I See a Bird and a Piano!

Posted on May 12, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….a piano????

This is day 92 of my 365 Days of Art challenge. In my last posting I told you about Carla Sonheim’s challenge More is More. This is my second attempt at taking a piece of art that I wasn’t thrilled with and adding more paint. For this one I was a bit more whimsical and started to add some funny little character drawings throughout. I sent the finished piece via WhatsApp to my granddaughter and asked her what she saw. Her reply was ‘a bird and a piano’.

Here is the original art followed by the new piece. What do you see?

New Flower (May 12, 2018) – White Dahlia

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365 Days of Art – More is More

Posted on May 12, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….Day 91

Normally we say less is more but for this assignment from Carla Sonheim we were to take a painting that we weren’t crazy about and add more paint. The steps involved covering the whole piece with a gel medium, let it dry, and then apply colour randomly with paint markers. The whole idea was to create like a child and not think about it too much. After the piece was covered with marker the fun really began. I used more paint markers, black Sharpie and white gel pen to add more line detail for this piece. Here is the original piece followed by the new piece.

365 Days of Art – Yellow

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….day 90

A few days ago Carla Sonheim posted a prompt. It was a quote from the artist Pierre Bonnard. I have to admit that I had never heard of him before but he managed to make a living from his art in the early 1900s right up to the 1940s while living in France.

The quote was “One cannot have too much yellow”.

I decided to take a page of one-liner drawings and add some colour with paint and collage. I painted the background with yellow watercolours and then I cut up paper to add texture and visual interest to the flowers. After that I took markers and conte pencils and added more lines and squiggly detail.

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – A Gift at the End of the Road

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Mama Cormier

……thanks to Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge

Now that spring is finally here, I’m back out for my walks. I headed towards the parks west of my house to see what kind of damage the recent wind storm had caused. Fortunately most of the debris and downed trees had already been cleared away.

As I continued toward the pond I was treated to a wonderful gift.

New Flower (May 11, 2018) – Two-toned Daffodils

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Celebrating the Cherry Blossoms

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..the cherry blossoms in High Park have bloomed but won’t last much longer

The blooming of the cherry blossoms in High Park is a big deal. Every year hundreds of thousands flock to the west end of Toronto to take in the cherry blossoms. In 1959 the Japanese ambassador to Canada, Toru-Hagiwara, presented 2000 Japanese Somei-Yoshino Sakura trees to the citizens of Toronto on behalf of the citizens of Tokyo. The trees were planted in appreciation of Toronto accepting re-located Japanese-Canadians following the Second World War.

Sakura is the Japanese name for flowering cherry trees and their flowers – often referred to as cherry blossoms. The Japanese traditional custom of hanami or “flower viewing” dates back to 710-794 when the Chinese Tang Dynasty influenced Japan with their custom of enjoying flowers. Today when the Sakura trees bloom, Japanese people and people from all walks of life and cultures continue the tradition of hanami, gathering in great numbers along the pathways on the eastern shore of Grenadier Pond in High Park.

Thanks to the High Park Nature Centre for the information about the history of the Cherry Blossoms in High Park. If you get out in the next couple of days you can still catch some of the blossoms before they fall to the ground.

New Flower (May 10, 2018) – Pink Begonia

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WPC – My Place in the World is Near Water

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to WordPress for this week’s photo challenge Place in the World

People assumed that I would move when I retired. That’s other peoples’ dreams, not mine. So often I hear people say they want to move to the country, get out of the city. I’ve known some people who have done that but moved back to the city within a few years. I live close to downtown Toronto but I’m right by Lake Ontario and I’m surrounded by parkland. If I want to go into the city to catch a show or go to museum or art gallery I’m only a 20 minute car drive away or a short trip on the subway. When I want to go hiking or biking I just have to step outside my door and get on the Waterfront Trail. I have the best of both worlds.

I’ve always loved living close to the water and I love my city, Toronto.