Goodnight Gracie

Said good-bye today to the most light filled young lady I've ever met.  She was 22.
Her father summed up Grace perfectly with this brief phrase: relentless zest.
The Art Club was blessed with her presence for a couple of years and this is where I came into possession of a couple of her whimsical cartoons at our season end art card trades.

She was afflicted with a disorder that first presented as hemiplegic migraines; these progressed to a seizure causing malady and was later diagnosed as a degenerative neuro-muscular syndrome that has yet to be fully understood.  Her Vancouver physician vowed to continue searching for a cause and ultimately the cure that she always hoped to discover in time to save Grace.
A slide show of her life played throughout the ceremony and most photos featured her larger-than-life unique smile.  As the casket exited the church with her crutches placed on top...we experienced one last painful, poignant reminder of her years of resilience and struggle.

It seems a very cruel ... law, almost... that these very sweet, gifted, young lights are extinguished after shining so briefly.

Buried

View from the front door following a weekend worth of snow.  In the past 3 days we've had 106 cm of snow and a season total of 590 cm. (19&1/2 feet)  People are complaining of avalanches in their driveways or 'avalanches on their avalanches'.

The view down Angle Street; it's protected from the wind so snow accumulates there at an even more alarming rate than in other areas.  I saw quite a few roofs covered in, conservatively, 6 feet of snow.
I'm fervently hoping we don't have to dig off the roof - that is one Sisyphean labor I'd like to avoid for the rest of my life.

Arctic Invasion

It's crisp, it's sunny and the grey is gone.  So has any shred or semblance of warmth because we are in the grip of an Arctic outflow more powerful than we've seen in years.  I was attempting to capture the snow blasting off the the roofs and down the street but my timing was poor.  It was -19 C this morning with a good solid wind to push it down even further to below -30 C.  We have about 20 cm of powder atop virtual conrete.  Snakes of dry snow slither and fly down the road as though on the Arctic tundra as frigid winds pour out of the north.
The hiking group is planning on commorating the one century anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott's arrival at the South Pole, (Jan. 17th 1912) next week by going on a 2 to 3 hour snowshoe ending at our fancy English Inn, Minnette Bay Lodge where they will dine on quiche and salads.
If they go out tomorrow maybe they can pretend they're actually AT the south pole.  Make me less sad to miss these outtings for the next few weeks as I present art workshops in the elementary schools.

Fresh & New

TwinB began her academic life at ACAD (Alberta College of Art & Design) yesterday morning with an Art History class.  Today she's in drawing workshops for a total of 6 hours and I'm looking forward to her report in a few hours.  *fingers crossed* hope all goes well...

One of her cigarette pack art pieces there, another Erin/Eileen collaboration which shouldn't be too hard to unload.  I've coloured most of the cig pack, affixed it to the canvas and extended the painted area right around the sides of the canvas which I suppose amounts to a heck of a lot of work but hey...it's how she/we pay me back.

Professional Photo Portrait

Best. Prize. Ever. !!
In mid-December I attended an open house held by Doug Keech, one of our local photographers. He offered a door prize of a $400 portrait sitting to someone who dropped by that afternoon and looky!
He drew my name!
Doug has started composing photo collages to portray people in their professions and I feel these works are his strongest and most interesting, though his landscapes can be breathtaking.  I went to his house yesterday for the shoot which was supposed to be 2 hours but as we both continued to make progress - I with posing and facial expressions, he with lighting - it went over 3 & 1/2 rather gruelling hours. 
Drop that shoulder, stretch the neck, tilt, twist, look down...up, relax the eyes and...smile!
Repeat a couple hundred times.  I also brought along a bag of art supplies which he used to make the final collage.  Doug will also give me a dvd of 20 or 30 other face shots so now I have a very nice collection to choose from should I need to include a good photo for a submission or profile.
The weather and sidewalk are also significant and part of the 'story'. Very typical Kitimat type conditions and since my house is a half block behind me this is what I consider to officially be MY sidewalk where all walks with our little dog must usually begin.
http://dougkeech.com/   <--- to peruse his site

One little exception to my overall glee? He chose the only one with accidental cleavage!!
We don't *do* cleavage in my family.

Mini Mural: Fini!

Here's the finished product following 14 hours of sometimes brutal and gruelling painting.  Tuesday left me feeling wiped and completely physically drained; I was hovering in the 2 & 1/2 feet off the ground range for most of the day.  I didn't realize till later that I was engaging in an isometric activity and was really stiff.  All better by Wednesday though.
    I showed the husband my daily progress via a little camera.  He squinted at the screen then asked (in that oh so eloquent way he has) 'why it looked like crap?'  I was quite perplexed -the home owner and I were rather pleased with it.  His point though?  Painting the 'H' car a different colour than the next caused 'UDSON' to stand on its own, so today I fixed it and yes, it does indeed read much better.

     I added the bugs she'd requested and polished up the mural till I couldn't polish no more! I'm happy with the rather sedate palette I chose since it works nicely with the colours chosen for the bedroom and hallway.  I'd really wanted to see young Hudson's reaction to the finished mural because he got a peek yesterday and his mom told me 'he was over the moon!'.

Evolution of a Mural

I painted this little boy's room a year and a half ago but the family moved a few months later and so wanted the same basic composition but with his name on a steam train rather than on a line of laundry since the young master - at the advanced age of 2& 1/2 - has an enduring love of that era of train.  (Thomas, you know).

Original sketch; didn't bother too much with the trees since, well, I've done them already.

One hour in, sketched in the composition and begin blocking in lights 'n darks.

Four or five hour mark; mostly blocked in with colour.  The Mom wanted the train in shades of blue rather like Thomas but less bright and more tasteful.  Tomorrow I'll continue to de-wonkify the backend of the train, paint on the letters and take a stab at depicting the actual railway.  I find I prefer to tackle the more difficult, finicky bits first to get them out. of. the. way.  Time permitting, I will fine tune the landscape elements. 
Day three will, hopefully, bring it to stupendous fruition!