Tea with a Friend

One of the best parts of being in Paris was seeing my friend Lucile again! Having an overseas friend is a lovely thing but it makes getting together a little bit difficult.

Lucile paints gorgeous watercolours and sells them under the name lucileskitchen. (You can follow her on Instagram if you are interested in seeing more of her work.) We became internet friends in 2011 when I was in the process of opening my Etsy shop. I contacted her because I love her art so much and I had some questions about how she did her prints. We soon learned that we had lots in common--watercolour art, teenaged children, a love of cooking and gardening, a sense of humour (absolutely essential to artistic sanity) and an interest in each other's world. We are in touch with each other on a regular basis to discuss art, Etsy, Boucherville snow, Paris rain, flowers, food, our children and Meeko!

We met each other in person in 2012. We were very lucky (well, actually it was planned) to vacation in New York City at the same time. Because we were there on family vacations, our time together was brief but very enjoyable. We visited the Ellsworth Kelly plant drawings exhibit together at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our families had dinner together at one of Mario Batali's restaurants.

I own three of Lucile's original paintings, one of which is this lovely watercolour of macarons, a Sheffield's teapot and tea cups. It hangs in our dining room. Lucile and I have often mentioned how nice it would be to have tea together someday. Well, we finally did! Best of all, it was in her lovely Paris apartment! She invited my husband and me for 'un gouter'--a delicious snack at her place.

I was so grateful that she was able to squeeze in some time to see us. Lucile is currently working on a crazy schedule--doing three paintings a day (three!!!) for a recipe book contract that is due in May.

I completely adore Lucile's small, warm Parisian kitchen with its big personality. I love that it is painted with a strong yellow.  Although not exactly the same yellow, it reminded me of Monet's boldly painted kitchen at Giverny. I also love the historical Vilmorin vegetable plates on the walls.

Lucile bought a gorgeous strawberry tart from a local pâtissier to share with us and her children Jeanne and Werner. She poured tea. We ate. We chatted. It felt like we did this all the time.

Just before leaving, we had a peek at Lucile's studio. I had glimpsed it previously in an Etsy blog post on inspiring workspaces. It was so lovely to see it in person. I was very touched to see that a little heart watercolour I did for Lucile as a thank you for her help a few years ago was framed on the wall beside her Wacom Cintiq tablet.

Her softly lit studio had an almost magical quality for me, with its high detailed ceiling, the beautiful chandelier that belonged to her grandmother, the tall window and the painting she had worked on that day drying on the table. I love that now when Lucile tells me that she is working on a painting or cooking dinner that I will be able to picture her exactly where she is.

Sending a big anglophone hug across the ocean, Lucile. Until next time, my friend!

❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤

A Hard Week Soothed by Smooth Stones

I told you about the commissioned painting I did earlier this summer of a house in Cap Ferret, France. This week the doorbell rang and the friend who had asked me to do that painting handed me a gift bag. Inside it was a collection of beautiful beach stones. Shirley and her daughter Rachel gathered them for me on the beach when they were in Cap Ferret. They made sure to include several with heart shapes. I love them so much. The colours in these stones (they are called 'galets' there) are absolutely beautiful! Such a thoughtful gift.

I have to admit it's been an odd week. It started with a civic holiday on Monday followed by a school holiday on Tuesday for Emma and Chloé because there was a provincial election here. Not much time for painting. Wednesday, we woke to news of a shooting at the celebratory party of the winning candidate. Yesterday, I felt paralyzed with sadness and thoughts of how fragile society and individual life are. Was the shooter politically motivated? Some say yes. Some say no. Whatever the motivation, an innocent man, a technician working at the event, was killed. Elections do have a way of pointing out, emphasizing and creating chasms between people. It's so important for us, everywhere, to find ways to live together with respect and without fear. Today, I was sure it was Friday and I think it was maybe my brain suggesting that it would best for this week to be over.

But I did find something good to do.  I went upstairs today and started working on a painting.  It's still in progress.  I picked some of the beautiful 'galets' from France, an acorn from a walk with Meeko and some bush cranberries from my backyard. A couple of hours of painting smooth, beautiful stones and my frayed nerves started to feel soothed again. And because it is Thursday today and not Friday, I have another lovely day of painting ahead of me tomorrow. ♥

Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try

No people below us, above it's only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today

Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do

No need to kill or die for and no religions too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger a brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing for the world

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

Take my hand and join us

And the world will live, will live as one

Imagine

John Lennon

And My Garden Said 'Welcome Home'

On Sunday night, we arrived home from a lovely two-week vacation in Ontario--most of it spent on Lake Muskoka at my parents' house. Returning from vacation is always difficult--there are the normal internal questions as I approach the house: 'Is it still standing?' (yes), 'How is the garden?' (weedy but well-watered, thanks to our thoughtful neighbours), 'Anything new and different?' (well yes--just look at those tomatoes!).

