My old gal, the Yarka!

So much, most likely too much, to take to the Highlands Nature Sanctuary Artist Residency. Still, I need two easels for a one-day program I will be doing with a group of 15 youngsters.

The kids will be working on two 16x20" paintings. So, I need another easel besides my EasyL. Had to break out the Yarka. I bought her in the late 90's, and this one is very well traveled, going to India twice, England once, and many places around the USA.

She's an old workhorse that I put out to pasture and showing her age with missing parts, a dent in one of the metal legs, and  broken slat inside. Elmer's carpenter's wood glue and a bulldog clip helped fix her insides, and WD40 applied to her legs helped get them lubricated, but the dent in her leg means she gets off to a slower start. Just like me!

And just like me, I know she'll love the kids!

My Multimedia Print in Denison Magazine

Denison Magazine Spring 2015

I haven't really talked too much about the many months I spent in the Denison University Print Studio as a Licking County Community Scholar. But, my time there consumed me from January 19 until May 11, 2015.

I signed up for the Advanced Printmaking Class with Professor Ron Abram, who was my teacher the last time I'd set foot in class in 1995. It was an etching class then, and Ron was new to Denison U. After 20 years we had a long embrace of a reunion at the entrance to the studio door. Over the years, he'd been showing my old prints to his first year students! We were both very happy that I was in this class.

There were 9 of us: 7 Denison students, two of whom were doing independent studies, and two community scholars. Ron dubbed us the Denison Print Collective 2015. He set up a heavy load of work for us, and I embraced it with all my heart and soul, and it pulled things out of me that I had never explored. My entire time in this class was about experimentation.

I live in Licking County, and since 1991, a copy of the Denison Magazine has shown up in my mailbox each year. I never ever expected to be inside it's covers. Below is a link to the article focusing on the work my class as a multimedia experience with Denison's Tutti Music Festival this past March. My etching/workblock print has a full page image, with part of my artist's statement and comments from the composer whose work I chose to inspire me. On the facing page is the work on a first year print student, but graduating senior, Brittany. I was thrilled to be on facing pages with her, as I bought one of these drypoint prints from her edition of the image in print. We are on the last image page.
https://denisonmagazine.com/features/all-together-now/

Organizing and Packing

Packing for two residencies, and two workshops is so much fun. Plus all my stuff is getting sorted, cleaned and refilled, such as these brush washer cans.

The big one on the left was a recent gift from artist friend, Peg Vasil. The two in the middle are from Hobby Lobby ($13.99 last I purchased). The one on the far right is from Holbein years ago, available in 4 sizes from Blick ($69+ to $139+).

Last night, I saw the smaller cans in the center available on the Artwork Essentials website for around $19.99 + S&H.

Years ago, my artist friend Sarah LaDuca told me to use Murphy Oil Soap to clean oil paint from my brushes. It's a great product. Removes paint from clothes and much more.

My artist friend Margaret McWethy also recommended Lestoil to remove oil paint from clothes. It works great, too!

Still, not much that I know removes the stains of the Pthalo colors from a light grey carpet!

Sullivantia in bloom

Here's the rare Sullivantia in bloom. I didn't see this plant in bloom last Monday. I found these photos online here .

The plant is listed as growing in 10 states in the USA, four of which the Sullivantia is listed as threatened or endangered.

Residency #1 begins soon!

Sullivantia, one of the rare plants living in
the Highlands Nature Sanctuary,
in Bainbridge, OH.

In preparation for the Highlands Nature Sanctuary Arc of Appalachia Artist-in-Resident program which begins June 8 and culminates on June 28th with a show and sale of works from the five artists who will be spending part of their painting lives in an Ohio Eastern Temperate Forest, my Sherpa, Martin, and I drove to the site on Monday.

We were pleased to meet Charlotte and Dale on their lovely property. They purchased a piece of land with a small house on the edge of the forest, and let nature creep back in. It's taken 15 years for the forest to reclaim itself on their land! They have a small clearing around their house, live among singing birds, insects, a diversity of woodland plants, and are the perfect stewards of the Nature Sanctuary.

They handed us over to Betty, one of the board members, and we said goodbye to the laundry on the line, and the great balls of native grapevine that they made into natural ornaments for their piece of serenity.

