Olympic Moments XVI – 2.19.22
Congratulations to Ivanie Blondin on her silver medal in the women’s mass start speedskating final, and to all of our Canadian Olympians not only in the women’s and men’s bobsleigh events today but from the past 16 inspiring days.
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Cassie Sharpe, silver and Rachael Karker bronze in women’s ski halfpipe; Team Brad Gushie bronze in men’s curling; and Laurent Dubreuil silver in 1000m long track speed skating. Congratulations to all of these great Team Canada Olympians.
Olympic Moments XV – 18.2.22
Olympic Moments XIII – 16.2.22
Congratulations to our Canadian men’s short track speed skating relay team, Steven Dubois, Pascal Dion, Jordon Pierre-Gilles, Maxime Laoun and Charles Hamelin, on their gold medal in the 5000m relay. With this win and his 6th career Olympic medal Charles Hamelin becomes one of Canada’s most decorated athletes. Looks like we might have our second closing ceremony flag bearer.
Olympic Moments IX – 12.2.22
Congratulations to Team Canada’s Eliot Grodin and Meryeta O’Dine on their bronze medals in the first ever Olympic mixed team snowboard cross event.
Another great day for Team Canada fulfilling the Olympic motto in spades. Congratulations to all of our inspiring athletes: Eliot Grondin, silver medal in men’s snowboard cross; Isabelle Weideman became the first Canadian double medalist at the Games with a silver medal in women’s 5000 meters speedskating, to join her bronze; Jack Crawford, bronze in the men’s alpine combined; Marion Thenault, Mohammed Fontaine and Lewis Irving, bronze in the first ever Olympic mixed team aerials; and Keegan Messing’s performance in the men’s free skate was one of the highlights of a memorable day.
Oympic Moments VII – 10.2.22
Spirit Bark
On today’s third anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack in Barcelona this recent painting of bark from the magnificent trees in the Pacific Spirit Park serves to re-introduce my post from three years ago entitled “From Spirit Park to Spirit Dark” in which my painting of the park that day became transformed into a memorial for all those so tragically lost, as we remember them once again on this sombre day.
From Spirit Park to Spirit Dark – August 18th, 2017
Spirit Dark after Guernica, in progress
Spirit Park
The evolution of today’s post:
The Pacific Spirit Regional Park in Vancouver is a beautiful jewel in our city, a place of peace and tranquility that I have posted about many times, and as recently as this week’s Photo Challenge from The Daily Post. On our last visit there one of my photos inspired me…
…to set up a number of sheets of newsprint on the studio wall and see where it took me with charcoal, crayon and paint.
I was happy that the image was progressing well and was close to being finished…
…and then yesterday morning came the news from Spain of the horrific terrorist attack killing and injuring countless innocent men, women and children from all over the world, enjoying a summer’s evening in Las Ramblas in Barcelona. The images were heartbreaking, and one particularly was unforgettable, a baby’s stroller abandoned on the sidewalk and a child lying motionless in the street.
I shall never forget the first time I saw Picasso’s Guernica in New York in 1965. It has haunted me ever since, and those images from Barcelona immediately brought it back to me. It is perhaps one of the greatest works of protest art ever created, painted by Picasso after the attack on the city of Guernica in 1937.
Suddenly my Spirit Park in the studio seemed a million miles away from the reality of the carnage and horror happening across the sea, and images relating to another time in history started to appear amongst the trees together with that stroller and that beautiful innocent child.
As I send sympathy and condolences to all those suffering from yet another crime against humanity, Spirit Dark in some small way is my way of protesting these evil times.
One more photo from that morning in the park perhaps allows me to end with a ray of hope in our dark world.
Post Script 17.8.20
Two years ago in October 2018 visiting the Reina Sofia in Madrid was a special day on our memorable trip to Spain, the highlight of which was seeing Picasso’s Guernica for the second time in over fifty years having first seen it in New York in 1965. Once again, standing before the painting, it takes one’s breath away with its impact as an artistic statement against the horrors of war and of man’s inhumanity to man. Sadly so little seems to have changed in our present times as we see dictators and autocrats across the world continuing to demonstrate that same inhumanity as they terrorize their own people and attempt to prevent democracies from flourishing. To my American friends all I can say is VOTE.
The painting was finished this year.
Pacific Spirit Regional Park I – 25.5.20
Four years ago I posted From Yardwork to Artwork and was honoured to have it featured as an Editor’s Pick on WordPress Discover, which I posted about in a day like no other.
Pacific Spirit Regional Park II – 25.5.20
To celebrate this special anniversary for thechangingpalettte, yesterday and today in the studio I continued to create Art Works from our daily Park Walks in the beautiful Pacific Spirit Regional Park, which as you know I have featured regularly in the last few weeks since the pandemic started with photos and paintings.
Here’s a look back at the post that WordPress Discover featured for those of you who may not have seen it.
From Yardwork to Artwork: The Photinia Story Part One May 24, 2016
Photinia I 23.05.16
Today’s post is all about learning to find beauty and inspiration in the mundane chore of yard work on a holiday Monday.
Yesterday was Victoria Day here in Canada, the perfect time to prune the photinia and clean all of its dried leaves from the studio roof and gutter.
With the concrete cleaned and swept the afternoon was free for painting and photography in the studio with a rescued photinia branch making for the perfect subject…
and a few of the trimmed branches new tools for drawing with.
Now all I had to do was put the two together. What could be better than an ink drawing of the photinia created with one of its own branches?
Well, perhaps some additional watercolor to complete the picture…
and we’re almost there…
So ended a very satisfying day turning the hard work of yard work into art work.
to be continued…
A celebration to uplift us all of spring in our neighbourhood…
…and a look back six years, together with a little Gilbert and Sullivan:
Blossoms around the world May 21, 2014
Blossoms giving colour to our lives the world over.
The tulips featured in Canada Remembers have taken on a renewed beauty in their final hour.
My post from five years ago today looks remarkably similar
Studio 365: Day 136 May 16, 2015
As these glorious deep purple petals fall away revealing the pistils, styles and stamens that have been enveloped so protectively and majestically in the flowers core, these tulips seem to have taken on a renewed beauty in their final hour.
I thought I would repost this from six years ago today when if you had asked someone what “social distancing” meant they might have thought you were referring to how essential having First Class travel was on British Rail so that one didn’t have to sit with the riffraff in Second Class. Now, here we are six years later and the meaning couldn’t be clearer.
On The Move To Waterloo May 9, 2014
I hope you are all now moving to one of Abba’s greatest hits, Waterloo. I certainly am!
thechangingpalette 