I'm just putting this here so I can look at it myself 25 times or more.
May 2007 Archives
This image was in the folder where I keep nice internet finds, I don't remember where I got this one. I've got the nasty habit of seeing all the art I encounter in relation to my own petty life, gets me into trouble sometimes, but I mean well. Let's exaggerate. Uncle Pablo drew this comic about Eliane's day, May 30, 2007.
1. (top left) Orbit is feeling sick today, he lies on the floor like a wet door mat. I know it's a horse in the image, but Picasso may have meant to draw a dog, who knows.
2. It was a hot and humid day. As I was walking Orbit this morning, I felt like lying down.
3. Piffin is still helping Ron to build all those creatures for the new ROM opening parade.
4. I got hate mail today, because of a totally misinterpreted blog entry. Am I really that hard to understand? How does one avoid unintentionally offending people?
5. I know a very short black guy with two big white dogs. He came to my door today because he had run out of plastic bags, and one of his dogs had pooped in the church yard.
6. Michiel pulled two very ugly big conifers out of the front yard.
7. The cashier in the supermarket was desperate and exhausted after having to recalculate a customer's receipt over and over and over again. The old man was convinced he was being cheated out of his money.
8. Otger is getting ready for bed. I will go upstairs to bring him a good night hug as soon as I am done with this.
9. At lunch time neighbour Michele walked by with her two kids. One was bleeding from all of her joints, after her first rock & roll accident as her mother called it. Missed the corner at the bottom of the slope in Withrow Park on her scooter. And the other one said his first word ever to me! He shouted "Bye!"
I worked hard and fast. Skipped dinner even, I wanted to be done with it. Michiel and Otger went to check out a new hamburger joint on Queen Street, and they were not disappointed. I'm a bit hungry now, but that's good for me. I was done at eight o'clock and that gave me time to have tea with my neighbour Ann. Ein richtiger Feierabend. Piffin isn't even home yet, she is still helping out our special effects friend Ron with his new ROM opening parade. She is loving it. The dinosaur is walking.
Whenever there is a holiday in Canada, there is no holiday in Holland. Same thing other way around. Everybody at home because of Victoria day, I work. Today I was all set to go, but it's Pentecost in Holland. Of course it is also Pentecost here, but it's not an official holiday in Canada. I did reach one editor, but he wasn't quite sure which author I am going to have to draw. So I did some sketching, but not too much. I trust I'll have her in the mail tomorrow morning. Funny thing, those different holidays everywhere. The best one was German, Buß- und Bettag. Nobody ever really understood what Buß- und Bettag was about, but it was always vehemently defended as a holiday. We left Germany in 1995. The year -I just discovered, I learn so much from blogging- Buß- und Bettag was abolished. To finance a national health insurance. I hope Holland will never do away with the holy spirit, or Canada with Queen Victoria's birthday. One can never have enough holidays.
Makes you wonder whether the headline applies to the drawing or to the article... I'm very glad the drawing fits though, I didn't have much more than the book title "Devil's Fare" to go on. But I did a very stupid thing this time. Or rather, I didn't do a very stupid thing. I always upload my file to my ftp, and put a little 600 pixel preview on a web page linking to the file. This time I forgot the link @#$%^&*!! So I'm afraid they printed the 600 pixel jpg, but I am kind of hoping somebody has been bright enough to find the file even without the link. I can't really tell from the digital newspaper. Anybody care to tell me if the paper version turned out okay?
Look what I found, the movie that Tarkovski graduated with from film school, in 1960! It is apparently a very obscure film, but now available on DVD, and very much worth viewing. On Andrei's report card I found an interesting, yet trivial detail. Tarkovsky was excused from physical education. I'll have to show Otger this in the morning. I just got Otger the same privilege. The bullying in gym class had reached such a hopeless level, that the teacher and the principal and I decided not to bother with it anymore. Our little nerdy nerd can get his exercise dog walking and bike riding. I wonder why Tarkovsky was excused. There's a lot of Tarkovsky on youtube, if you feel like it. Not The Steamroller and the Violin though.
Last week OCAD called, is Piffin there. No, of course she wasn't there, she was babysitting, as always. For Willem: OCAD = Ontario College of Art and Design. I started wondering why they had to call her, Michiel too. Was something wrong? Was she not admitted after all? Nerves! Tonight they called again, Piffin was babysitting. What are you calling about, can I give her a message? No. Will she be there quarter to nine? I made damned sure she was there, I sat the babies for a few minutes. Why did OCAD call? To freaking congratulate her. Did I stop worrying? Of course not. Michiel left for work this morning, for eight hours of meetings. But now it's half past nine, not a word. Always the next thing to worry about.
