doreyme

Tulips, 16"x16", oil on wood

I didn't prime the wood..around the edges it's the original wood..waiting for it to dry...then I'll varnish it..see if I still like seeing the bare wood...

Mount Royal Sumacs, watercolour on Fabriano paper

an attempt to capture the amazing winter blue sky on a sunny day in Montreal. This is windsor blue...

sumacs in the snow, watercolour + graphite on fabriano paper, 5.3 x13.8"

2 hr walk on the mountain, saw not only the sumacs, but 2 horse riding cops, calmly trekking thru the snow in the middle of the forest. Those horses are goats, clamoring over tiny paths. Angus was stunned.

in the "how cool is that" department

...2 of my photographer were on view at the Musee de l'Elysee's exhibit ‘We are all photographers now!’ in the museum for photography, Musée de l'Elysée, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Lest I get too swell headed, hey, anyone can submit. Those democratic Swiss. check it out

#17, Wintertree, 16x16, oil on wood

Wintertree #13, 16x16, oil on wood

a propos of nothing....

just a cool Montreal winter pic..right near the Verdun yacht club...quite near my studio.

Wintertree #13, 16x16' oil on wood

One of my latest wintertrees...lotsa carving here + ever so Canadian...or northern rather. Canada doesn't have dibs on winter trees, I suppose. I like the "plaidness" of this one + may push the next one like it more to the abstract.

a little watercolour

quickly rendered of a young friend from the west coast.

I've been very boring...

Just working. Keeping to myself. Trying to get a show together. Still "wintertrees"...how many times, ways can one paint trees in winter. Just watchme, to paraphrase a many prime ministers ago, prime minister, whose son has declared he's running in the next fed election.( Justin Trudeau)

Little Head study, 8x10, oil on canvas

Winterforest, 11x15", watercolour, arches paper

That big blobby dark thing isn't actually part of the watercolour, it's me, taking the picture too late in the day. When will I learn...however, actually, didn't finish this until end of the day... Oh my, February is a long month.

100 $ Art Store, kaput

Artists are a flightly lot. I started the internet artist run gallery on a whim, without any marketing research. (as if) I had a billion artists, okay a dozen or so plus, enthusiastic + eager, promising to send in jpegs. Well, almost all didn't + there isn't enuf time in the day to deal with stuff or people who aren't total keeners so it's kaput. I'm relieved, frankly. Anything that takes away from painting...

Red Nude, acyrlic on paper, 15x 22.5"

ah, Montreal in February. Not a good time to be an artist's model.

Elvis #1, 11x15, watercolour, arches paper

...bit of renewed interest in my Elvi watercolours. I had meant to do one a day but weakened when no-one but no-one, except one cool friend + now a writer who's putting together a book on Elvi art came a knocking -- ever showed one iota of interest in my Elvis watercolours. They are not even officially of Elvis, they're watercolours I've done of a bust of Elvis. One of those 29.99 specials they used to sell at Zellers/Woolworth's a million years ago.

so long, Ryan...

He blew into small town Vancouver, accompanied by his beautiful blonde haired girlfriend, Felcity, to teach film at the Vancouver School of Art in the early 70's, where I was a student. They were so exotic + sophisticated. Cool East Coast hipster-hippies...A great artist, Ryan Larkin, 1944-2007.

Quebec Wintertown, watercolour, 7.5 x11.25"

five tulips, watercolour, 12x16, Arches paper

bought a potful of tulips to chase away the snow. Painted many watercolours today+ groundwork for a couple of oils on wood + found the tulip a shy, introverted flower, unlike the daffodil. This is the largest watercolour I worked on, +using arches paper grain fin, 100% pur coton, founded in 1492...sometimes intimidating paper. The good thing is, it's such great paper, if you screw up, you can always flip it over + use the other side..

clematis watercolour

what snow?

