"A pot to piss in"

The rain gauge sits on the picnic table ready to collect moisture. The gauge really only gives a general idea about moisture as it's previous use was as a "piss pot".  I found the ceramic pottery bowl placed by the side of the curb and marked with a sign that read "take me i'm free".  The handle was broken and the beautiful floral pattern disguised its purpose and the reason I mention the "piss pot" is because the house that was it's previous home is set for demolition in downtown Halifax. I wonder about development and scale and neighbourhoods and will always remember the street the way it was before the latest round of building makes its mark.

Sitting in our garden at this time of year means you are sharing the space with the narcissus. I have made drawings and paintings of the plant as it blooms each year.

The blooms change from year to year which adds to the attraction as a painting subject. This year I did something different and worked the image up over three sittings. Of course the lighting changed because of the time of day available and the middle sitting ran late into the evening which turned the work into a nocturne.

The third and final sitting was in the afternoon as the sun broke through the fog and lit up all the lily of the valley scattered around. Now, I am told by a fellow artist that these plants stink. It turns out her father used to force the plant in the house in pots each year until the smell took over. I guess they are better of outdoors.