I was on the radio again, I am really starting to like that, chatting away on the radio. Theme tonight was astrology, exactly my cup of tea. Not. But very good practice in trying to say coherent things in as little sentences as possible, with no time to think. It's really hard. So I go, no, I decided to just not tell you my zodiac sign, because I find it propelling nonsense. Zodiac signs are made up of stars light years away from each other. If I would be at a different place in the universe, they wouldn't even be there. But it's not about that, it's their influence! What influence? Gravity? Come on! Electro magnetism? What about the sun then? No, it's their constellation, at precisely the moment you're born! Duh? I made the mistake of pointing out the moment of birth is fairly coincidental. I should of course have asked how this alleged influence at that precise moment is supposed to reach this baby. There must be some kind of non physical transmitting taking place. But my braincells are not really quick enough for radio yet. I will keep practicing.
Orbit had an excellent Victoria day weekend. (I hear the fireworks while typing this, and he is not bothered by them in the least.) Although it didn't start of very well for him. Michiel took him for his walk on Saturday morning. But after they had been gone for a half hour or so, I heard a bark from the porch. That is odd, I thought. And even odder when I found that Orbit was attached to his rope. Where was Michiel? Had they not yet left? Was he at the neighbours? I went upstairs to get dressed, planning to sort this thing out after. Then the phone rang. Michiel. From a public phone in the park. I have lost Orbit, he is gone! No he is not, he is here, he was on the porch. What the hell. Turns out our neighbour Toba had found him on the sidewalk, on his way home. And neighbour Paul had put him on his rope. The stupid dog must have crossed Gerrard street and Broadview Avenue all on his own, how scary! The Sunday morning walk was much better. Cherry Beach is the best place for dog walking, dear neighbour Marilyn was kind enough to take us there in her Saab. If Orbit would learn to run beside our bikes we could get there by ourselves. But I am also going to check out the bus that goes there. Piffin uses Cherry Beach for things quite different from dog walking. Not this weekend though, she has been helping our special effects friend Ron build a half life size T-Rex for the opening celebrations of the new ROM.
Fiddlehead is a name referring either to a young fern or to the top part of immature fronds that appear curled. The fiddlehead, or circinate vernation, unrolls as the fern matures and grows due to more growth in the inside of the curl.
Not blogging my current project doesn't keep me from showing images I come across researching my project. This drawing is called Karel Appel show. No agreeably calm museum visits here today. We went to a very loud gathering. Fucking Walmart is moving into our neighbourhood. Apparently they cover all the suburbs in North America, and are now starting to explore their next frontier, the downtown cores. Hundreds of very committed people at the meeting tonight, but whether we will be able to stop this Moloch?
I'll be working on a project for Zwijsen in the next couple of weeks. And I don't think they allow me to blog the images. Don't worry, there is plenty of other stuff, a nice change even from always blogging my own things. Piffin showed me her last painting this morning, and I promised her I would have an opinion about it by the time she's home tonight. So I thought I'd call in your help. What do you think? Does it need something more, this painting? What would you add? I think it maybe needs a second painting next to it, to emphasize the horizontal composition. I like the way in which Piffin handles her paint. This painting is 60 cm (almost 24 inches) wide. Any thoughts?
This is not about the comic, I just thought they were nice rain drawings. Read about this strange comic strip here, the woman has 64 personalities, should be an interesting enough read. But Toronto today is all about weather. The first steaming hot humid day, starting with a fantastic thunderstorm early in the morning, and ending with one tonight. I love it, all-or-nothing-weather. But I didn't paint in it, I just watched it sitting on the porch. And in bed, this morning. Because of the cold I am having I was snoring horribly, according to my dear husband. So when the thunderstorm woke me up, at a quarter to six this morning, he was already gone. To work, mind you. Soaking wet at the office. The things I do to men...
A little over seven weeks of works, during which I also did my newspaper stuff. No small potatoes. Now the waiting starts. For the book and the bank statement. But today I took it easy. There's no author this week, so I decided to dedicate today to The Summer Outfit. A pair of jeans, two blouses, two T-shirts. Not bad at all, for a pathological non-shopper. I took Piffin, and of course I immediately found way funkier things for her. A beautiful sailor's shirt, the square sailor's collar on the back ending in a scarf with red stars. Hard to describe. But extremely cute. She hates the word cute. And a pair of wild blue sun glasses. And I put radish in my pasta, and everybody liked it. And sun dried tomatoes in my meatballs. Oh, and I chatted with Terry on the streetcar. Terry is a neighbour who is a street car driver. He told me about his first job ever, being an elevator boy in the King Edward Hotel. The hotel where we spent our first weeks in Canada, we passed it in the streetcar. Terry had transported many celebrities in his elevator. But not The Beatles. There had been so many fans in the hotel lobby that The Beatles had to take the freight elevator. Bummer for Terry.