The green tomatoes that I left behind two weeks ago have turned into the most glorious harvest. The plants were so heavy with fruit that they were toppling. In the photo above, you see pale yellow 'White Queen', red 'Opalka' (don't they look like peppers?) and 'Green Zebra' tomatoes.  I have grown tomatoes for the past 12 years here, but the plants have never been taller or more laden. It is very exciting.

Look at the gorgeous flesh of the 'Pineapple' tomato (also shown on the plant just above)

Gardens teach us many things but one of its most important lessons is patience. Two months ago, I read a wonderful sounding recipe on my friend Sonia's blog for a traditional French savoury tomato tart. But in June here, tomatoes only can be bought in grocery stores, either imports or grown in greenhouses. They're okay but not all that tasty.

So I waited until today to try Sonia's recipe. I made two tarts because we have house guests at the moment--two of my nieces.

The assembly stage, just before adding a final layer of cheese and herbes de Provence.

This one was made with honey mustard, tomatoes and gouda cheese.

In this one, I used whole-grain Dijon mustard and a little espelette mustard, tomatoes and Emmental cheese.

The tarts were a tremendous success. The round one was made in a quiche pan with a removable bottom so it was super easy to cut. Because this pan was a little deeper than the rectangular sheet, I added more tomatoes and it took a few more minutes to cook.  I used a quick food-processor pastry recipe for the crust. Here's the recipe link for the tart from Sonia's blog again.

A little tip: I hummed 'Thank you Sonia, thank, thank you Sonia' to the tune of 'Help me, Rhonda' as I baked them. You don't need to, but it added to the experience. :)

And a very big thank you to my garden!

Forget Me Not

What a strange week it's been. It began with a very sad event. Very early Monday morning, the mother of my best friend died.

Then on Tuesday, a bus from my daughters' school was involved in a terrible accident. The 22-year-old car driver, who hit the bus head-on, died on impact. The school bus ended up in the ditch. It was not my daughters' bus, but one of Chloé's best friends was on it as well as many class- and schoolmates. Thankfully there were only minor injuries among the teenagers, but the moments of the accident were terrifying for them and afterwards they were subject to a gruesome accident scene that had more in common with a war-torn country than the quiet suburbs where we live. In the moments after impact, the teenagers on the bus and passersby reacted with speed and courage. Police and ambulances arrived quickly. Chloé's friend called her within minutes of arriving home to share what she had just lived through.

So it has been a week full of emails and phone calls, tears and hugs. Reminders of the fragility of life yet also the strength of friendship and the importance of family. Fear and courage. Sadness and comfort. And even smiles and laughter.

Yesterday was the funeral of my friend's mother and, oddly, that helped the week to end well. Chloé decided to come with me, as my friend is like family to us. Emma would have come if she hadn't had two tests that day.

My friend is the youngest of six children and they prepared a service that was touching and beautiful for their mother. I had only met her once. They told the story of a feisty 90-year-old woman who led a full and interesting life yet had some regrets. They spoke of her love of music, nature and her family. They also talked of characteristics that were sometimes hard for the family. As I sat there absorbing the words, I thought this is a real person they are talking about.  There was a bagpipe that played at the beginning and end of the service and a beautiful soloist who sang uplifting songs. It was so moving to be a part of this poignant, honest service. There was sadness in the church but also so much love. I kept thinking about it even hours later.

After the funeral and reception, it seemed too late for Chloé to go back to school, so we went for a walk with Meeko instead.

The sun was shining. There were beautiful green leaves, flowers and butterflies. We took photos. We got down on our knees so that we could see the wild strawberry blossoms and wood violets better. We picked forget-me-nots.  There were Red Admiral butterflies everywhere. One of them kept circling back to Chloé. Maybe there have been other days when we've walked and seen flowers and butterflies, but yesterday everything seemed more beautiful.

The flower photos were taken by me; all of the rest of the beautiful photos were taken by Chloé.

Across the World

When I began my blog nine months ago, I'm not sure that I knew what to expect. I was in the midst of resuming my painting career and I felt it was a way of making a public commitment to that. I knew I liked to write. I was an English major in university (not a surprise I suppose that I like to write). What I didn't expect was the friends I have made. Lovely friends in all parts of the world.

Last week, I receive some mail. Good mail. Really good mail.

