Saying Goodbye from a Distance

This past week, my parents moved from their lakeside home on the shores of Lake Muskoka, a special place that has been part of our family for about thirty-five years. They purchased the cottage when I was in my early twenties. In those days, I worked and lived in Toronto so I would often go there on weekends and during my summer holidays.

When my parents retired, they rebuilt the cottage into a beautiful four-season residence and moved into it on a permanent basis. Although it had changed completely from its simple beginning and use, we continued to refer to it as 'the cottage' in our family. I moved to Montreal when I was in my early thirties. The eight-hour drive from Montreal to Gravenhurst meant that visits were much less frequent but the cottage continued to be part of each summer. Emma and Chloé, now 20 and almost 16, got to know it from when they were babies.

I had really hoped to go and help my parents with their move and to say goodbye to the cottage but, by the time Chloé's final school exams were over and we could have travelled there, it was too late to be of help.

If you are on Instagram and Facebook and noticed a reduced presence on my part in the past couple of weeks, it was because I was barely looking at my feed. Every time I saw a photo posted by a family member from the cottage, I would start to cry. So I stopped looking. I'm sorry if I missed other things.

As one friend noted, not being there means that my memories of the cottage will not be of its packed-up, empty state but the way it was over the years. Among the layers of things I will remember will be swimming out to a big submerged rock with my younger sister, Karen where we could stand and dive--'our rock' we called it. I'll remember laying on the dock on my stomach with Emma and Chloé when they were little, catching minnows in a fish net, observing them and then putting them right back in the lake. I'll remember the camaraderie and group nuttiness of the cousins--Emma, Chloé, Duncan, Mac, Katie, Erica and Sydney. I'll remember the beautiful sunrises and the late-night stars. Falling asleep to the lapping sound of the lake and the occasional haunting call of a loon. Reading books sitting in the big Muskoka chairs on the dock with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.  The boat rides to get ice cream and long walks with the family dogs. I'll remember the gatherings, the chats and the laughter.

The cottage and its gentle natural surroundings have also figured frequently in my art over the past thirty-five years. I have painted many Muskoka scenes, some in oil and then, in recent years, in watercolour.

I spoke to my parents yesterday. They are in their new home in town, a place that is more suited to them now. They said that the family who bought the cottage seems to really love it so it is in good hands. I have managed to write this blog post without crying so that's progress. We will be visiting my mom and dad's new place sometime soon. As for the cottage memories, they will always be ours.

Midsummer Mosaics

Where did the month of July go? Well, part of ours was spent in the beautiful Muskoka region of Ontario.

Meeko is always up for a road trip. He will often hop into the van before we even get a chance to pack it. He's like a space marker. "Don't forget me!"

We spent nine days with family (cousin time!), reading, walking, cooking and swimming. We visited the lovely Wednesday farmers' market in Gravenhurst. Always a treat.

Meeko swam in the the lake and then swam some more.

We saw some forest creatures--several deer and two sweet fawns (in the photo above). I got a fabulous photo of a toad. Who would have thought that a photo of a toad in a rusty old wheelbarrow could be so beautiful?

I did a bit of painting while I was there. There's something wonderful about painting on a screen porch while listening to soft music and accompanying waves.  Chloé made a video of me. I didn't realize what she was doing. I'm very camera shy and probably wouldn't have cooperated if I knew what she was up to. Then she posted it on my Instagram account. The rascal! You can see it here. I'm not looking particularly glamorous but I am definitely deep in the painting 'zone'.  At the end of the video, you will hear a steam whistle. Meeko barks every time he hears it--even when I play the video. :) It's the whistle of the historic Segwun steamship that is North America's oldest operating steamship. It tours Lake Muskoka on a daily basis during the summer months.

I'm always amazed how much a garden can change when you are away even for a short time. It looks great thanks to our wonderful neighbours who water my flowers when we are on vacation. The garden is definitely in the billowy midsummer curve towards fall. I came back to hydrangeas blossoming and echinacea is in full bloom.

We have another short trip planned before the girls go back to school. When I was young, we would never go back to school in Ontario until after Labour Day. In Quebec, schools start in late August. I can never quite get used to that.

Hope you all had a beautiful July. I'll leave you with some photos of my mid-summer garden.