Absolutely, rules are for breaking. But I'd rather document my peculiar morning. Friday is garbage day, garbage days are the best. It started with me finding myself out of bags. So I walk into Paul & Kristin's house in my pajama's, and borrow some bags. Then I take Orbit for his walk. Clare is putting out her garbage. We complain to her about the utterly boring film she lent us. Another neighbour expresses her admiration for Piffin's courage, Piffin has a bright green mow hawk. Then Jef and Molly walk down the street, on their way to school. A girl with a violin case walks into Garnet & Becky's house. Wow, did you see that beautiful girl, asks Jef. Find out who that is for me. Julia, Evan and Rachel walk by. Hey, I saw you on tv last night! Hehe, at two in the morning or what? Apparently Julia does an item in a cooking show, I didn't even know that. In the park I discuss god and the world with my dog walking friends Pamela, Dinah and Brenda. On my way back I wave Michele, Zanny and Lyle into their streetcar. And I meet Becky's mom at the street corner. She used to be a make-up artist for the BBC. Who was that beautiful girl walking into your daughter's house? She is in a string quartet with Becky, they have to perform for the governor general next month. I will tell Jef as soon as I see him. Which won't be long. Then back in the street I admire an older neighbour's 40 bucks worth of geraniums she is putting in her front yard. And meet Paul for the second time today. But I think Paul and I easily average twelve times on a nice day. Home at last I called Willem for a morning chat. And then I was thirsty.
Orbit mistook Michiel's thumb for his stick today. (Nothing like medical blogging)
Willem is making me write literary reviews. And this morning I dropped my keys in between the planks of the porch stairs. I had to crawl under the porch to find them. And change once inside. And the man before me in line at the supermarket bought only cake ingredients. So I congratulated him. Yes, baby girl in December! Oops, sorry, I thought you had to be celebrating a birthday. Nono, oh sorry, I thought I knew you. Well congratulations anyway, on the baby. And I have to share my heavenly soup with you. I ate too much of it, so good. Garlic, onion, zucchini, leek, in hot olive oil. Add chunks of frozen fish, a jar of sun dried tomatoes mashed in the blender, three fresh tomatoes, pepper, ginger, cumin. A glass of white wine and enough water to almost fill the pan. I was out of soup cubes, and Kristin from across the street gave me a "veggy like chicken" one. Then I also added a hand full of small pasta. Once ready, I threw in chopped green onion. Easy peasy. Today's image is to show you how close I stay to my first sketches.
The first really nice warm day, and I spend it freezing at my computer. I find it nonsense to turn the heating on, but the house is still really really cold. I did do some sketching on the porch, that was lovely. So strange, the minute I sit down there, people walking by start telling me I am taking it easy. No I am not, I am working!
I tried hitting myself on the head, but I couldn't get myself to loosen up today. It is hard to do while searching for the specifics in a face. I have found those I think, but there isn't even the start of a nice drawing yet. Sometimes a glass of wine helps, but I'm as sober as a judge today. Go visit Willem, tell him to get well soon!
Now I missed Thursday because we had a fire! I was having my morning coffee on the porch when I heard a crackling sound, and I thought to myself, that sounds like fire. But I didn't smell anything, and I decided to ignore it. But the sound grew louder rather quickly, so I got up from my chair to look into the laneway where the sound was coming from. At the same time a gentleman across the street started shouting "fire!". So I hurried around the house and saw these incredible flames in the alley behind our house. I ran into the house and called 911. Fortunately the firehouse is really close, so it took them only a few minutes to get here, and put out the fire. A couch and four car tires. And a garden fence. But my, did those things ever burn. Scary! And then, when I finally got back at my computer, I realized that our internet cable runs exactly over the spot where that damn fire was. And yes indeed, meltdown. To make myself feel better, I bought a peony for my front yard. For... 9.11 $ no kidding. And now, through a brand new Canadian-style primitive laundry line:
Thursday, only one song, I'm a lousy songfinder:
David Bowie
Fridays seem to be especially popular with rappers:
The Cure - R.Kelly - Eminem - Ice Cube - megadeth - The Easybeats (thanks IJsbrand)
And the winner is: Friday's child by Nancy Sinatra.
The colours in my high res scans are much better than in these little jpg's. But I did discover a strange problem with yellow. I am working with gouache, I bought very nice quality but pricey Winsor & Newton gouache, but I couldn't resist buying a whole box of inferior cheap gouache, just to have more colours. And I ended up using a lot of lemon yellow of the cheap kind, because from W&N I had only bought the primary yellow. The lemon was much brighter. But the cheap kind was also very thin and runny, I ran out quickly. So I bought W&N lemon yellow, exactly as bright as the cheap kind. But. On the scans the W&N yellow isn't bright at all!! @#$%^&* back to the shop.
Wednesday is not a popular day with song writers. I found some more songs, but without video, so they don't count. And only amateur covers of the songs I did find videos of (the girl that sings Tori Amos is sweet):
John Frusciante - Simon & Garfunkel - Tori Amos - The Undertones (thanks Pom)
If I play butter, cheese, and eggs (Ineke...?) I already win several times. Opening of the end-of-year exhibition at Rosedale tonight, and I forgot the camera. One of the photography teachers took a picture of us though, I hope I can get my hands on that photo and blog it. We posed as the typical Rosedale family. Michiel wasn't there, we took our friend Clare with her daughter. And Clare is this very lesbian art director with mohawk, and Piffin was also wearing her everybody-knows-I'm-a-lesbian T-shirt, so it's bound to be a great shot.
We are singing Tuesdays:
The Rolling Stones - The Moody Blues - Primal Scream - Miss Kita - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Cat Stevens
