Girl Reading
graphite, ink, charcoal, and pastel
14" x 17" (35.6 x 43.2 cm)

Does this girl seem to have ultra long legs?

Model Sleeping
charcoal and pastel
12" x 18" (30.1 x 45.7 cm)

This model began the drawing sesssion in one position, but soon fell asleep and into another. Since she seemed intent on sleeping, I abandoned my initial drawing and began another, the one posted here. It was ok. I was happy, and the model was happy.

Alice B. Toklas
ink
7.5" x 6.2" (19.1 x 15.7 cm) ■


Since it was Gertrude Stein last Friday, today it's Stein's companion, Alice B. Toklas.

Although during Stein's lifetime Toklas was always in the background, Alice B. may have had the last laugh. Her cookbook, The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, has probably outsold anything that Stein ever wrote.

Best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas today.

Twilight, Riverview
oil
6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm)

Another small study for a larger oil, done from memory.

Riverview, despite its' seemingly contemporary developer's name, is an old Winnipeg neighbourhood with a lovely river walk.

This twilight scene is quite familiar to me. I frequently cycle along the river walk in the evening.

Gertrude Stein
ink
8.8" x 6.4" (22.4 x 16.3 cm) ■

Another of the caricatures I've been working on.

Does anyone read Gertrude Stein anymore? Does anyone know who Gertrude Stein was?

My interest in Stein has more to do with the way she looked than anything else. Not a pretty woman, but then, she didn't aspire to being a pretty woman.

She did have one thing going for her. She was born in Pittsburgh. Although I'm sure that she would have said that was why she lived most of her life in France.

Woman Reading
graphite
11.3" x 7.9" (28.9 x 20.1 cm)

A simple, straightforward drawing.

Picasso
ink
9" x 7.5" (22.9 x 19.1 cm)

This is the first of a series of caricatures I've been working on. They're just for fun.

The original drawing was done in ink. The quote was added digitally.

I have recently been interested in work of Canadian painter Jean Paul Lemieux (1904-1990). Because of this interest I'm posting two of his paintings today.

Lemieux's work is perhaps best described by himself: "I am especially interested in conveying the solitude of man and the ever-flowing passing of time." In this he succeeded admirably, as the two paintings posted today will testify.

Here is another quote from Lemieux which might help explain his work: "Ce qui me hante le plus, c'est le temps qui passe, le temps qui est passé... la dimension même du temps, le temps qui s'écroule; l'homme devant cet écroulement."

Short biographies of Lemieux can be found at UCanBuyArt.com and at CBC.ca.

The Noon Train 1956
oil on canvas
63 x 110.5 cm

Jean Paul Lemieux. 1956. National Gallery of Canada.

The Visit 1967
oil on canvas
170 x 107.3 cm

Jean Paul Lemieux. 1967. National Gallery of Canada.

This work of figures in a landscape is perhaps more typical of Lemieux's later work.

Akua'mma
woodcut - ink on paper
6.5" x 5.3" (16.5 x 13.5 cm)font-family:arial;" >These are akua'mma (singular: akua'ba). Asante (or Ashanti) fertility dolls, from Ghana.

For an excellent article on the history of these dolls, go to Rand African Art, Akua's Child and Other Relatives, by Doran H. Ross.
This particular woodcut was done as practice. More for fun than anything else.

Culturally deprived? Maybe CultureGrrl can help.

Red River, Winter Night
oil
6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm)

A small study for a larger work. Done from memory.

The Red River is almost completely covered with ice and snow now, although it is not yet safe to walk or ski on.

Woman
graphite, ink, and oil pastel
6.9" x 4.6" (17.5 x 6.9 cm)
If you listen to Nathan Rogers' music, you would make this model very happy.

Bamboo
graphite and ink
4.5" x 3.4" (11.4 x 8.6 cm)

Definitely a small drawing: some bamboo stocks in water beside a small stereo speaker, all on a shelf.

417 No.4
oil
6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm) ■


The fourth in a series of small studies based on a night drive from Montreal to Ottawa on Ontario provincial highway 417.

Landscape No. 2
oil
6" x 6" (15.2 xx 15.2 cm)

Another imaginary landscape.

The first imaginary landscape, Landscape No.1, was posted on November 22, 2006.

Art City is a non-profit community art centre in Winnipeg's inner city. Any support you can offer would be greatly appreciated. You can contact Art City through its' website: Art City.

The Young Anarchist
graphite, ink, and pastel
9" x 6" (22.9 x 15.2 cm)

This is the same model as in Wednesday's post, a young anarchist, who said that if the anarchy thing didn't work out, that he might start a commune or something. Hmm. Communal anarchy. Sounds perfect.

Recently added to the art links: Saatchi Gallery's, Your Gallery Blog , which offers a daily update on art around the world.

417 No.3
oil


This is another in a series of small night studies of rural Ontario between Montreal and Ottawa, as seen from Ontario provincial highway 417.

417 No.2 was posted on Saturday, Dec. 5th, and 417 No.1 was posted on Friday, Nov. 10th.

The Anarchist
graphite, ink, and oil pastel
8.6" x 5.9" (21.8 x 15.0 cm)

This young man was reading The Haymarket Massacre by Paul Arvich, a book which describes the 1886 labour demonstration in Chicago and the subsequent execution of four Anarchists involved in that demonstration. When I asked the young man his interest in the book, he replied that he was interested as an anarchist. Whether that was an anarchist with a small a, or an Anarchist with a large A, I wasn't sure. In any case, it seems to me that being an anarchist is quite an appropriate profession for a young man.

Young Girl
graphite, ink, and oil pastel
8.4" x 11.5" (21.3 x 29.2 cm)

Another patient model with years of experience. Her mother is an artist, and she is, of course, her mother's favorite model.

Man
graphite and ink
8.5" x 9.7" (21.5 x 24.6 cm)

A simple study of a patient man.

Do you have a view on Canadian art? Andrea Carson does at View On Canadian Art.

Waiting
graphite and oil
4.4" x 3.4" (11.2 x 8.6 cm)

While I was waiting for someone on 5th Ave. in New York, I did this drawing of someone else waiting for someone.