The photos in this blog post were all taken with my iPad. I did the mosaics with a cool little app called 'Picstitch'.

A Little Winter Beauty

Here is a selection of scenes from our stay over the holidays in Muskoka, the cottage region in Ontario where my parents live. They didn't have as much snow as some years, but it was just enough to be pretty. We walked a lot when we were there.

Do you see Woody Woodpecker in the above photo? It's a pileated woodpecker. They are so big and noisy (both their knocking and squawking)! Wish I'd had my long-range lens when I saw it.

Emma was looking at some older paintings I did in my studio just before Christmas and was saying that I should do landscapes again. I used to paint a lot of landscapes, especially when I worked in oils many, many years ago but also when I started working in watercolour many years ago. Maybe I'll paint one of these beautiful Muskoka scenes in the weeks ahead.

I'm not really fond of photos taken of me and I don't tend to be very cooperative. My sneaky daughter Chloé managed to snap this one between the trees.

When I See Clouds, I Think 'Painting'

I had a lovely day painting 'en plein air'.  I love painting outside although I don't find it to be easy. I paint slowly so a sky can change multiple times as I paint. But that's okay. My painting ends up being my impression of a period of time.

I was absolutely charmed by the sweet ladybug (above) who landed on my paint palette and then proceeded to crawl towards its colour family. :)

When I went outside, I said "Ooooo, look at that sky!" My sister said to me "You look at that sky and think 'painting'. I look at that sky and think 'rain'!"  In the end, it didn't rain. It was a beautiful cloudy afternoon.

Dock Cousins (and Mabel)

I have lost count of the beautiful Bookhou bags we own, but this one is perfect for transporting my watercolour pads, palette and paint brushes.

Muskoka afternoon sky

Dock dog: A tired but happy Meeko

Blue Friday

Today is 'blue' day in the Poppytalk Summer Colours week.  This is the final day in the coloured-theme week. I have pulled together a collection of photos taken by me, Emma and Chloé. The top photo was taken by Emma with a timer at my parents' Muskoka home last summer.

1. Muskoka silhouette (photo by Emma)
2. Forget-me-nots
3. Swim goggles
4. Top of fire hydrant (photo by Chloé)
5. Emma's feet in Muskoka (photo by Emma)
6. Lobelia
7. Chicory (photo by Chloé)

If you garden, you know how hard it is to find true blue flowers. When I started my garden here, I planned different colour schemes for different flower beds. I intended to plant only blue and white flowers in the pool area. So many blue flowers actually are more like purple. I love purple but was disappointed that my blue and white vision never quite came to be.

I am feeling a little blue today about my painting time lately or, more to the point, the lack of it.  It's challenging once the girls are off school, especially because my studio is in the house. Other parents manage to work through the summer but I think when work is outside of the home, it is understood better and respected by everyone both inside and outside of the family.  Despite my frustration, there's lots to celebrate right now.  Emma's high school graduation and prom is tomorrow and Chloé's birthday celebration with her friends is in progress right now.  My birthday is on Sunday, Chloé's actual birthday is next Saturday and we are leaving for a family trip to New York in a matter of days.

Arabesque

I am reposting a photo I included a couple of blog posts ago as I cannot stop staring at it!  I just think it is extraordinary sometimes the shapes and forms we find in nature.  This tree trunk to me has human form.  I think of a ballet dancer doing a beautiful arabesque.  Nature as choreographer.

Joni and Leonard and Light

As I continued working on my Muskoka morning sunrise painting today, I had my beloved iPod Touch playing.  I think it may be wrong to love an object as much as I love that sweet rectangular music box. There are some days when Shuffle can send you the weirdest, most disconcerting choices (let's say, for instance, the chorus of Hawksley Workman's Addicted as you are driving your daughter somewhere) and others when it can be in absolutely perfect sync with what you are doing. Today was one of those perfect sync days.

As I painted the clouds and the rays of morning sunlight breaking through them, two songs played in succession--first Joni Mitchell's Cotton Avenue:

 A red sun came rolling down a grey sky 
And the frogs and dogs and night birds then 
Started up singing sweet country lullaby... 

And then this one:

The birds they sang 
at the break of day 
Start again 
I heard them say 
Don't dwell on what 
has passed away 
or what is yet to be...

