Author: Bill

We didn’t think the Toronto Waterfront Marathon runners would reach our end of town so early, but those Ethiopian guys are FAST! We got across the Lakeshore and onto the bicycle path just ahead of the first group of runners. From there we headed for the peace and quiet of the beautiful Leslie Spit. Gorgeous day… for running or riding.
There were plenty of supporters along the race route. Lots of cheers and cow bells. Chinese dragons and a drummer provided colour and a beat.
On the way home, the formerly pristine boulevard had acquired a few cups from parched marathoners.

Spirit of the Beaver (Tlingit) in a Landscape, by Helen Andersen. Image size approx. 21″x 30″. Air brush, gouache on paper. January, 1988
Maybe he was displeased with the nickname he has acquired around our house. I believe SquareBob laid a curse on me while I was trying to frame him today. I knew he’d be difficult, he’s BIG. Add the mat and the frame and he’s a serious wall filler.
SquareBob is painted in gouache, with some airbrushing in the background, but he also has some metallic silver paint blended into the abalone shells that surround his face. Both Danica and I thought that a silver frame would go nicely with Bob’s shells, but it took me a whole day to mat it together with a bit on silver trim on the inner edge of the mat. Bob was fighting me, but I persisted until Danica said I’d done well.
So it was time to put the glass into SquareBob’s new home… a big sheet of single diamond glass. The finishing touch. “Not so fast”, said Bob, as he shattered the glass into pieces.
So Bob sleeps tonight without glass in his window. Tomorrow we will search out a replacement. Maybe acrylic.
[Update] SquareBob has his acrylic and seems satisfied.

This is the response to resistant inhabitants of the area in New Brunswick where a gas company wants to frack for shale gas. I don’t care what side you’re on. Let’s just see clearly what the deal is. “We want that gas. Get out of the way or we’ll shoot you”.

Followers of the story of the discovery of long-lost paintings will want to meet the people responsible for bringing them to light.

Left: Danica with Pat and Dennis Ekland in Sidney, BC, in August. Dennis gives full credit to Pat for her persistence locating Helen’s family. Right: Pat with the Helen Andersen painting she liked best, newly framed as our gift of appreciation.
Pat’s choice was an astute one, and topical, too. The tragic history of the residential schools is very much in the news these days. Helen’s painting shows a mother bidding farewell to her distressed young daughter as she is sent away from her family. The motif appears in other works by Helen. She was obviously deeply moved by the terrible events and related as a mother to the emotional pain caused as children were separated from their parents.

One of the nicest things about the discovery of paintings by Helen Andersen is the fact that 3 decades of work are represented. This first one is from the 1960s. Quite a conventional study and subject… the Hotel Vancouver viewed from the Courthouse steps (with a very British lion).

It’s an ink and wash drawing on brown paper. Vancouver was a fairly sleepy little town with few “important” buildings made of stone. Helen probably thought they were grand enough to deserve her attention. The drawing is quite big… about 17 ” wide and 23″ tall.

Above: Dockside, by Helen Andersen. This watercolour is much looser but still representational. You can see the boards of the dock and the shapes of BC’s tall trees.

James Island, by Helen Andersen. This is an airbrush painting of one of BC’s Gulf Islands. Last year, the owner of the island put it up for sale. Asking price: 75 million.

Just have to share this creative announcement issued by artist Julio Ferrer in today’s email. Love the viewer discretion advice.
Kiera and Julio are expecting a baby boy in February.

This was hard to miss as we rode by on the Martin-Goodman Trail. The blue kites were tethered to anchors in the sand. The other one was being flown skillfully by a guy who is out of the shot. He was able to drop it down quite close to the little boy on the boardwalk. The kid loved it and jumped to try and grab on… against mother’s wishes.

As a demonstration of the kite-flyer’s finesse, witness how he could catch the hook on this teddy bear, lifting it aloft from the sand where it had been sitting.

The swan family in Woodbine Park pond is doing fine. The 3 young ones are almost as big as the parents now.
Danica spotted swans floating by the shore on nearby Lake Ontario, a short time later. I didn’t know there were swans on the lake. Canada geese, sure, but swans were a surprise.

How perfectly this new building (a bar?) expresses the awarding of a 20-year, exclusive lease to a businessman with connections. How did this the gold mine of a location… the only thing like it, right by the beach, with oceans of parking and crowds of customers… fall into the hands of one family without ever going to public tender? Nobody seems sure, but it was a big factor in the downfall of our local councillor, who helped pull it off.

So what can be said about the building and the story behind it? I don’t know but sure it ain’t pretty.

Hawk-eyed Danica looked up from her handlebars and spotted a peculiar-looking helicopter hovering above the trees. I thought it was a full size machine, but quite far away. Danica got it right.

It was a model drone helicopter, maybe 2 feet wide, six propellors and steady as a rock. The guy flying it said it did have a camera. His control over the relatively quiet, battery-powered machine was very precise. I’ve seen many dog walkers with less control over their little dogs. Mr. Chopper literally walked his helicopter home, crossing a street and navigating between parked cars.