A snip here a snip there

The Harper Valley PTA don't much go for culture, big surprise. What you can do about it.

feb 13, 07, Portrait of Another Good Friend Far Away

Another palette knife painting...loving it, still. A very different way of painting...still not horribly adept at it, but constantly learning.

toot toot

today's featured artist

feb 12/07 Little Daffs, oil on canvas, 8x8"

getting my bucks worth out of one little pot of flowers. The blue here is a bit off...don't sure why...took pix too late in day I guess. Anyways, what a dreadful time of the year in Montreal. Cold (going down to 22 below tonight) everyone depressed, sick, broke + so many dumb things going down (eg. my kids art rich school, FACE being dismantled brick by brick, the tv/film industry -- Videotron + Shaw, who spend billions paying top dollar for the worst of American crap, not willing to invest in Canadian culture (other than those stupid Hollywood gossip rags hosted by ex-Prime Minister's sons), the cowboys in Ottawa cutting/slicing/dicing cultural funds...blabhalbhabh. What kind of pathetic country are we without our artists? Writers? Film-makers? Poets? Humbug! Thank god for dogs and daffodils.

can you say liar?

In a letter to FACE parents dated Oct 6/06, the school board, CSDM
insisted that firing the much loved principal Nick Primian was in no way motivated by a desire to close the school or change its character. Well HA! Lies, lies, lies.

The new FACE administration intends to introduce a set of changes at the upcoming meeting of the school’s Governing Board, to be held on Tuesday, February 13th. If approved, these changes have the potential to drastically undercut the school’s ability to maintain its unique programme and character. The administration appears to be ready to proceed with these proposals in spite their rejection by 75% of the teachers present in a staff meeting held Friday, February 9th, a pedagogical day.

A significant reduction in the teaching time (and number of periods per week) devoted to arts subjects (fine arts, drama and music) – arguably, the defining characteristic of the school, its entire raison d’être and the cause of its great success.

• Reduction or elimination of the “family class” time. Family class is a very important feature of life at FACE school. It encourages students in Grades 1-2-3, and 4-5-6 to get to know each other, which contributes to its unique character (which simply doesn’t include bullying) and sustains its spirit.

• A strict policy against scheduling FACE teachers who are employed by one board to instruct students from the other school board (CSDM and EMSB). If followed, this could eventually impact the school’s ability to offer its arts programme to combined classes from both language sectors, as well its ability to offer “français langue maternelle” to anglophone students and “English first language” to francophone – both valuable features which give added value to students and reinforce the bonds between the two language sectors that make up the school. SOS FACE

**to non-Montrealers. F.A.C.E. school has stood as a beacon among Montreal schools over the past thirty-one years, having developed and implemented with extraordinary success a Fine Arts based curriculum which is unique among Quebec schools and which is world renowned.

now it can be revealed...

my paintings in the family fotos show at PP's. #1 My father, "Boppi" + me, 22x28”, oil on canvas#2 My mother, "Mutti", 22x 28” oil on canvas #3 Me, "Boomerli", 22x 28” oil on canvas #4“Boppi”, “Mutti” + me: the Golden Years When I was an Only Child.." 22x 28” oil on canvas... "When I was born, six years after World War II ended, my mother was two weeks into her twenties and already saving to immigrate to the U.S. with my father. But then my father discovered he would be drafted and sent to fight in Korea if they settled in the U.S. They decided to move to Canada, instead, where they had heard, people could hang their laundry on a Sunday without social ostricization and women could wear pants if they felt like it." + the vernissage was super with all sorts of very clever, nice folk.

vernissage today

feb 09/07 Wintertrees, 11x14, oil on wood

One of my personal favorites of this series.

Feb 8. Daffodils, watercolour, 10.6x13.8

Spring is just around the corner when they're selling little pots of daffodils in the grocery story. Spring is just around the corner when they're selling little pots of daffodils in the grocery story. If I keep repeating it, I may start to believe it.

