about to perform at our annual multi-cultural festival, run through their steps under the eye of their teacher, EM.  Only three couples in view in this pic.  Acrylics on canvas.

First Day of School-  My little model HCL started school this fall (sniff, sniff).  Here she is on her front step with big brother, OPL, waiting for the school bus.  He had a Captain America cap which did not get past my filter, so I inserted their dad EJL and his trombone.  Charcoal on paper.

de Profundis-  An early morning view of a downtown street (Portland St.) near the harbour here in Dartmouth.  Some of those out and about included a couple of re-cyclers heading off to cash in their night's finds.  Painted this month from a picture taken a few years ago.  It's been gentrified a bit since then with art galleries, gift shops and high end cafes.  Acrylic on canvas.

JMN-  The Mackeral Man-  A generous neighbour of my in-laws is JMN.  Descended from the MacNeils of Barra, he's a fisherman and often pops by with a bucket of mackerel to share.  Charcoal on sketch paper

Home for a visit-  DeeDee grew up on our street and was home with her young son, JTS, to visit her family while dad was off at Donut University.  Only in Canada you say? Watercolour on 300 lb paper

So What Else is New?  Here are a couple of other projects which have been on my easel over the summer.

Soprano and Tenor Tune Up-  A couple of members of our church choir tied the knot this summer.  I designed a front and back cover for their wedding program.  It's based on views of our St Peter Church beside Sullivan's Pond in Dartmouth and a part of the Pentecost stained-glass window which overlooks the choir section of the church.  They're a family of six, hence the number of ducks and the tongues of fire.  Watercolour on 200lb paper

 

A New School Year,  A New School-   My daughter started a new teaching assignment this September, calling for a new sign for her classroom door showing "the cloud factory" next door which dominates the skyline from the schoolyard by the harbour.

So that's a bit of what's been keeping me busy over this summer and fall.   I hope you enjoyed these samples.  I'll say again that I always enjoy getting your feedback through the comments option.  Bye for now,  - Joe