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.
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