Journal

JournalTravel

Toronto

Posted on

01. 07. 09 Wednesday Canada Day Had a great time in TO visiting family and friends. Also managed to take in some movies. Empties was a very good Czech movie, Angels and Demons was awful and Easy Virtue wasn’t too bad. I also finally managed to get rid of the storage unit which is a great relief. Thanks to Carole, Julia and Jason I didn’t have to get rid of all my treasures and thanks to the Sally Ann for taking the rest. The journey back here was long. The plane left TO four hours late which meant we missed our connection in Paris and spent most of the day at CDG trying to doze in uncomfortable chairs! However we finally made it to Montpellier and picked up our brand new Kangoo. Today we did the market and then Daisy and I drove around lac du Salagou and went for a swim. Tomorrow the beach!!!

JournalTravel

Paradise NS

Posted on


Tuesday 16. 06. 09 Got back yesterday from a visit to the Annapolis valley. I arrived last Thursday on the afternoon flight and was picked up by Graham and his sister-in-law Martha. I had flown by Porter airlines for the first time and was quite impressed – flew from the Island airport (always a plus) and found it quite a civilized way to travel, free, good coffee and cookies in the waiting lounge and leather seats with lots of room on the plane. We drove straight down the valley and found Rob’s house without a problem. Unfortunately Graham and Martha had to turn around immediately and head back but we managed to chat en route. Rob was in fine form as were his other house guests Mike and Fiona from California (Mike was attending a conference at Wolfville). Friday we drove out to the coast for lunch of lobster and then returned for Mike to give an informal lecture in the afternoon and then beers at the pub afterwards. We also managed to stop by at the studio of Bob Hainstock. Saturday Rob and I went to the market in Annapolis and then Hampton Beach and on Sunday we went to Grand Pré which was very interesting and had an excellent introductory movie. Flew back here Monday afternoon.

JournalTravel

Bayonne

Posted on

Monday 01. 06. 09 Just got back from my weekend in the Pays Basque. Claire picked me up on Friday morning and we drove over to Bayonne via Toulouse, Tarbes, Pau etc. Beautiful warm sunny day, stopped at the Aire de Tour de France between Tarbes and Pau for lunch and arrived chez Michele at around 3. I stayed with Michele and Claire went on to stay with her friend Claire. Saturday we all went for a walk along the cliffs and then in the afternoon Jean-Loup and Eliane came over for a drink. In the evening we went out to a wonderful seafood restaurant right on the beach. Sunday we discovered that it was “Open Door” weekend so Michel and I went for a tour of the Citadel in Bayonne which was built by Vauban and is still a garrison for the paratroopers. In the afternoon we went to Izadia Park, an ecological park at the mouth of the Adour . A beautiful, very peaceful and zen-like park. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around there before coming back for dinner. This morning Claire picked me up chez Michele and we drove back here. Besides the fish on Saturday night we ate rabbit on Saturday and lamb on Sunday chez Michele. Delicious!

Journal

Bike Ride

Posted on


Tuesday 19. 05. 09 Today was the first bike (rather than scooter) ride of the summer. I rode for about two hours out to Salasc and back. I rode out on the road and then came back cross country on the VTT paths. Off-roading looks easy but it is not, altho I didn’t come off, I will need to improve my braking and balancing skills. However, the exercise was good but I’m already feeling stiff. Hopefully it will be easier next time.

JournalJournalLondonShowsTravel

London

Posted on


Tuesday 19. 05. 09 Just got back from my trip to London. I stayed at the Europa Hotel in Paddington which was, central, clean and cheap with a serious full English breakfast. Met various friends and caught up and also did some serious gallery hopping. Henry VIII at the British Library, Picasso at the National, Constable and Richter at the NPG, Sickert at Dulwich, Rothko and Turner at Tate Britain, Messager at the Hayward and a few others. Also have set up an expo for November/December 2010 at the Naval and Military Club in St James’s Square. It was a great trip and I now have had my big city fix for a while. Lots of ideas which hopefully will percolate onto paintings. Photograph is Rotten Row Hyde Park.

JournalPainting

Before London

Posted on

Tuesday 19. 05. 09 These are a couple of small paintings that I did just before I went off to London. The interior is my living room here and the exterior is of the Paul Valery gallery in Sete.