One of my blogging friends sent me a collection of shells, sea glass and feathers from Australia. Thank you, Cindy. I hope you understand the thrill and joy I felt in receiving and opening your beautiful package. Aside from being a blogger, Cindy Lane is a wonderful artist, amazing photographer and an art teacher. She lives in Perth, Australia.

I visited Australia many years ago.  What an absolutely beautiful country.  Sadly, I didn't get to Perth. We did visit Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Cairns and Brisbane though. It was an amazing trip.

When I received my wonderful package from Australia, it felt good in so many ways. It was a beautiful gesture from a blogging friend and fellow artist. It was a collection of gorgeous natural objects from a country I love, not to mention that someone took the time to walk on a beach thinking about me. Pretty special.

This past week, I visited an art supply store--one of my happy places. I bought some new watercolour paper.  I have almost always painted on 140 lb. cold press Arches paper. I have painted occasionally on Arches 300 lb. cold press paper, Saunders 140 lb. cold press and, most recently, on Saint-Armand handmade paper. Having Cindy's beautiful shells as inspiration allowed me to test out some of my new papers. Here are three quick little shell studies (ACEO size) on Arches 300 lb. hot pressed paper, Arches 140 lb. hot pressed paper and BFK Rives 280 gsm paper.

Most every happy story has a tragic underside (English major bias I guess). Well, here is the one that belongs to this one. When I was photographing Cindy's shells for my blog, I was juggling more than one thing.  I had the camera around my neck. I had a blank stretched canvas propped at the side (and steadied with my knee) to reflect the light, as it was a dim day. I was using a tripod that was not quite at the right angle for my photo, so I was tipping it forward. As I was manipulating all of these things, the canvas slipped and fell. Do you ever have something happen in front of you and you feel that it is occurring in slow motion? This was. As it happened, I yelled 'Nooooooooooo' and it just might have been heard in Perth.  When I lifted the fallen canvas, everything was fine except for the two beautiful sea urchins that were smashed into many pieces. I am not a gazelle but I have a pretty good track record for looking after delicate things. These lovely objects had made it across the world intact and within 24 hours I had broken some of them. I cannot tell you how terribly sorry I was. Tears may have been involved.

My sea collection with two pieces from the smashed sea urchins at the top

Thanks again, Cindy, for sending me these gorgeous treasures from the other side of the world. What a beautiful place we live in.

A Bouquet

A bouquet of flowers and branches picked for a beautiful friend who I'm holding even tighter than usual in my heart this week. xo

A Bird Nest is a Symbol of Hope

This sweet bird nest lives in my house.  I was very lucky to find this original watercolour under the Christmas tree--a gift from my husband.  I love it.  I also love its artist--Jody Edwards.

A lot has gone on this past week.  A week ago, Jody found this very nest and several of her feather images in the Etsy shop and on the blog of a German artist. Through hours of detective work, Jody tracked down three other Etsy artists who had their work copied by the same person.  The copied images are gone now but the past week has been a week of pain, anger, and frustration for Jody. I got involved because Jody is my friend and I feel sick when artists, especially friends, go through this kind of thing.  I ended up being labeled a 'hater' and 'bully' for standing up for Jody and the other artists by saying that the other artist was wrong to do what she did.  While she has apologized that others saw a resemblance in what she was selling (they were identical), she still claims never to have seen Jody's work before. Yesterday, despite two walks with Meeko in the forest, I was in and out of tears. I was feeling disappointed with the world, discouraged with what that means for my daughters in the future and reeling from the names I had been called.  I have taught Emma and Chloé to stand up and speak out when things are wrong. It is a strong message in our household, not to mention their school. I thought, if this is what happens when you do speak up, had I taught them the right thing?

But, do you know what? This is a new month. Bird nests, especially those filled with tiny, sweet eggs, are symbols of hope and love.  Here is a list of good and wonderful things I can take from the past week:

I am thankful for my friendship with Jody. Who knew that an email I sent her last October on Etsy telling her how much I loved her watercolours would turn into such a special and supportive friendship. We have our painting styles, motherhood and a sense of humour in common.  It turns out that she grew up just minutes away from my sister's house. My sister now owns some of her originals too. I encourage you to have a look at her beautiful paintings, maybe even say hello to her.

I am thankful for my beautiful friend Colette who sent me the most amazing email one morning this week full of words that had nothing to do with me being a bully or hater without knowing how very much I needed to hear them. She is also the sweetheart who delivered that bouquet of Valentine candles to me.

I am thankful for my sweet friend Lucile who took time at midnight in Paris to send me words of encouragement when I told her that I was feeling discouraged this month about my art and Etsy. I am also the proud owner of two of Lucile's original paintings and I will show you them some day.

