November 5, 2010

pictures

I haven't much to say but I always have pictures. The first is the start of an underpainting for a 24" x 24" acrylic painting on the easel.

And this is a sketch for a commission. I'm just waiting on approval for the go-ahead.



This large and lovely visitor showed up in my garden this week. Here she is planning her attack on the suet feeder.

pileated woodpecker 1
And I took these photos last Sunday inside Vancouver's Pacific Central train station, also used as a Greyhound bus depot. It is such an elegant old building. I met two of my cousins for coffee there. Our great grandfather designed the station and it was built between 1917 and 1919.


cafe

12 comments:

albina said...

Your great grandfather designed it?! How awesome is that?!!!!!! I did catch that his leisure pursuits included canoeing :) and then I remembered photos of your canoe :) Great photo update! Can't wait to see more on that painting.

moreidlethoughts said...

Loving the commission sketch. And loving "Mother Redcap" which I guess is a flicker or woodpecker? See, I'm really dumb when it comes to your birds.

carla said...

That's super-cool! What an amazing piece of architecture! I am also loving your 99 magpies blog - the combination of your photography and snippets of lyrics is so evocative. Good stuff, Andrea:)

andrea said...

Albina: Sometimes that genetic stamp is very strong! (Or maybe it's just a Canadian thing to like canoes...)

Di: And I am constantly amazed at the cool birds you have in Oz.

Carla: Thank you ~ 99magpies is a fun creative exercise for me.

moreidlethoughts said...

I found it at Flickr!

mrwriteon said...

I love the station and it's a great place to meet friends. And your great-grandfather's role, what a wonderful connection. Obviously such profound talent has traveled down the generations as you consistently dazzle me, dear Andrea.

kikipotamus said...

I have never seen a Pileated Woodpecker on a suet feeder before. Neat! And thank you, thank you, for showing us these glimpses into your life and work. I love watching your paintings unfold. And the train station... that is so cool!

andrea said...

Thanks you two.

Hayden said...

Ahh, such lovely history to be connected to such a graceful building! The first photo... well, my brain doesn't always engage my eyes before it "decides" what it sees... somehow I thought it was fabric... colors so rich and specific, it didn't read like paint at all to me. What kind of paint is it? Are these acrylics?

I was negligent this year, but next I MUST hang suet in the apple orchard. I need some woodpecker buddies to keep a beak on the borers!

andrea said...

Yes -- acrylics. The underpainting went well but the near-final result is less than satisfactory (so far). I'm thinking my days of painting in acrylics are numbered (said the poor workman:). And as for the station, the government just announced $5 million in upgrades. Hooray!

Ingrid Beckmann said...

I find your site over Jana Bouc's blog.It is a joy to see your pictures. Whishes from Hamburg/Germany

Costescu said...

very cool sketch, I keep missing your posts on fb, I need to be more diligent in my surfing ;)