Ring the bells that still can ring 
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything 
That's how the light gets in.
 (from Anthem by Leonard Cohen)

Oh Leonard, your lyrics and sense of timing are beautiful.

See a video of Leonard Cohen singing Anthem here.

Another Painting in Progress

Today I painted another scene from my cottage vacation. It is a morning scene. We had very changeable weather when we were away. This particular morning, the clouds were dark and low. I was sitting on the dock thinking that it might not be the nicest day when all of a sudden rays of sunlight broke through the clouds near the horizon. A very pretty moment.

I have always loved clouds and enjoy painting them although they can be challenging.  It can be difficult to convey drama, contrast and softness all at once.

I also worked on my Inuksuk painting today.  It wasn't quite finished after all.  I added little more detail in the trees and clouds.  I'll post the final version in the days ahead.

Inuksuk: Painting of Hardy Lake

Last week, we spent a restful week in the Muskoka region of Ontario. I started a painting yesterday of a scene I saw when we hiked around a lovely trail on Hardy Lake.

Someone had made an inuksuk (also spelled inukshuk), a stacked-stone navigational landmark with a human form, on the shore just off the trail we were walking on. I love the way it looks like the inuksuk is admiring the landscape.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Muskoka region, it is an area of gentle landmarks and soft contours. There are no mountains and few rugged rockscapes. While this sameness could seem monotonous, the effect is actually one of calm and peacefulness. It's a lovely region full of beautiful lakes and is worth visiting.

I think my painting is finished but it always takes me a few days to know. I need to stare at it at different times of day to know if I need to add any small details or shadows. Usually, I will start another painting while I am considering the 'finished' state of my last one.

Here is another view.  The colours of my painting are a little more delicate than what is showing in the photos.

A Castle in the Forest

Have you ever watched your children do something and you have been totally amazed and interested by what they have done? You're not sure that you could have done the same thing or even have thought of it. You are just a happy witness to its splendid execution.

My daughters and their cousin said that they wanted to go into the forest. We are spending the week with my parents who live on the edge of a forest on the banks of Lake Muskoka. I wasn't certain what they had in mind. They are two pre-teens and a teenager who no longer require constant supervision.  The forest they wanted to explore is on our property.

What did they do?

Well, it took more than a day. It is beautiful and amazing and could belong in an art museum if there were an art museum for forest creations.

A large rock and the roots of a fallen tree were used for its back wall.  At least a hundred branches were then leaned and woven together.  Long pieces of grass were braided to form rope which was then tied to create a moveable door or flap. The floor is carpeted lushly with ferns.  Flowers and more ferns adorn the walls, grass ropes and door.

I asked them what I should call it and gave them a number of suggestions:  tee-pee, lean-to, dwelling, wigwam, shelter, abode, fort.   The oldest of the three thought for a moment and then said, 'Castle'.

Muskoka Morning

On the dock in my beloved Toms shoes (one of several pairs I own)

Tuesday had the perfect beginning: calm water, beautiful sunrise, a loon in the distance; my canine companion, a coffee cup and book nearby. Meeko often tilted his nose upwards to catch the lovely early day smells. A duck and her ducklings lingered close to the dock as if begging for a photo but I think it is more likely that a neighbouring cottager is feeding them.

Yesterday's weather was more unsettling with a tornado watch most of the day and evening but thankfully we only experienced light thunderstorms.

I am working on a painting today and will post it in the days ahead.

Muskoka

We are enjoying a week on beautiful Lake Muskoka--a week of family time, reading, walking, arts and crafts, and lake activities.

The weather is a little cooler and rainier than we hoped for but it doesn't diminish the fun.

My youngest daughter Chloé went out in the kayak and was greeted at the dock by our dog Meeko. (Meeko loves to swim but hasn't mastered a kayak yet.)

Meeko spent ages swimming in the lake with his best buddy and super dock-diver Marlowe.

On one of the rainy afternoons, we sat around the big dining table and made rubber stamps using a method taught to me by the wonderful Mexican artist Geninne. (I was lucky enough to attend her recent workshop in Toronto but she also has a free tutorial available on her lovely website). My daughters, niece and nephew made many, many beautiful stamps. I made a few and even got my dad to try making one. So we had three generations working together at one time!