I am thankful that a stranger named Mary Jo took the time to leave a sweet and kind comment here after I visited her new blog, a welcome place of peace and beauty called Still.

I am thankful for the internet. Though this past week, I started to think of it as the big, bad internet and it definitely has that side, it has been the source of the most wonderful creative inspiration and beautiful friendships. There are a lot of very nice people out there and I am lucky to know so many of them. I am thankful for knowing Geninne, Margie and Arounna...and there are so many others that I can't list you all here as I would be afraid to leave someone out and hurt your feelings. I appreciate each and every one of you.

I am thankful for my daughters. They are kind, sensitive and wise. They are so supportive of my painting efforts--"Mama, go upstairs and paint!". They have a true sense of integrity, not to mention wonderful senses of humour (they are slightly nutty). For everything I teach them, they teach me something back.

I am thankful for my parents because I know that my moral core comes from what they taught me when I was young. I am also happy to say that my Mom is doing really well these days.

I am thankful for Meeko and how he gets me outside even on days when it's icy and horribly frigid, and the unconditional furry love he gives me throughout each day.

I am thankful for my husband and the gift of this painting. And Jody again, for making this beautiful bird nest, this symbol of hope, something that I get to look at each and every day.

One more thing:  I am thankful that January is over! :)

Hope     

Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul, 

And sings the tune--without the words, 

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard; 

And sore must be the storm 

That could abash the little bird 

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, 

And on the strangest sea; 

Yet, never, in extremity, 

It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

Bird nests and feathers are symbols of hope.

January Countdown

I have had a real case of the January blahs.  Does that ever happen to you?  I finally put my finger on what has been bothering me:  nothing in particular and everything in general. Yup, that seems to be it. The good news is that there is only one more day to go until the beginning of a new month.

I had a lovely lift on Saturday.  There was an unexpected knock at the door and a dear, sweet friend was standing there with a bouquet of heart candles for me. Isn't that the nicest thing to do?

You can make them too. Wonderful Margie of Resurrection Fern posted instructions for three beautiful Valentine craft projects including these very candles on the Poppytalk site.  

I love my candles. They even smell nice because of the beeswax.  Now I just need to convince Emma or Chloé to make a beautiful Valentine cake.

Uppercase

I just received my first issue of Uppercase magazine.  It arrived cold and frosty from our street mailbox.  Oh how I enjoy opening envelopes with my name on them. I love the soft feel of this magazine's beautiful coverstock, its gorgeous inky smell and the promise of its pages. I cannot wait to dive into it.

I am so thankful for the creative friends I have made this past year. I didn't even know about this magazine before taking a workshop with the wonderful Mexican artist Geninne, hosted by the amazing Canadian duo who own Bookhou in Toronto this past summer. I heard participants talking about it and then saw mentions of it on Geninne's blog. I particularly love the fact that it is produced in Canada. I put Uppercase on my Christmas list and was lucky enough that my lovely daughters subscribed to it for me.

Paintings As Gifts

In December, I worked on two paintings that I couldn't show you previously because they were Christmas gifts.

I did one painting for a very dear friend who moved to a new house this past summer. I painted her former home complete with her sweet cat sitting on the front porch.  She spent many years in this house raising her three great kids. I can say that because I know them. :) (In case you are worrying, her cat was not left behind. He sits on the front porch of the new house now.)

The second painting I did was of my parents' Golden Retriever named Ginger.  If you have been following my blog, you will know that Ginger was a sweet girl who died in December at the age of 12.  I held my breath through most of the painting process as it was so important to me that it really look like Ginger.   I have never done a watercolour painting of a dog before.

Both gifts were very much appreciated but I made everyone cry which I didn't intend, although I knew that I had chosen subjects with emotional weight. I know that they were all touched and I told my friend and my parents that I wouldn't be hurt at all if they put their gifts away for a while.

Christmas is Near

On Wednesday night, we had this--freezing rain.

Difficult for walking and driving but pretty for photos

This morning, we woke to a blanket of snow. :)

Enough to cover the grass...finally!

And make a certain dog named Meeko very happy. He reminds me of a rabbit when he runs.

The decorations are up. This one made Meeko bark. He doesn't like change.

I went with simpler decorations this year.

A lot stayed in their boxes.

This always comes out.  Beautiful  Mexican crêche figures--a gift from my sister Nancy years ago.

Why is it that the funny little decorations tug at your heart?
I made this reindeer out of toilet paper rolls, paint and twigs
with my daughter Emma when she was three. I still love it.

A little indoor ice

And some indoor warmth



Warm wishes to everyone in their holidays preparations and celebrations. 
To all of my blog readers
near and far, 
to friends, to family--a big holiday hug.  ♥