Peter Maher – Page 117

Journal

Christmas Presents

Posted on November 30, 2009

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Friday 27. 11. 09 Why not buy someone a painting for a Christmas present? Above are several small paintings for sale. All the 8″ x 10″ paintings are oil on board and are framed (see pic above for style of frame). The larger ones in various sizes are all oil on canvas unframed. Click on the painting for size, medium and price. If ordered before 10 December I can bring them with me to Toronto where they can be picked up or I can send them on from there by post. I wish you all a merry Christmas and thank you for your support.

Journal London Travel

London

Posted on November 15, 2009

London Lights

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.

Journal

Céret

Posted on November 1, 2009

Sunday 01. 11. 09 Have had a good week this week. I have made progress with working with the soft ground for my etchings, finished a small painting based on The Ride series and have started a large painting of vineyards. On Thursday went to Céret with George and Laurene to see the exhibition there. A good show of 100 years of landscape painting in and around Céret which is an attractive village near Perpignan. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a tasty meal outside in one of the many squares there.

Journal

Fall

Posted on October 27, 2009

Tuesday 27. 10. 09 Yet another productive week. Have done a small painting of my bike from a sketch I did for the Ride series. Have been working on a winter scene based on a photo of Daisy toboganning in the park and managed to find a couple of 100 x 80 cm canvasses in Mr Bricolage at a good price. Today, in my engraving class, worked on more tests with soft grounds and Joan has ordered some new etching grounds from Lascaux which should arrive by next week. Thursday hoping to go to Céret to see exhibition of landscape paintings from 1909 – 2009. Vines are all out in their fall colours and weather is still warm. Ate lunch outside today chez Giséle.

Journal Painting Shows

Drawings

Posted on October 19, 2009

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Monday 19. 10 .09 It has been another busy week. I have finished the drawings for my etching series based on my morning ride and now just have to do the etchings! I have also started a couple of new paintings. I went to see a show of paintings by Zoe Benbow at the ANPQ gallery here at Peret which I liked a lot. She is an English painter who has a studios in East London and also up in the Tarn – she paints abstracted landscapes. It is starting to cool off here now and is draughty in the mornings and the evenings, however it is still warm at midi. Had a very relaxed lunch yesterday with Giséle and Jonathan at their house in Ceyras.

Journal Painting Shows

Back to work

Posted on October 14, 2009

Wednesday 14. 10. 09. This has been a good week. After my week at St Mathieu I have been very busy in the studio. I have started a couple of medium sized canvasses and have been working on a series of drawings of my morning ride which will form the basis of a new series of etchings using soft grounds and soft resists. This is a new process for me and is supposed to give soft pencil like marks.We shall see. I was in Montpellier on the weekend and I saw an interesting show by Ionas. He is a painter from St André de Sangonis (next to Clermont) and his show was in this wonderful slightly run down Chateau des Evéques set in a park in Lavérune. Above, a small painting that I did when painting en plein air with George before I went to St Mathieu.

Journal Shows Travel

Les Vendémiaires

Posted on October 5, 2009

Monday 05. 10. 09 I got back last night from my week at St Mathieu de Treviers. What a great week. It was wonderful to meet and mix with the other artists and I have come away with a lot of new ideas and techniques. I’m not sure if this kind of thing is peculiar to France but it is certainly a pity as it is certainly a great experience. I was one of 5 artists, all French. Anne Lacour, Maryse Duponchel, Cornelia Marin and Pascal Myrahong. Pascal was the youngest and I think that Maryse was a bit older than me. Cornelia was originally from Rumania and Anne was from Paris. Each day we had visits from the local school children aged between 5 and 10 and we talked about our work. Tuesday we all had to present ourselves to the association and discuss our work. Wednesday we all (artists and members of the association) went to Sète for the day and visited galleries and the Musée de Paul Valèry there. Lunches and dinners were provided everyday and we either ate out at restaurants or at the Maison d’Emma which is where I was artist in residence in February 2008. The grand finale was a lunch yesterday of mussels in a pastis and curry sauce and roast lamb done on a spit. I didn’t sell anything but I was approached by the patron of one of the large brasseries in Montpellier about an exhibition at his brasserie. All in all a fantastic week.

Painting

Getting ready

Posted on September 21, 2009

Monday 21. 09. 09 I have been thinking a lot about the workshop that I am attending next week at St Mathieu. I’m not sure exactly what is expected of me but perhaps that is a good thing. I have been searching for some frames to frame a few monoprints and also a hanging kit for the canvasses – I don’t think they would be happy with just a nail in the wall as per chez moi! I think I have located some cheap frames at Ikea and this morning I found hooks and wire at Mr Bricolage. I have rephotographed the morning ride using a gorilla pod which allowed me to fix my camera to my handlebars and I have finally (I think) finished a painting of Moureze.

Journal

Fire!

Posted on September 14, 2009

Monday 14 .09 09 It has been a busy week. I was house sitting George and Laurene’s house from last Saturday until last Thursday when Jon and Barbara arrived here. The house sitting worked out well and it was quite a change living on top of the hill above Clermont. I did a painting from inside their house looking out on to the terrace. Sunday there was a fire in the bush so I had the excitement of a fire engine in the driveway and water and foam being dumped on to the property by a small single engine plane!!! It slowed down after then altho I managed to get started on monoprints of friends. Friday I was back at my place and Jon and I drove around the lake on the scooter and then went swimming at Celles. Saturday we all went to the Lodeve market and then on to the Viaduct de Millau. Yesterday we went to the flea market in Marseillan and then lunch in Sete. Today Jon and Barbara are in Montpellier and I am trying out some new drawing techniques inspired by some sketches that Jon has done.

Journal Painting

La Rentrée

Posted on September 3, 2009

Wednesday 02. 09. 09 The summer has ended altho the weather is still pretty warm but school is back and I will be starting my French, engraving and life drawing classes next week. This has been a busy week so far and I have finally managed to get back to painting. I have been documenting my morning bike ride to Liausson and back and this week I have done a storyboard and some gouache sketches of various stages of the ride. I am hoping to do a set of 24 etchings based on the ride. I have also done a triptych monoprint of Moureze which I have hand coloured.