Monday 08.03.10 I woke up this morning to snow! There had been a few flurries last night but I never expected it to come to anything, but this morning everything was covered by a 2 cm white blanket which lasted until about noon. This afternoon I was at my engraving class and started work on an aquatint of Clive Minto. It went well.
Journal
Winter Landscape
Monday 01. 03. 10 I have been back at the Winter Landscape again today and have also started working on a monoprint of a van in a vineyard. Perhaps the first in a series?
Georgev2
Wednesday 10. 02. 10 Yesterday had a great book club meeting with a lively discussion of Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, an excellent read. Also yesterday The Rider by Tim Krabbé arrived from Amazon which I read overnight – 150 pages about a bike race around Mont Aigoual just north of Montpellier. Great read. Today spent the morning at the market and had coffee with Laurene and George at Les Negociants. This afternoon have been back at George, the painting, adding more to the woods and starting on the foreground bed of leaves.
Sunday drive
Sunday 07. 02. 10 After lunch with Gisèle and Jonathan we drove up to the Buddhist temple on the Larzac plateau just above Lodève. It was a lovely sunny afternoon but windy and much cooler on the plateau. The temple is one of the largest in France and was opened in 1992. It is open for visitors only on Sunday afternoons and we were shown around by a woman originally from Montreal. It has extensive grounds with a lake and small cabins for monks or for people attending retreats. I found the temple decoration quite garish but was assured that they were authentic Tibetan. I was surprised how unspiritual the space seemed – I guess I was looking for an atmosphere often found in old churches or monasteries in the Christian tradition and I was quite disappointed in the lack of a sense of peace and tranquillity. Afterwards we went back to the real world and stopped in Caylar for a coffee where Jonathan managed to catch part of the France/Scotland rugby match.
Winter landscape
Saturday 06. 02. 10 This is the drawing on a yellow ground for the winter landscape near Plaissan. I am hoping this colour will work with the more acidic colours at this time of the year.
January Lunch
Monday 25. 01. 10 Yesterday went to lunch at Gisèle and Jonathan’s house. It was a dull, grey, rainy day but the gloom was soon dispelled when I went inside and was greeted by a warm, crackling log fire. We had a very convivial lunch with much laughter aided by the ice wine I had brought from Canada. Above is a photo of the previous lunch I had had chez Gisèle and Jonathan at the end of November with Arlette and Monique. Arlette took the photo.
New Landscape
Monday 18. 01. 10 Finally finished this big landscape 100 cm x 80 cm which I started last Fall and I’m quite pleased with it. Now off to my etching class to continue the etchings for The Ride series. Yes it is real grass>
Canadian Winter
Wednesday 23. 12. 09 I have been back in Toronto nearly two weeks now. It has been cold but no snow yet. Drove up to Merrickville to see Martin and Beryl last week for a couple of days and it was seriously cold there -29 degrees! However it was sunny and there was snow on the ground which made a huge difference. Have been involved in the usual social rounds seeing family and friends, the dentist and the bank. Looking forward to Christmas but it may not be a white one this year.
December
Tuesday 08. 12. 09 It has been a busy week getting ready to leave for Toronto. I’m still working on my large landscape and have been also working on a big drawing of Liverpool Street station. Went to my etching class last friday instead of this monday as I had a book club meeting yesterday. A very festive meeting complete with mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas cake. Today I was in Montpellier finishng up some Christmas shopping and I also dropped in on Claire. It was a beautiful sunny day and above is a photo I took of Claire between her orange tree and her lemon tree. Not bad for December!
London
Sunday 15. 11. 09 Got back yesterday from a wonderful week in London. I arrived there last Saturday and met Julia who flew in from Toronto. We did a lot of walking, a lot of talking and we went to a lot of galleries. Highlights for me were the Sophie Calle show at the Whitechapel and the Kiefer show at the White Cube but we also went to both Tates, the National, the Courtauld, the Wallace Collection, the British Library and the Sir John Soane Museum. We walked all over the place but also spent time at the front of buses on the top deck. London as usual was busy and bustling with the Christmas lights up on Oxford and Regent streets. I also managed to see Monica, Polly and Lawrence and Diane. I have taken some photos of several of the larger London rail stations and hope to do a series of drawings based on them.