First quarter reflections with brief turbulence ahead

 

 

Oh, what a time it's been, these first months of 2026. There were my personal to-do's:-- dentistry, eye surgery.  And then for so long, the word on everyone's lips:  RAIN.  I might have moaned now and then, but overall, I'm undeterred – and grateful for the factors that saw me through.

 

My friends first and foremost – but no one wants their picture taken!  Okay.  How about a couple of daytrips sponsored by dear friend L's North Shore gallery?  On one rainy blustery day, we headed for the National Historic Shipyards at Steveston, BC.  No one slipped from the boardwalk, and most umbrellas survived – and it was, truly, memorable and touching.

 

That same trip, we "caught" a handsome big fish in the cozy warm lobby of the Richmond Art Gallery. 

 

On another recent trip, we saw a small exhibit of funky clothing.  You can imagine how much this octogenarian loved the octopus jacket!

 

And nature prevailed:-- Despite the rain and cold, crocuses arrived on schedule.

 

And then there were the denizens of my studio – small portraits, maybe 8x10", on cardboard or what-have-you.  They've looked on, wondering what I'll do after the Spectral Creatures series.  For years, I've saved pictures from magazines and newspapers that would make possible models and then sometimes used them for quick practice studies.

 

Before those two, I'd done the mini-study for my Red Creature and then used a bunch of paint left from the Indigo explorations for another quick splash. 

 

But let's get back to the fish and the suggestion of brief turbulence.  It's essential we do this now because --- tomorrow is April Fool's Day!  Looking at my photos and thinking about the date, I was suddenly reminded that years back, a wily trickster had told me about …Poisson d'Avril!   It's an old French custom, still observed by some, to play jokes in the name of "April Fish" rather than "April Fool's!"

 

I could almost get away with calling out "Poisson d'Avril!" and pinning to someone's back an enameled fish pin of mine – except I wouldn't want it to be The One That Got Away.

 

Once this is behind us for another year, I'll be one step closer to unveiling the next series.  For now:--  Watch this spot.

 

A sight for sore eyes?

 

It's true.  I did feel very relaxed, sitting beside the empty skating rink at North Van's Shipyards, in the aftermath of a heavy rainfall.  But that was mostly because, after dental work, I could again drink hot coffee. (Oh, she does go on about that, doesn't she?)   As an example of whiteness, though, it might or might not have been beneficial for my eyes – the debate rages among manufacturers of LED lighting fixtures, depending on their products.  Warm white!  Cool white!

 

Whatever.  My eyes certainly needed a little respite after dealing with all those Spectral Creatures in a series that I really should have planned more carefully.

 

 It's a little as if they unleashed something – like books that I happen on in the library:

 

Random happenings that recall the perplexing question: What does violet really look like?

 

Just in time to decide what I'd do next, I had a bright idea.  A very BIG one:

 

How about that for a lightbulb flash?  As it happened, I'd read recently about the official and controversial Pantone Color of the Year – a very special white they call "Cloud Dancer."

 

This came along just as I was reviewing old notes and sketchbooks and came across a long-held inspiration to convene some famous "Girls in White Dresses."   From my sketchbook list, I pulled Monet's "Woman with Parasol (Mme. Monet)" and "On the Strand at Trouville," Degas' "The Invalid," and Thayer's "Angel" – shown here on my laptop screen for your quick reference.

 

My intent was to group and "copy" these models, and there would certainly be challenges:  How to put them together in a satisfying composition?  How to offset each white dress, especially challenging when one might be placed against another?  Well, here's a first step:

 

I kept hoping that, with each small colour addition, the way would become clear.

 

But it was here that I reached a decision point.  It was time to invite a few more of these gals, give them their own panel, and treat the two panels together as a diptych.  Here's a quick capture of the second group of white dresses:  Whistler's "Symphony in White,"Liepke's "The Midnight Salon,"  Holbein's "Anna Meyer," and Toulouse-Lautrec's "The Hangover."

 

An early lay-in:

 

A little more development brought this to the stage where I could decide which panel of the diptych would be which (right or left). 

 

The possibilities were:

 

I chose the first alignment, worked a little more, and then came the deep sigh that means……now what???

 

Okay, for the last act, I decided to let loose with pattern, the design element that always makes me feel better, whether or not it looks better.  Here's the grand finale, with the two panels side by side:

 

It's all been a learning experience, right?  The influential 19^th-20^th century art dealer Ambroise Vollard wrote, "Renoir said once that nothing was so difficult to paint, and at the same time so exciting, as white on white."

 

I'll keep that in mind if I ever try this again.  For now, I'll briefly hold the thought that simple can be better than complex.  The week after the marvelous huge lightbulb gave me too many ideas, a city workman parked his "cherry picker" almost in front of my house.  Attracted by the whir of his lift, I was just in time to see one man, in one truck, with one light fixture, replacing one street lamp.  As simple as that!  What a good idea!