I am looking forward to spending three weeks immersed in the natural world of the Eastern Temperate Forest! The trails are narrow, no fishing or hunting allowed, a lot more peaceful than the Hocking Hills Area of Ohio. Visitors are asked to keep their voices down, and who wouldn't if you're in the company of a few 400 year old hemlocks?

I look forward to sharing this experience with you, when I can get a connection.

Booked my flight to France

2014 at the top of the falaises in Etretàt, France.

Carrying all my painting gear and wearing several layers of clothing, I made the climb to the top of this side of the cliffs to see the backside of l'Aiguille, the Needle. On this side, the chalk is really white; on the opposite side, it's rather dirty looking. What a luxury it would be to spend a month here painting. My friend, Susie, climbed up with me and took my photo. She went on down again, and I stayed and painted. A part of me would like to have just walked. Indeed with my backpack on, and on open terrain, I felt a bit like I was back on the Camino.

July 2013, Spain, somewhere along The Way.

So many paintings left undone here.

We drove to the top of this side of the falaises. It was a fantastic day, but windy.
Just had to do some clowning around here. I was so very happy to be here.

This year, I am going to Brittany. I've only been to that region for about 2 days, in St. Malo. I think I made five or six small paintings in that time, the first one from my bedroom window with a sea view. The others were all made as I walked around the sea wall the next day.

So now, it's back to Brittany I go, in July - all alone! Just me and my paint brush. Long story, but if things had played out differently, I would have gone in September. Still, I am thankful to everyone that made it possible, and to Martin, for helping me decide which photos of my work to send. This opportunity comes on the heals of another residency in Southern Ohio, at the Highlands Nature Preserve. I serve there for three weeks in June, and have only a day in between to unpack and repack for my flight to France on June 30. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Disoriented!

Feeling a lack of focus over the last couple of weeks. This winter I did 2-1/2 months of concentrated work in the print studio at Denison University. Then an interactive exhibition; then spring break. The concentration level was broken.

We started back to school 2-3 weeks ago. But, I missed three classes because I took two painting workshops. And just this Wednesday evening, I started teaching again. Thursday evening, French class.

So, now I need to get into Camino mindset and find my way through some new prints.

I'm at Denison now, put out a bunch of things: specialty papers, prints, two plexiglass plates ready for monotypes.

A bit of placement planning, and adding an image ontop of a ghost image.

Shevlino Workshop: last day:( . . . Ready for action

David did a demo yesterday. Will post that later. We had three hours to paint our own. Been so busy in and out of class!

Now, I'm back in the studio this morning, for our last workshop day.

My Easy plein air easel with an 18x14" toned panel, and a third set of colors, fine tuned for this Alla Prima workshop. The tuna can contains clean solvent and in the small cups, linseed oil. And my brush cleaner with solvent hanging on the easel. Brushes mostly 1" and 3/4".

Shevlino Workshop: Demo #1

David Shevlino at the start of his demo. Placement of the figure.

Drawing the shape of the torso.

The figure, plus start of the shadow indications.

The first flesh tones.

 

Beautiful alla prima painting with a big brush!

 A solid understanding of the classical tradition of drawing and painting plus years and years of practice allows David to make it look so easy.

Shevlino Workshop 3: my little desk

In France last September our room in Etretât had a wonderful desk! I love having a desk to sit and write or draw and paint at.

Here's my little desk in the Brother Angelo room. You can see today's painting on top, and a small one by Mr. Shevlino.

Tomorrow's another day!

Today was a wonderful day. After breakfast, there was David's painting amazing demo, lunch, and then we painted until 4pm. After a little down time, Edie and I spent the evening with Jill from Chicago, and our teacher, David Shevlino. The four of us are the only folks staying in the Franciscan Life Processing Center, and so we spent the evening talking about art and life, English TV shows, and more.

There were heavy bouts of rain this evening or else we'd have gone out for dinner. A pond developed in the lawn outside, and a fog settled in over the newly formed pond.

I had hoped to post a photo of my desk with today's painting, plus the small painting that I purchased from David's small stash, but the best laid plans of mice and men . . . I have three Gmail accounts. My Gmail is not on the same email as my blog, so to access the photos that I emailed to myself from my phone, well, I would have to sign out, download the photos, and then sign back in. It seems all to hard right now. But I wanted to touch base with you anyway. I'll be stronger in the AM with a good night's sleep.