in the what's the world coming to department

Fathers stun gunning their toddlers, jealous astronauts driving cross country in pee soiled diapers to pepper spray love rivals, pig farmers gloating over their murderous activities, insomniac married gays siccing lawyers on 70 year old ministers who won't marry them personally for personal religious reasons, but enlists another minister to do the deed, teenage mothers so friendless + distraught they abandon their newborns in sub zero weather, oh + the Quebec perennial favorite raising PUPPY MILL pups cruelly + stupid customers buying them from pet stores instead of giving pet store owners royal merde for perpetuating + enabling this practice. One of the marks of civilization is the way we treat animals (Karl Marx?) ... Appears we treat ‘em like crap + the rest of the evil just follows. I sound soap boxy, but, hey, I'm not doing much to cure these ills. I bury my head in the art sandbox...

feb6/07, Wintertree, 12x12", oil on wood..

lots of carving, texture, etc. Years ago I got an incredibly expensive set of carving knives for my birthday (I had asked for them) + I never used them. Those were scriptwriting days so I had no use for them (except in nasty dreams about nasty producers) Now I use them daily + with great vigour.

Feb5/07, Miss Puff, oil on canvas, 9x12

portrait of a good friend. Technique wise I'm very happy with the extensive palette knife use. Loving the palette knife. Loving that big, thick impasto...

okay, this is pretty self-referential but...

Yesterday, partially as a result of circumstances beyond my control...eg. the Daily Painters.com site, which I've grown very fond of, will soon begin to cost $35 (for me, a Canadian) per month --alas, I'm no Damien Hirst, so that's alot of money...sooo, yesterday, I quietly launched a new website called.. "The Hundred Dollar Art Store"...what's it about? Well, it's not much of a stumper. Everything on the site -- drawings, paintings, watercolours, etc. will be $100. That includes shipping. Wow, you say, that's incredible. I hope so...right now the site is downright pitiful. There's only a couple of works for sale, and gee, they're all by me. But that will change! Hopefully. Hopefully, artists will jump on board. They'll submit jpegs of their $100 worthy art. Savvy buyers will snap up their fabulous, modestly priced works. The Store, (me) will take a small percentage. Hey, anything that takes me away from my painting has to pay. This isn't a get rich quick scheme for anyone. It's a not putting all your eggs in one basket scheme. So check it out, artists. The Hundred Dollar Art Store

feb4/07, Wintertrees, oil on wood, 11x14

the day before, 17 years ago my younger daughter was born. Sigh. How fast it goes.
And, per usual at this time of the year, given my druthers I would rather be painting plein air, one of those big, high trees with coconuts attached, by an azure blue sea.

pat pink's gallery is back

swinging. People in Montreal will fondly recall Pat's original gallery, on Notre Dame Street ("serving the community since 1985"). Pat's irreverence continues, beginning with the re-opening, re-opening show "Family Foto Group Show", Feb 11. Vernissage from 2-6. Show goes on until April 1st at Pinkespace 1399 rue St. Jacques, 2 blocks east of Guy. Closest metro Lucien L'Allier. 514-935-9851 [email protected] Gallery open Thursday to Sundays 1-5. And co-ordinating with family as the reference point, "who are you? where do you come from? how do you fit into the picture?" I've done a new piece aptly called "The Swiss Family Rey" which naturally, I can't post here until the show opens..

feb3/07 Wintertrees, oil on wood

Ollie on the table, 8x10, oil on canvas

rapunzel rapunzel

let down your golden hair, that the kids at F.A.C.E. braided out of rope for their spectacular rendition of "Into the Woods" which they performed tonight. Spectacular sets, lighting, singing, full orchestra, costumes...whoa, these are amazing grade 11 kids (one of whom shares my DNA I'm proud to say.)

I've been such a

Now I feel silly + embarrassed. One (okay, me) doesn't paint for other's approval or praise. One (okay me) just follows their rhymes with witch Muse where ever She takes them. It's more like "get out much"? One (mememe) paints more or less in solitude (except for assistant Angus who'll say anything for a dog cookie) . so thanks, cyberspace friends for writing your kind comments. Winter seems less cold + I'm not talking global warming unless that's a euphemism for the lovely community of like minded people keeping in cyber touch, globally.

nose to nose, feb1/07, 8x10, oil on canvas

I'm getting boring + bored doing my winter trees. Time for a little domestic piece, Ollie + her Lord + Master at the breakfast table, nose to nose.