Fisherman's Wharf

A few pictures from Fisherman's Wharf in Victoria. I was shooting pictures of local scenes today to get inspired for future paintings.


Barb's Fish and Ship's (this is actually the name now!) must be a goldmine!


I never tire of looking at the houseboats...the "Banana Boat" pictured here is relatively new I think.


Fisherman's Wharf sculpture.

And another great summer tradition...

It's always great when we hear our neighbour is on a fishing trip because we know we will be getting part of the catch, fish dinner together when the catch comes in...a super evening last night with Chris and Susan.


Part of the catch.


Chris with his 30 pounder...the biggest salmon caught in their group.

Local produce

We really are blessed in this province to have wonderful local produce. Since we came home we've been enjoying the debut of all these wonderful fruits and veg...beginning with strawberries, then raspberries, blueberries, cherries (the best ever this year), peaches. And now my favourite time of the year along with tomato season....corn from Silverrill Farm!



The first of the season picked fresh every day.

The wonderful world of Technicolor

Richard has enjoyed his first week at Technicolor and loves being able to see and work with the “dailies”, the raw footage of film that they transfer to video and log so the director can see what needs to be done for the next day of filming. They get footage of things like X Men 3 and also very bad films (one that Bert Reynolds is currently starring in), commercials, etc.

It's quite different from computer programming where you do a lot of sitting around and thinking. This job is very much "in the moment" and keeping mentally alert as you deal with the tidal wave of footage. He's on the night shift now...it's a 24/7 operation because the equipment is so expensive and cutting edge. He says it's rather surreal in that all night films arrive via taxi packaged in pizza boxes. Who knew?

His last course for his B.A. is going to be "Introduction to Poetry" and he's taking it online because of the shiftwork and overtime. One of the assignments is to write a "found poem"...he's already collecting things from his Technicolor experience!

Some books I've been reading lately

"Tender is the Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I started this in France since he wrote it there and it was about the decadent society of the French Riviera of the late '20's. I found it way overwritten and stopped reading it. Picked it up again and finished it as I had forgotten I had recommended it for my bookclub and we were discussing it at my house when I came home! Book II was actually very good but the rest it not really worth it.

"Runaway" by Alice Munro
Fabulous as usual...how does she do it? I heard her interviewed about this book on CBC and she commented that she especially chose the one word title after all the hassles of people trying to remember her last title....what was that..."Friendship, Hateship, Courtship, Loveship....something else too, I think!

"What Cassanova Told Me" by Susan Swann
Really rather dismal but finished it since it was a bookclub choice. I have been wanting to read something of hers but I think she's over rated as a writer.

"Light on Snow" by Anita Shreve
I thought I would give her another chance since I didn't get into "The Pilot's Wife". This novel had something going for it but would have been better as a short story...not enough meat for a novel.

"The Wonder Spot" by Melissa Bank
A similar quality to the "Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing" which I loved. Not quite as amusing but interesting atmosphere and characterization.

"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Quite a delightful story....good writer.

Granville Island

A few pictures I took when we were at Granville Island in Vancouver...one of my favourite places in the city. I wish we had something like this in Victoria.

The fun of blogging

What is really fun about blogging is hearing from people who stumble across your blog and email you. Gilles, the fellow from Sanary who is doing a paper on Huxley in Sanary and who took us to where Huxley lived in the area, happened upon my blog recently just by chance. He suddenly thought, "I know these people!" We had a really enjoyable day with Gilles starting at his apartment in Sanary that has great views of the village. Here are some photos I took that day from his balcony.

Some photos of our old Alma Mater

My main memories of UBC are very West Coast,,,walking in from distant parking lots in the rain, listening to the old foghorns half asleep in Buchanan Building classrooms, enjoying the mountain and ocean views from the campus.

Some old haunts haven't changed:


The Grad Centre


International House

And some of the new:


I love this "pagoda inspired" building


The new library...the old "stacks" will never be the same

And "plus ça change..."


In our day it was reference to the Viet Nam war

Vancouver in the summer

It doesn't really quite seem like summer although we did swim in English Bay on Thursday after we watched the tall ships coming in. Friday we woke to all too typical Vancouver weather....rain...but we have a nice view of English Bay and somehow it was ok. Jim did his research at UBC and Richard took me to lunch and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Lots of neat stuff at the Art Gallery...Rodin exhibit, some neat modern things, and of course the Emily Carr's I never tire of seeing.

Looks like a pretty good day today so will head to Granville Island and follow our nose from there.

The best birthday ever!

Yesterday we came into Vancouver to celebrate my birthday with Richard and just as he was arriving at our hotel he received the call that he got the job at Technicolor!
We were all thrilled. He will start as a Technical Assistant to the Colourist. The company is in expansion mode and assured him he will have excellent advancement opportunities. So, using his computer skills, learning new things, and being in the movie business...his dream. Their offices are in Yaletown so he can take the Aquabus from his new apartment on Granville Island. A great working and living situation especially since he thought he might have to go to Toronto eventually to get a good job...ugh.

Congratulations, Richard!

We celebrated with Bruichladdich Islay Sinlge Malt Whiskey...a super gift for our birthdays from Don and Elaine. Thanks, guys, it couldn't have come at a better time.
We loved the cards!

Some recent art projects

View from Les Pins Penchés Restaurant
14 x 18 acrylic on canvas



Poppy field mat
22 x 28 acrylic on linoleum

The painting I based this mat on has become my favourite that I did in France this year so felt I wanted to do a mat with the same design.



Ratatouille Provençale on table
This is a commission I was asked to do.

Matisse's Chapel of the Rosary in Vence

I found a couple of postcards I bought when we were there...wish I had bought the booklet now but we seem to have so many of these things. Again, it's the simplicity of line that appeals. This small simple chapel in a small village touched me in a similar way to Notre Dame in Paris....saying something since Notre Dame and Paris are probably the most wonderful places in the world for me.

More vintage postcards....

Vintage postcards from France

I guess it's the simple lines that appeal to me in these vintage postcards.