Author Archives: Linda Denis

Mackenzie King (1874-1950) was Canada’s 10th and longest serving Prime Minister. He is remembered for his odd ways: consulting the crystal ball and talking to his dead mother. His head may have been in strange places but his heart was big. He bequeathed his summer home with 231 hectares in the Gatineau hills to the Canadian people. The garden elements distinguishes this place and many feel it is haunted by King. The ruins are from London’s Abbey, Ottawa’s British American Bank Note ( demolished in 1936) and other bits and pieces of bygone buildings.

My thought is he listened to elder Dan George and gave us Mackenzie King Estate.   Nothing belongs to you, of what there is, of what you take, you must share.

I sat on the porch step of his former summer home and sketched the stone lion statute attached to a flag pole. This place requires many hours to sketch and many days in different seasons.

stone lion, Mackenzie King Estate, Qc

Lion’s Head, acrylic, 30×30

The lion symbol is strong and protective and this month he became part of a garden series I am painting.

So many times when you put your painting up for a critique the question is asked,”Where does the light come from?”. Recently a seasoned artist and teacher said it comes from everywhere.  I like the idea of it being an unanswerable question. Academically, all will tell us to be sensible and look at the shadows cast by the sun or the street lamp. It a gift to forget the rules.

C.B. Liddell writes about this, Nihonga: without the Hand over the Eye in the Japan Times. She states,

“At its essential level, art is a battle between the eye and the hand; the first representing sensory input, the second artistic habit and convention. When the hand outweighs the eye, art can become over-stylized, clichéd, and eventually dead.”

So when I sketch, I accept this way of thinking and enjoy the scenery before me.

sketch, pond at Pitfield House

sketch, Moulin Légaré, St. Eustache

sketch, House on grounds of Bois-de-Liesse

For many years, usually the first or second week of April a group of plein air painters make their way to Auberge de Nos Aïeux. Some like the comradeship of a group outing while others do their own thing. In the evening after supper the comments start:  Water is deep, here we climb over snow banks or wow you nailed it. Yes, we need to get in touch with nature.

Allison Robichaud makes the pilgrimage to Les Éboulements every year. This year he brings with him his most recent book, titled  Plein Air Painting by a Plein Air Master. It is a great read, loaded with helpful hints, advice and stories. He sells the book at cost : 25$  delivered by post. Here is his email,  robisnow at ebtech.net   Below are a few images of Allison paintings completed this spring. The snow was plentiful, the fog heavy and the wind bone chilling.

This spring I went to paint at the local church, the big one on the hill not the small sailor’s church at the edge of the river in St-Joseph- de- la Rive. The church yard is empty and lots of space to park and I get out of the cold blowing wind. In the past an elderly lady comes to chat with me but not this year. She tells me about the theft of doves and angels from the tombstones. Then we talk about all the young children buried here. As she says, it only in recent times that we have our children for life. I feel melancholy and start to paint the Angel with the missing leg.

Linda Denis, Cast Iron Angel Tombstone, oil, 2014

The image of Bill Reid‘s (1920-1998)  Spirit of Haidi Gwaii  was on the Canadian 20 dollar bill from 2004-2012. So, when I visited the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau this past week I took the opportunity to sketch the original white plaster cast that stands in the Grand Hall. There are only two bronze versions of this sculpture in existence. The Black Canoe installed at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the second and final casting, The Jade Canoe at Vancouver International Airport.

Bill Reid, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii,1986, Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, photo by Jim Cox

You need to pay to sketch from the inside but the grounds outside are free. It is a great view with the Parliament buildings, the distance dome of the NAG, the Ottawa River and on the Québec side remnants of a stonemasonry building from previous times. As someone suggested, Ottawa should put up a big mirror on this side of the river and they would have this wonderful view. The museum buildings are by architect Douglas Cardinal. If you have only a short time to visit this site the many outdoor sculptures and gardens are well worth it.

The book, The Black Canoe, Bill Reid and the Spirit of Haida Gwai with photographs by Ulli Steltzer and text by Robert Bringhurst enhances our appreciation of the dedication and perserverance of all people who helped artist Bill Reid to complete this sculpture. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1970, it must have been a tremendous effort for him but he quote’s it “gave him a purpose and drive“.

Here are my pencil sketches done in my Venezia sketchbook. The Mouse Woman tucked under Raven’s tail and the Chief directing his loaded boat

pencil sketch, Mouse Woman, 2014

Venezia sketchbook by Fabriano, pencil, 2014

This being the year of the horse, another public equine sculpture was drawn to my attention in Montréal.

Heffel  Fine Art Auction  commissioned Joe Fafard to create a sculpture of Emily Carr. In 2005, a patina coloured  bronze of  Emily Carr (1871-1945) with her monkey Woo, her dog Billie and her horse was completed in an edition of seven. The three auction houses in Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal  have an edition in front of their buildings for all to enjoy 24/7.

Joe Farfard, Emily and Friends, bronze, 1840 Sherbrooke,W, Mtl, Heffel Auction, 2005

Emily and Friends is tucked into the side of 1840 Sherbrooke with all looking to the west. If you walk quickly or drive by this sculpture you may miss it. Not monumental but smallish and intimate it stands between window and driveway. The close bond of affection and trust Emily Carr shared with her pets is felt when standing beside this memorial.

Linda Denis, Kleo, pencil on Bristol smooth paper, 2014

My rendition in pencil of our dog, Kleo.