David Shevlino Workshop 2: Big Brushes

David's supply list said to bring big brushes. I've got tons of flats and filberts with me, lots in the 3/4" - 1" size. I try to get my students to work with big brushes, and of course, that takes lots of paint, too, something many students are afraid to put out.

 

But, this morning, I am ready for action! Demo starts at 9 AM. I've been up since 6 AM.

David Shevlino Workshop 1: 5-1/2 hours drive

Last week I took a 4-day plein air landscape workshop in Columbus, OH with Neil Riley. Neil was my teacher some 23 years ago when I was studying at CCAD. I have to say, the workshop was mind boggling for the breadth of knowledge that was passed on to the students, the quality of the material he shared through lecture, demos and projects he had us working on. I would say that anyone that decided not to take either of the workshops offered by Ohio Plein Air Society, in Columbus, has missed the boat on this one. A teacher with a superb eye and 30 years of teaching experience, and an insatiable desire to know about painting and help his students, makes this workshop a stand out. More on this workshop to come.

 

But tomorrow, I embark on a second 4-day workshop with David Shevlino. This one is a figure painting workshop, and I am really looking forward to seeing his demo in the morning before we start in on our own painting of the nude. I signed up for this workshop last year, and asked my friend Edie Dean if she'd be interested in taking it with me. So today, we drove to Lowell, Michigan.

To break the boredom of the drive, we decided to venture into
Lansing. I Googled "Antique stores near me"
and we were off on an adventure. We found these
monster brushes in a home interior store.
See my normal Size 8 watercolor brush for scale.

We are staying at the Franciscan Life Processing Center, just down the road from 14 Nuns who have their own accommodations. 250 acres of isolation and quiet here. We are each in a private room.

Me, I am Brother Angelo,
which just confirms my feeling that
at some point in time, I was a monk!
(Too many abbey ruins in my history.)
This is my key and my name is also above my door.
Edie is now Brother Leo. 



So, it's off to dream land for me now. My room is overly hot, but I am happy here with the Franciscans, my comfy bed, private bath, and little writing desk. Talk with you more tomorrow. Brother Angelo, over and out.

My print in Tutti Music Festival video

I've been trying to link this video to my website and blog, but it's difficult. Maybe this will work from my phone?

Two versions of my multi-media print, inspired by a musical composition by Scott Anthony Shell, are included in the video. It's around 3:35 on the time, at first out of focus. You see a person with headphones. He is listening to the music while looking at my prints. Just a flash in the pan, really, but a thrill and honor none the less.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152691386260592&pnref=story

Paul Reif, I miss him already!

Paul Reif, painting in an Ohio prairie on November 16, 2004.

I met Paul Reif in August 2002 at the first meeting of the Ohio Plein Air Society. Of all the photos that I had taken of Paul over the years, the one above is my favorite. He loved the prairie, and introduced it to all the members of our Society on this cold day, where we experienced every kind of weather from sun to sleet. But, as you can see, Paul was dressed for the occasion and painting happily away. I walked that property with him on this day to find a good painting spot. This was a privately owned prairie, around Urbana area of Ohio, and it was my first time in a tall grass prairie. The colors of the grasses in the fall were gorgeous. He knew it and wanted to share it. 

The photo below was taken in 2005, at an OPAS paintout at Franklin Park Conservatory, and the one of him standing and chatting with the husband of one of the members was from around the same time, near the abode of Tom Harbrecht. Thank you Nancy Reif, for sharing your husband with us!

 
His funeral took place a few days ago and was a fitting memorial to the man, the artist. He was father to seven children, one girl only, but she's a special one. It was interesting to see the boys, who he'd described as fun-loving and a bit wild at times at their get togethers. They were indeed chips off the 'old block'. Many of them had beards, his nose, but I didn't get to witness the frivolity that Paul had described at their family gatherings. It was a pleasure to meet his family all the way down to the great-great granddaugter.

There were more than a few tears shed.

It was fantastic to see Paul's paintings displayed around the room, paint brushes in his hand, a reproduction of one of his paintings in the lid of his casket. And, he was wearing a yellow shirt, even if it was a little more subdued that the yellows in the photos here.

It was difficult to say goodbye to this man. We had quietly communicated for 15 years through emails and sometimes phone calls. I will miss him sending me a photo of his latest painting, whether it be one of the prairie in pastel, or one of his large acrylic florals. I miss him already.

