Monday, December 21, 2009

Rignac under snow

Could be a Christmas card...lovely from afar, but pretty chilly in reality. I took this shot on the road down from Roumegouse. As I gingerly made my way down the hill, I passed a couple waiting for the tow truck. Their car lay on its side in a ditch. Pretty slithery conditions. Thabo and Sam having a blast.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Red Lady















I am starting a series of large paintings loosely based on sketches from the Monday life drawing evening. I haven't painted for myself for years, and find it strangely constraining, after railing for years against editors and art directors who demanded changes in my illustrations. Perhaps I need a weight/force to work against, and feel adrift without it.

Anyway I have started, and interestingly enough, seem to be picking up from where I left off at art school decades ago: a fascination with large robustly charged women.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

The Opium Den

Every night Sam disappears at about 10:30 or 11. I used to get in my car and try to find him. Once or twice I found him chilling his heels in a cage in Rocamadour or Gramat. He has chewed his way through three leashes and two collars. I replace the tag with my phone number on his collar very other day, though this is hardly necessary as everyone within a 20 kilometer radius of Rignac seems to know Sam now from his "Perdu!" posters.

Who knows where he goes but he is home in the morning, once with a suspiciously bloody mussel and this morning with a limp. He then spends the day recuperating in what used to be the Art Gallery, but now is referred to as the Opium Den.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Mysterious bearer of goodies in Rignac

About a month ago, I found this little rose bush, wrapped up and be-ribboned, and a homemade nut cake on my kitchen table. Still don't know how they got there, but a neighbour told me last week that the same thing happened to her a few years ago, and she still doesn't know who our secret benefactor is...