Sunday, February 23, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Forever and a day
Or this winter wonderland is here to stay - like the Gershwin melody 'our love is here to stay'
Nothing grand - a lot of small adjustments, seemingly endless.
Forever and a day, color pastel on Maidstone 10"x10"
mcohenlabelle©2014
In fact I love winter, I just hope there isn't flooding with snow turning into rain and if it freezes again I hope the wheels of our car don't get frozen stuck in several inches of solid ice like they did last Sunday.
Forever and a day pastel on Maidstone 10"x10"
mcohenlabelle©2014
Forever and a day, color pastel on Maidstone 10"x10"
mcohenlabelle©2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Addiction to hand warmers
My hand warmer which looks like a large, oversize tea bag was still warm as I ate my dinner tonight and then clambered up the stairs to look at the internet.
This pastel is from earlier in the afternoon not far from Crooks Hollow Rd, where I planted myself as firmly as I could on a deep snowy embankment with partial sun and particles of blowing snow.
The descent from the road was short but fairly steep and at one point laden down with stuff, I misjudged the depth of the snow, lost my balance and fell forward. Shirley said that at least I had something soft to fall into.
But she had an equally unsettling experience - I thought the wind sent her easel flying, but she said no, it broke.
Crooks hollow unfinished pastel on toned paper approximately 10"X10"
mcohenlabelle MCL © 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Chair with arms
I went into my studio this afternoon to check on cobwebs and leakage and rescued this painting of a chair that is probably the same chair from studies in one of my notebooks. I did these years ago.
oil on masonite 18"x24" (# 1)
mcohenlabelle MCL©2014
mixed media on paper 11"x14" (#2)
mcohenlabelle MCL©2014
mixed media on paper 11"x14" (#3)
mcohenlabelle MCL©2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
A different kind of light
In spite of the warming trend I only half dressed and instead of rushing
outside to glory in the warming trend, I propped a drawing I had worked on last
Sunday against a piece of furniture in my dining room and worked on it for over
an hour. The challenge always is
that the model is absent and so is the combination of muted natural light and
artificial light of the 3rd
floor studio – in place of which I have the mid day light of my south facing
dining room. Not that I mind but I do nevertheless have to be cognizant of that
difference. Not that I wish to burden anyone with that trifling detail, it’s enough that I burden myself. Now I hardly sound sincere and that poses
a different kind of problem – a peculiarity of character that I’ve had years of
practice at. You know what they say – practice, practice, practice.
From a Sunday afternoon
pastel on strathmore toned paper 24"x18"
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
February’s handshake
Not as cold as they said it would be, especially when the sun came out. Also I had a pair
of hand warmers and although the expiry date read July of last year, lo and
behold they still worked like a charm. Mind you I did bring back up warmers that were current.
I borrowed my husband’s camera to take a few photos but he forgot to put in the battery,
so that ended that idea. Now that there’s a warming trend I’ll try to get back there tomorrow or Thursday.
pastel on prepared paper 10"x7"
mcohenlabelle MCohenL © 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Seated figure
December 29, 2013
This was the last drawing I worked on at our open life studio before the end of last year. The paper was very gritty, indestructible – not the best to my liking – but I prepared it myself. Of course it comes in handy to blame the paper. The truth is I'm still fiddling. As my grandmother might have said, so nu?
This was the last drawing I worked on at our open life studio before the end of last year. The paper was very gritty, indestructible – not the best to my liking – but I prepared it myself. Of course it comes in handy to blame the paper. The truth is I'm still fiddling. As my grandmother might have said, so nu?
Seated figure, pastel on gessoed watercolor paper 19"x24"
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Man, car, snow
We said good-bye. A few minutes later in the background I heard the
gunning of a motor, but paid no
attention. When it persisted and got more desperate, I went to the window. It was our
car. There he was with our neighbour, two shovels, a bag of salt, a few grunts and a
push and eventually he left.
That’s the thing – there
was snow over ice from yesterday’s topping.Quick sketch.
conte on bond paper 8"x10"
man cleaning snow off car
mcohenlabelle Feb 2014 © MCohenL
Weeping willow early November
My friend Gershon once said, (actually more than once) that because he hadn't painted that day he really shouldn't eat. I said somewhat alarmed, “Oh!”. I was very young.
This was said while we were already eating – both of us cabbage borscht and gefilte fish with
horse radish. Really good menu at this restaurant, The Bagel, they generally
drew a large crowd (they made
their own bagels daily – huge), near his studio on Spadina.
The owner of The Bagel, Benny, was short, bald
head, white shirt and apron, wonderful man - a character. So was Gershon. Both were Polish. Gershon had a number on his forearm if you get the idea – but not Benny.
Every once in awhile Benny would fly off the handle –
seldom really - but noticeable when he did. And his wife behind the counter would
say quietly, “Benny, please.” I
commented about this, his anger. Gershon said that maybe he had a reason to be
angry i.e. there was a cause - and how could I judge if I didn’t know. I waited
for an explanation but there wasn’t any.
But back to Gershon and his painting/eating thing – what
made him say that? Was it guilt? Maybe he was just addicted to painting through
the night and the bottle of vodka that went with it. I was much too young to
know about things like being, driven etc – still don’t
Willow tree November oil primed panel 9"x12"
Marcia LaBelle(MC0henL©2013)
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Incalculable risks on a slippery day
Last Sunday morning was like a skating rink again. When you stepped outside the ground was covered with a treacherous sheet of ice – sidewalks, roads, parking lots. Old people as they walked to church to sing hymns, pray, worship - took their time with
cautious, mincing carefully measured steps – to slip and break
something on their way to worship would be like a bad joke, worse – it wouldn’t do – for one, it would almost certainly disappoint
their priest or rector, much more than missing a carefully crafted sermon – upsetting all around.
Watch yourself my husband cautioned. I was on my way religiously to James North where I attend the life drawing sanctuary once a week – I’ve
taken a vow to go as regularly as possible. But naturally once in a while I miss, like most of us, I slip up now and then.
A pastel drawing from Sunday last May
M Cohen L © 2013
Monday, February 3, 2014
Futon
I have a rhythm section in my left ear, a percussive
tapping that fades in and out.
Right now it’s at rest. Sometimes it feels as
though I have a front row seat at a gig with Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich who I enjoy, find exciting. Or maybe a flamenco dancer with a persistent duende like stamping while
I’m trying to sleep. At first this unsolicited drumming entertained me but after awhile its prolonged hunger for attention wore me out, dismayed me. Now after
a few weeks of it I’ve become mildly detached and accepting as
though a neighbor has just dropped by uninvited or unexpectedly for a visit and
I’m too polite to say, “please not now, I’m busy” and eventually the visitor
gets the idea and leaves.
An unmade
futon with red comforter.
oil on gessoed panel 9"x12"
M Cohen L © 2013
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Something tangential
Two years ago, the name of Man Ray re-crossed my radar. How that came about - I had
recently watched a fascinating film based on the
novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. There was a memorable scene for me where the doctor’s mistress, an artist, is showing the doctor’s most recent
mistress (who has recently developed a relationship with her camera) some
photographs from a book on Man Ray, or was it on Man Ray’s wife? There’s quite
possibly some misinformation here. I should rewatch that film when I have a chance. Then I too decided to leaf
through some of Man Ray's extraordinary photographs.
M Cohen L © 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)