When we all arrived at the grave site, a cat appeared. His family agreed that Paul would have loved that.

He was a Navy Man and received the honor of a 21-gun salute, followed by a bugler playing taps. The morning's rain had slowed to a drizzle, the notes were muted and traveled through the air mournfully across the country cemetery and into the fields beyond.

Drats!!!

Been trying to send some photos this morning, but my resolution is too big. Will work on this.

Re: Tango

Bonjour de Giverny.

The internet has been atrocious, hence the lack of communication.

The weather, superb!

I did have a serious bout of diarrhea at 2:45am, night before last. Sylvie had medicine, but I was drained 3/4 of the day yesterday.

I can't say my paintings are any good, but getting better, I think.

Last night we painted in Monet's Garden, and will do the same tonight. We go this AM to paint an old half timbered gate house on and across the Seine from Vernon, just 4 km from Giverny. Then lunch and a tour around Monet's gardens and house.

That's all for now. We move to a different B&B today, for an additional 3 nights in Giverny.

Photo shows all of us in front of the Mairie, the town hall, in Auvers-sur-Oise, on September 15.

P.S. Dinner the last two nights has been ice cream and a glass of wine. C'est parfait!

Bold change

Blonde to red, at 14, she's not afraid of change. I should know that. Two years ago she had her long hair cut very short, a hairdo worn by Emma Watson.

Water soluble oils, hum???

Yep, here there are.

Cobra and Holbein's Duo Water Soluble Oils

Something I never wanted to do, but it's become a necessity.

In October, I am teaching a 2-day workshop for the LLL Center in Upper Arlington. The workshop was advertised as oils, water soluble oils and acrylics. I heard last week that all the people who have signed up so far use either acrylic or oils. So . . .  a bit of panic set in!

Lucky for me, I watch Project Runway,
and this is my "Make it Work" moment.

Thank you Tim Gunn!

Paint is paint, right. NOT SO. I use a 6-color limited palette, and most of what I do is based on the properties of those colors: pure pigment, high tinting power, 3 opaque and 3 transparent,  a warm and a cool of the primaries + white.

Let the learning curve begin.

I am thinking of one of my beginning oil students
after six hours of painting time.

"I don't think I'll ever get this."

she says sadly as she heads for the door at the end of the night.

"How many hours of your life have you been painting in oils?"

says I, just as she reaches the door.

"Six hours."

I asked her to consider this:

Monet, in his 80's, and

after a lifetime of painting said, 

"I'm only just beginning to see."

Montréal: history museum

Natalie and I were a bit reluctant to agree when Granddad suggested the museum housing info on Montreal's history. But, it was very interesting.

Photos here show Montréal's time capsule, with 20 boxes, each containing an item available in the year 2000. Objects for inclusion were suggested by the public, and were thought to be representative of, and importance to, this time. Natalie thinks a Brittany Spears CD will be one of the items. It's scheduled to be opening in 2100, so I'll never know. But, Natalie will be 101, and just has to wait 86 years!

The second photo is part of an earlier excavation of this site, and shows about 1/5th of the cemetery of the first white settlers. Somewhere around 38 people were found. One of the 38 died of natural causes. The rest died by Indian attack or accident, with one dying of an unknown cause.

Notice the wooden encased rectangle. It's the remains of a latrine, put in a couple of hundred years later, with no knowledge of the cemetery.

We enjoyed at least three hours here, looking at artifacts, a pirate exhibition and a special exhibition on Marco Polo, which included a short film made in the 1990's by two men from the Bronx, who recreated Marco Polo's journey. Sadly, that exhibition allowed no photos, so I made  a few drawings in my book.

Montréal: lunch

We're back in the US, working on our second all-day drive. I'm trying to catch up on the blog, so bear with me.

I am a bit disappointed that all the large picture files I attached to the last post didn't go through.

After our basilica tour, we took a carriage ride with André, and his horse, Duke.

Then Natalie chose Japanese for lunch. She had teriyaki chicken and shrimp tempura, we had the special sushi lunch.

We continued walking, and I found this lovely Art Deco building offering luxury apartments for rent.

Montreal: a little history

Our tour guide at the Basilica was a cute, young, French speaking woman. First thing, she asked us where we all were from: US, Australia, Greece, Italy, Bangladesh, Canada.

"Anyone know who was the founder of Montréal?" she asked in a cute French accent. Silence. "Maybe you have seen his statue just across from the cathedral." And so it was.

