red-handed

the spanish ocean ; mixed media on canvas, 8 x 10 inches. Dark shadows in hard sunshine. * * * * * Last night we watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly . C thought it was a war movie, and kept asking when the hellfire killing would break out, when really it was the inner, deep-water passage of an almost completely paralyzed man (Jean-Dominique Bauby, left with only the ability to blink one eye) trying to tell the story of his life before and after the stroke which felled him. Shot almost entirely from his perspective, with its fitful view and hushed inner voice, this movie often had the tranquil quality of reverie, rendered through filtered sunshine. I enjoyed it a great deal, although C complained that it could have used a vampire or a car chase.

collapse , pencil and marker on Albanene cotton fiber paper, 8.5 x 8.5 inches. Same old story (an illo ... for a story).

C ran the half-marathon in Ottawa this weekend. Really, it was a lesson for the kids ... the lesson being that you can get what you want without having to work for it . In over four months of training time, C laced up her running shoes exactly five times . Still, we're all very proud. Or something. * * * * * Meanwhile, someone (read: me) actually was working, playing under the hot (read: burning) sun with a not-easily-pleased pair of nieces (also: not even my nieces). At least it made me one fan (below). * * * * * There's another Narnia movie out? C said the first one was boring. Of course, she hadn't even seen the SNL send-up ( here ).

C was bugging me to come up with something "to do" on the long weekend (all demands, no plans) so instead of enduring some spa and spending about a million dollars, I suggested a day trip to the wineries of Prince Edward County. Since this would involve C's two favourite things (drinking and wine), she said yes. The best thing about Napanee: smoke stacks. Check out the weird clouds. Lake Ontario. It's clearest when all the fish are dead. This guy could be a male model. Or something. Crazy but not yet drunk. Ferry rides are therapeutic for crazy people. Sometimes the only thing you can do with a crazy drunk person is put them in a headlock. A vineyard. C likes to wander when she gets a few drinks in her. Not long after this I took the keys away. * * * * * the red russian ; mixed media on canvas, 8 x 10 inches. Meanwhile, I cling to my frayed, sober soul by the ragged strings called the process of art.

lucky , pencil and marker on Albanene cotton fiber paper, 7 x 7 inches. This is what C wears to bed when she wants to ... {kidding} . Actually it's an illo for a story by the same name. And yes, Jeannette, the balloon does look familiar (think of yourself as a trailblazer).

These fat little girls are an illo for a story ...

soap ; mixed media on canvas, 8 x 8 inches. The text is unimportant, because what we have here is a failure to communicate.

sheri by the sea ; mixed media on canvas, 20 x 16 inches. * * * * * My friend Sheri and I are doing a portrait exchange. Her version of me has some wonderfully dark drama to it, so I wanted this painting to have a narrative as well. * * * * * And then, a wee movie.

Parvati Shallow (top) won the million-dollar prize on last night's Survivor finale ( Fans vs Favorites, Micronesia ). Which means that my girlfriend (ok, not really) Amanda Kimmel did not. This is confusing. Amanda won challenges. Parvati didn't. Amanda was loyal to friendships and alliances she made within the game. Parvati was not (with the exception, ironically, of her "little sister" Amanda). Amanda demonstrated cunning and no small amount of acting ability, most notably when she blindsided Alexis with an immunity idol she was not supposed to have. Pavarti showed almost nothing but flirtatious guile when she used both James and Ozzy for protection during the first half of the game and then coolly discarded them when she found the safety of a ruthless all-female alliance (which spent a lot of time stirring and cackling over an imaginary cauldron -- I'm not kidding). And even then the game plan often issued from Cirie's mouth, not hers. Meanwhile, Amanda&

... to find out how deeply your town drifts in backwater kitsch. I won't get into it here, but let's just say the local arts scene is revealing itself as a stunning disappointment. Oh well. Meanwhile, I've got two things to put up on Etsy, one new and one old. * * * * * not shy at all ; mixed media on canvas, 10 x 8 inches. * * * * * several hours late at night ; mixed media on paper (mostly watercolour), 8 x 6 inches. * * * * * At least these kids can always make me laugh. Boy, talk about your good-natured hijinks. It's electric! Watch the video here . * * * * * Oh, and I have to (have to!) add this: a great interview with Michelle Butler Hallett , my friend and darkly talented writer. With a colour picture and everything!

splashing miri , pencil, crayon and pantone marker on Albanene cotton fiber paper, 7.5 x 8.5 inches. An illo for a story with a water premise. * * * * * Yesterday Pinkey drew me this ... I think it's a gathering of super-villains ... we're hovering around, having a meeting, trying to decide what to inflict on the pathetic yellow planet below us.

Do you know what a Medusa is? , mixed media on canvas, 8 x 6 (by 1.5) inches. A small break from the string series -- instead some smaller canvasses, we'll see what grows. * * * * * Clouds of midges anywhere near the water these days, you don't see them until they're on top of you, in your hair, mouth, ears. You get inside and shake out your clothes like a crazy person. Good, good times. At least there's no bombs. This weekend I read Ruto Modan's Exit Wounds , the story of what happens when an Israeli man's father goes missing after a bomb blast. The story was compelling (the missing father had a habit of going missing anyway, making the son suspicious of his disappearance) and the drawing has a definite charm, done in simple line and a muted colour scheme.

Lilly Wakes ; pencil and crayons on Albanene cotton fiber paper, 7x5 inches. This is a pastiche of my own work -- an illo I did for a failed children's book ). Hopefully this attempt is less mannered, more muted but still interesting. * * * * * Spent the day being bothered by rain and people. It's been like that all week. At lunch I had to run downtown (in the rain) to pick up a painting rejected by the Kingston Arts Council's Annual Juried Art Salon ( the one that did make it was the lesser of the two, I thought ... but then I'm always amazed at what people like). We were told to collect our work between 9 and 12 or 9 and 1, depending on whether you paid attention to the phone message or the website. I went at 11:40 and there was no one there. Eventually I had to go foraging for myself, rescuing my painting from a half-hidden alcove. No sign, no note, nothing to sign out. Professional! A big thanks to the recycling bin though, which gave up its plastic liner so I