When I posted Chapter 2 of this (as yet un-titled) graphic novel, I indicated that, with Philip Hogg now drawing the figures, production would be way more reliable and I might even post things in order from now on… and here’s Chapter 3, as promised!
There are just three more two-page spreads plus the cover to go – then I’ll put a (readable, maybe even understandable) pdf of the whole thing up on my website.
BTW, much to my surprise, I noticed another application of the ‘Calgary skyline’ technique I’ve used here, in Abstract Comics today. I’m kidding about there being any ‘Calgary skyline’ technique, but have a look anyway… maybe you'll see it too.
In a few days, I plan to write a mid-year review of The Plan for 2010 including my progress in learning to use a tablet for graphic novel illustration.
This was painted using a photo taken on a painting trip last September, looking south from the bridge where the Icefields Parkway crosses the North Saskatchewan River. It shows the early fall colours at this elevation – they were a little further along when we reached our eventual destination, LakeO’Hara, in YohoNational Park.
I’m heading into the Rockies again in a couple of weeks, this time to Mt.Assiniboine, a British ColumbiaProvincialPark, accessible only by helicopter from Kananaskis Country in Alberta. (Well, you can also go in on foot, but we won’t be doing that!) I’m hoping to do some plein air painting, but will take lots of pictures in case that proves difficult – the clothing suggested for this expedition includes an unsettling amount of rain and snow gear!
The June location for the Virtual Paintout is Hawaii, on either Oahu or Maui, the two islands available on Google Streetview. This picture shows the view out from Diamond Head Road on Oahu.
Painting on the Edge – for which I have never had a painting accepted – is a Vancouver-based competition, open to all living artists worldwide.This year, I realized on June 5 that the deadline for entry was not June 6, as I’d thought, but June 4!So I saved myself the $20 entry fee, by-passed the middleman, and consigned this year’s entry, St John’s NL, directly to my personal SalondesRefusés.
Another competition I tried was for label designs for a well-known winery in the Okanagan. I thought this was a great idea, believing that “life is too short to drink wine that doesn’t have a nice painting on the label,” and shot off nine (you were allowed up to 10) email attachments using the form on the winery’s website – on the deadline day. Harbour Ferry Ballet, shown here, was one of them. My computer ground away for about twenty minutes, during which I took the trouble to check the size of the files and found that most of them were way too big, But then I got the message that they had been received! Then, the next morning, I got an email saying there had in fact been a Delivery Failure. I tried emailing again to explain why I’d missed the deadline, but that email couldn’t be delivered either. And their phone was busy. I think perhaps I wasn’t the only deadline dummy in this one.
What I’m trying to say is – don’t wait until the last minute!
I think that Tehuacalco was the highlight of our cruise – partly because it was a surprise. Most people consider transiting the Panama Canal to be the best part of the repositioning cruises. And that was indeed a fascinating experience, which certainly lived up to expectations… But it was just that – expected.
I don’t think I’d ever even heard of Tehuacalco before I began planning shore excursions for this trip.It was a centre of the Yope Civilization, and flourished between 650 and 1100 CE, but was only discovered in 1991. The site was opened to the public in late 2008, following digging and restoration beginning in 2006. It’s been beautifully restored – some would say too beautifully, but I think it’s just right.And the setting is spectacular, on a hilly plateau surrounded by volcanoes. According to the signage, the shape of the main building, “El Palacio refleja la simetría del volcán, La Compuerta” (reflects the symmetry of the volcano). I think that’s perfect.
After transiting the Panama Canal we headed north to Puerto Caldera, and then took a shore excursion up into the hill country of Costa Rica.
The roads are lined with these lovely living fences, which surround most of the farms. The reason for using trees, strung with three or four lines of wire, to fence the land is very simple – the ubiquitous termites don’t eat live wood. The established fences, lobbed off many times so the wire stays close to the ground, are mainly gumba limbo, but the younger in-fill trees are sometimes more flamboyant plants, such as hibiscus or poinciana – though not usually in full flower as shown here.Don’t you agree the whole concept is wonderfully paintable, along with the chain of volcanoes that forms the backbone of the country?
Charlene is a graduate of the University of Alberta (BSc) and the University of Colorado (MBA), now retired from a career in the Canadian Public Service.
During the ten years her husband was with Emirates Airline, Charlene travelled extensively, served as Administrator of the Dubai Arts Centre, and wrote about painting, archaeology and future studies for the Khaleej Times and the Gulf News.
She has written 1150 Words by Charlene Brown since 2009.