We learned that, in 1642, Maisonneuvre founded the French colonie of Ville Marie, dedicated to, who else, the Virgin Mary. In 1726, the colonie becomes the city of Montréal.

The white stone outside the west door marks the outline of the original small church, which was torn down in the early 1800's to make way for the building of Notre Dame. Ironically, an Irish Protestant architect was chosen to build this Catholic church. The architect's design included a 70' x 35' stained glass window behind the altar. It must have been spectacular. But, the sun came blazing through the glass each morning, blinding the faithful, as well as leaving the church too hot. So, a wall was built, and painted blue, to entirely cover the window.

Later, the 32,000 seat church was too big, so a smaller, 300 seat chapel, with accompanying 1,200 pipe organ, was built. Now, the large stained glass window was entirely hidden on both sides. And forgotten, until 1972, when an arsonist burned down the chapel. Today, the chapel is modern, and exposes all that could be saved of the original stained glass window, the King of France and the Apostle Peter, or Paul.

The church was designated a basilica, in the not too distant past, because of the beauty and richness of it's decoration.

Montreal: Basilica 1

It's hard to believe that it's only a week today that Natalie performed in King Lear. I feel as if I've been on the road for months.

We left Stratford, Ontario just 6 days ago, arriving in  Montréal, Québec Province quite late.

The next day was gorgeous. We walked to the old city, less than a mile from our hotel, and took a tour of the Basilica de Notre Dame.

Here's the altar, the 7,000 pipe organ and a shot of Natalie with a pregnant woman, who found a good place to nap.

Quebec: view from our hotel

We arrived in Quebec City yesterday around 2:30 pm. Here's the view from our 17th floor window. Not bad, eh? Église Saint-Roch. My fellow pilgrims would remember seeing his statue. He was a pilgrim, but too Rome.

It's 75% chance of rain today, after a sunny day yesterday.

First thing we did yesterday was walk to Jumbo Jumbo, one of two recommended coiffeurs. Natalie has an appointment at 12:30 pm with Elizabeth, who - we are told - speaks good English. I was hoping she'd get one of the stylish young men we saw cutting. But, the salon looks good, hip, and fun! In fact, I'm jealous.

Aller au Quebec

We're heading Northeast on the QC-20 for Quebec City. All new roads for us now.

We're passing through farm land now, and Natalie was the first to notice the smell of manure in her nostrils.
   "It smells like pigs!"
   "Not pigs, it's horses or cows," says I.
   Martin chimes in, "Or as my uncle used to say, 'it's the smell of money'."
     I chime in with, "And your Mother would say, 'there's that fine country smell."

And so it goes this early afternoon.

We started the day with Nutella and banana crèpes. Then a consultation with a hair stylist. Granddad told Natalie that her hair was boring, that she needed it to be metallic red. Her Mother has already told her that she cannot dye her hair. But, it weighs heavy on her mind. The stylist advised against the color she chose because she has some very light blond in her hair, and he said it would turn pink - sort of a light fuschia. We spent 15 minutes or more talking to him, but so far, no real action has taken place, so far. HUM?

Good morning, Montreal!!!

Guess what? You're in bed with me. Cosy isn't, just you and me. Martin went for coffee, Natalie is slowly coming back to this earth from her deep much needed sleep, and I am excited to get out on the street and speak some French.

What fun I had last evening speaking in that language!  No sooner did we pull up in the only small space in front of the hotel, a young man in uniform approached the car, and the trial by fire began. I rolled down the window and he spoke, "Bonjour, Madame!" Followed by a lightening speed bombardment of French. I was unfamiliar with his accent, but one word jumped out, "reservation". My brain is racing around, and when he finishes his question, I say , "Oui!" To my surprise. I also hear Martin saying "Oui" at the same time.

My ears and mind were now ready to hear French, and a good thing they were. The concierge sent out another barrage of instructions in French. I got the gist of it. Yeah! Good listening skills are what come of hanging out in classes with a native speaking teacher and advanced students who speak well. More later, got to hit the shower and go out into French speaking Montréal!!!!!!!! :)

Canada: Moving Forward

Saturday, August 9, 2014
Mixed feelings this morning. We're in the car heading for Montreal. It's about a 7-3/4 hr. drive from Stratford.

