Spring Line Up

With the roller coaster weather we’ve been having, spring gardening has been touch and go. But between all the vagaries there have been those priceless days when the sun is out, the sky is a bright cobalt blue and the temperatures mild. Its a day for joy and optimism and garden plans. It was on just such a day back in June when we dropped by one the lovely greenhouses in our area. There they were:  isles and isles of instant garden beauty, like the fabled hanging gardens of Babylon. As they say, we were spoiled for choice but eventually came home with a few. Couldn’t resist taking photos for reference as well; the profusion of colour was intoxicating. 

(If you live in the area, checkout Cleroux Farm Produce on Navan Road. The people are wonderful and the quality is excellent.)

@Istvan Jobst

Acrylic, 30×30 on gallery wrap – $990

Paleozoic Graphic

This stretch is little looked at, little noticed. Why would we? Its just a rock cut in the escarpment to make way for an urban side road. A place to spend no time. This a place to pass thru perhaps in a hurry commuting to and from work or at a slower pace walking, running or biking with a purpose like training or exercise. It is not a place for idling or flaneuring (that mid-19th century pass time in Paris – a leisurely way of experiencing the city vibe). 

Going for a walk or more accurately slow wander around the neighbourhood, I try to have a mind in neutral, justing looking, often at nothing in particular. There is always something that piques interest or curiosity causing me to stop, step closer. iPhone always handy, I capture a trophy – some impression which is a blend of perception and imagination. I have lots of these useless flotsam that may become something later. 

The graphic qualities of this rock face were arresting, this could be a cliff face in someplace wild and magnificent rather than a mundane stretch on a busy urban road. But on learning more, it does have magnificent credentials. This sedimentary limestone/sandstone was formed in the early Paleozoic era over 450 million years ago! We take so much for granted. You can’t help but feel small in this context – the whole of human existence would be less than the lifetime of a gnat in comparison.

Watercolour, 11×14 on 140 lb cold press, mounted on gallery cradled board – $180

You might also like to pair this with Returning To The Soil, Going Home – $325