Today’s painting is of my sister “Sheila”. Today would have been her 63rd birthday. Sheila had Down syndrome and was full of the joy of life. She was kind to her little brother and would pose for me as I tried to improve my drawing skills. She is greatly missed.
Today’s watercolour is from around 30 years ago, yikes!
Today’s painting Pentimento is from several years ago. A pentimento is when a painting has been changed, and you can see parts of the previous work. It often shows that the artist has changed his or her mind about the composition as they worked on the painting. In my case I wanted to layer several aspects of my grandmother’s life into one picture. Included in the piece is an image from a studio photo done in Ireland. There is also a boat to represent the one she immigrated to Canada on. Another layer shows an image of a goat to represent the one she had an unfortunate encounter with when she was in her eighties (that led to a broken hip). Finally there is a layer with some flowers to represent her beauty.
Today’s painting is from a few years ago. It was great fun to play with the grid.
She is the cool girl, the one everyone wants to hang out with and get their picture taken alongside. At least that’s the way it seems whenever you visit the Louvre. In the midst of one of the largest treasure troves of art in the world, hordes of people cram around this singular image. Today’s painting, Preserved La Gioconda pays homage to the “It girl” from 1503.
Today’s watercolour is a picture I painted of my son, from quite a few years ago. It celebrates that magical moment when soapy water and human breath combine to make shimmering globes. These spheres float across the landscape and transform the backyard into a place of wonder…pop…pop…pop.
Today’s watercolour is a painting of my favorite Legionnaire. It’s a painting of my father, John Henderson. He was a kind-hearted Scot who immigrated to Canada when he was young. He was a soccer player, a coal miner, a farmer, a custodian, an entrepreneur, a carver, a lover of Robbie Burns, but most of all to me, he was my dad. I sure do miss him. If he’s still around give your father a hug… “Happy Father’s Day!”
ANDREW HENDERSON 