JournalJournalPainting

Bank Holidays

Posted on


Sunday 10. 05. 09 This is the month of public holidays in France, I believe that there are four in May and we have already had two. Had a very civilized lunch last Sunday at Gisele and Jonathan’s. It was a warm, sunny day so enjoyed a leisurely lunch with lively conversation and finally got home around 6. Monday evening saw flinty, squinty Clint in Gran Torino here in Clermont. A predictable tale well crafted. Wednesday made it to the beach for the first time this season – 28 degrees. Not too crowded but already the camping cars were there. Wore shorts for the first time this year. Thursday afternoon went to my first ever book club meeting. The book was The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany which is a great read. Enjoyed the club – good articulate people with diverse opinions. Yet another vernissage Thursday evening at the ANPQ gallery. This week I have done another triptych monoprint of Moureze and have began painting over the previous one in oils. Not sure if this is going to work but will continue with it. Finished Green Landscape and another small landscape that I painted near Pinet en route to the beach. Also done a couple of non landscapes just to have a break.

JournalPainting

Multi prints

Posted on


Tuesday 28. 04. 09 This last week have been busy with various projects. Drawn in the basics for another landscape which may be in the textured landscapes series I don’t know yet. Have also been working on a new series of monoprints which are a combination of more than one plate. I like the idea of making a different size of mark and a more gestural mark. I worked on 3 plates put together, each plate being 35 cm x 50 cm so the whole thing measures a bit more that 1 metre across. it is a bit of a performance to print it because you have to make sure that each sheet has all the same degree of dampness and that you apply roughly the same amount of pressure to each plate. However I think it worked out quite well. I now want to try another one which is 6 plates so that the final piece will be about 1 metre square. I have been thinking a lot about combining words and images and have been looking at some of Robert Rauschenberg’s prints. Friday I went to a vernissage of an expo of artist’s books at Octon. Inspiring. Started me thinking about initial letters and illuminated manuscripts as a way of combining words and pictures. Also reminded me how much I like handmade books. Thinking about an accordion book of the ride on the D908 from Moureze to Clermont. Went into Montpellier yesterday to see Claire, bright sunny day but windy on the drive back. Just got back from a Kazakhstani movie called Tulpan. Life is hard on the steppes.

JournalJournalPainting

Maryann’s Visit

Posted on

Saturday 18. 04. 09 Maryann came down last Monday from Nice with her husband Greg. Greg went back on Tuesday morning but Maryann stayed until this morning. We managed to jam a lot of things into four days. Besides visiting Villeneuvette and Pezenas, we went to life drawing classes in Octon and last night had a wonderful dinner at George and Laurene’s.Maryann never stopped drawing from the moment she arrived: the gate at Villeneuvette, the market at Clermont and the square at Pezenas, all documented. Yesterday while walking through the Cimetière Marin in Sete we discovered a book on one of the graves. It had been turned in to a piece of sculpture and was in English. Very bizarre. This morning I realised the bus schedule had changed so I had to hastily drive Maryann to the airport on the scooter with her suitcase between my knees. Not to be recommended!!!

JournalJournalPainting

New Directions

Posted on

Sunday 10. 04. 09 Finally finished Lac du Salgou and have been trying various new methods of working to try and loosen up. Octon is a small 12″ x 12″ on board where I drew the image in oil stick, washed the whole board in linseed oil and then painted into the wet oil. I have also been working on adding colour to my black and white monoprints. I have just varnished the print and am waiting for it to dry before adding colour in thin loose oil glazes. Seeing the work of John White last week at the Peret vernissage, I have again been thinking about how to add text to pictures, something I have been interested in for a long time. I have discovered a local writer, Max Rouquette, who has written prose, poetry, plays and music about the Hérault. He wrote in Occitan and seems to really capture the sense and smell and feel of this particular landscape. I went to the libray, here which is named after him, and borrowed an anthology of his work in Occitan but also in French. Now all I have to do is figure out how to make this work with my paintings and prints! Yesterday went to another vernissage this time at the Prieuré St Martial. This is a cluster of Gites which hosts an exhibition once a year I think. Each artist has his or her own Gite in which to show their work. Interesting international collection of painters, sculptors and photographers all living and working in the Hérault.