On one hand, I'm looking forward to revisiting Montreal, speaking some French, but, we've had such an amazing theatre immersion.

Plays we saw:
"Christina, the Girl King", by contemporary Canadian playright, Michael Marc Bouchard (with excellent translation by Linda Gaboriau)
"The Beaux Stratagem", a magnificent comedy, by George Farquhar.
"King Lear", by The Bard, starring Colm Feore.
"Alice Through the Looking Glass", by Lewis Carroll, adapted for stage by James Reaney.
"King John", by William Shakespeare, starring Tom McCamus.
"Crazy for You", the New Gershwin Musical, music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, book by Ken Ludwig.
"King Lear", acted by The Queen's Company", starring our Granddaughter, Natalie Lynch - and her class of 21 young actors.
"Man of La Mancha", written by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, Lyrics by Joe Darion.

That is a lot of theatre for 6 days!!!!

I managed to do 5 paintings: one landscape (overtop an old painting). Not a great painting, but a good warmup; and four lily pond paintings - three of which I can frame immediately!

We had some interesting and delicious meals at Mercer Hall, Stratford Thai Cuisine, a beautiful chickpea with fresh veggies and mustard sandwich from Canadian Grub, nice salads from Bentley's and Molly Blooms, one beautiful British Columbian whiskey called Revelstoke (Bentley's), and a delightful Dillon's Canadian Gin, plus a magnificent Australian Sauvignon Blanc (Mercer Hall). One evening by the Avon River, we shared two chunks of cheese, recommended by the frommageur, (French soft one from Basse Normanie & a hard Italian) and complimented with a few dried dates, plus baguette.

We stayed in two B&B's: The Knight's Inn, run by Michael, from Surrey, England via Toronto. Michael is subtle, but able to deliver just the perfect zinger at the right moment to enliven a conversation. At his B&B, we met three Ohio women, two of whom live within 15 to 30 miles of us, and one who's sister lives in my neighborhood! Two days ago we met two charming and optimistic women from Detroit who took advantage of the $30 bus from Detroit to Stratford.

Our last morning, we lingered over tea at the breakfast table for an engaging 2-1/2 hour chat with our host, and a Canadian couple. Jane started off the conversation by saying how much they "enjoy watching the politics across the border for it's entertaining and mind boggling qualities." Ian was amazed at the cost of our last election process, a staggering $33,000,000,000. Their last election was $300,000,000. 1000x less! That's a lot of zeros. We rambled on about Scottish games, roundabouts,  how easy it is to get into a fight in a pub in England, and let the conversation travel it's easy path to enlightenment.

We changed B&B's and stayed at Curtain Call B&B for one night, with Natalie. The propriortors bought this B&B 8 years ago and have made many rennovations. James is a professional chef, who, for 17 years, once ran his own restaurant in Newfoundland, but his wife, Angie, did the cooking and booking keeping. They are people persons for sure, he directs all the action, serves, chats and tells jokes, and is not shy about throwing in a few cuss words, or giving a bit of cooking instruction. At table with us was a couple from Rochester, NY, who got engaged at this B&B, and have come back for the last 12 years.

Yesterday's Queen's Company performance was amazing, complex, and well acted. The youngest actor was 12, the oldest was, Natalie, at age 14. Lear is heavy drama, with lots of intrigue, sword fighting, and the torturous seen with The Duke of Cornwall cutting out the eyes of The Duke of Gloucester. It doesn't take much in the way of props - a gold trimmed velvet cloak, some makeshift blades, and a mask or two, to spark the imagination.

Now, after 2 hours in the car, we have only done an hours worth of travel. We're caught up in the stop and go traffic on the 401 around Toronto. We are passing an old Quebecor Plant where Martin worked several times in passed years. And I knew that I'd be very sorry that I didn't buy the soundtrack from "Man of La Mancha".

Theater Sketches

I've been doing a lot of sketching over the past few weeks. And now, we"re back in Stratford, Ontario for the Shakespeare Festival. First night, we saw "Christina, the Girl King", by a contemporary French Canadian playwright. The English translation was outstanding, as were the costumes.
I was thrilled by the use of shadow in the opening scene (especially since I had been posing my granddaughter in just such a manner at home) and quickly retrieved my sketchbook from my purse. It was dark, so I started with blind contour. Later, when there was slightly more light, I was able to capture a couple sketches that were slightly more studied.