Category Archives: illustration

Self-Portrait, c. 1490

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Coming Soon! “Fifty-two Views of an Imaginary City”

This summer, mostly during the course of an artistic residency at the Maison Gai Saber in Leigné-sur-Usseau, France, I began work on a long series of watercolours depicting the sights of interest, neighbourhoods and inhabitants of an imaginary city called Sensuka. Inspired by Ando … Continue reading

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Arthur Rimbaud – Chanson de la plus haute tour – Song from the Highest Tower

I’m not altogether satisfied with this image (still finding my feet with watercolour), although I like the composition. There too, though, I’m annoyed by an inconsistency in the shadows: Why doesn’t Rimbaud’s body cast a shadow on the floor along with … Continue reading

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The Great Gatsby

Prompted by the release of its umpteenth cinematic adaptation, I have just reread The Great Gatsby for the umpteenth time. I was particularly struck this time around by the degree to which the novel’s ultimate emotional payoff seems so much greater than what would appear to … Continue reading

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My Encounter with Egon Schiele

A few weeks ago, I was sitting on the terrace outside of a Kaffeehaus in Vienna when I was approached by this spindly-framed, spiky-haired fellow holding a fold up easel and a paint-box. “Do your portrait, mein herr? Tventy-five euros!” “Twenty-five … Continue reading

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Les Loups-Garous du Québec – Werewolves of Quebec

“L’on apprend de Saint-Roch, près du Cap Mauraska [Kamouraska], qu’il y a un loup-garou qui court les côtes sous la forme d’un mendiant, qui, avec le talent de persuader, et en promettant ce qu’il ne peut tenir, a celui d’obtenir … Continue reading

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The Windhover by Gerard Manley Hopkins

A little experimentation with oil pastels. My conclusion is that they are very messy. Windhover is another name for a kestrel, a type of small falcon. Gerard Manley Hopkins, a reclusive Jesuit priest, was wildly ahead of its time in terms … Continue reading

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Charles Baudelaire – Evening Harmony – Harmonie du soir

My translation of a fantabulous poem by Charles Baudelaire, taken from his Les Fleurs du mal (1857). The poem is written according to an unusual structure known as a pantoum, which apparently originated in Malaysia. The illustration of the poem is from at least twelve years ago. Evening Harmony Now … Continue reading

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Cesare Pavese – When Death Comes, It Will Have Your Eyes – Verrà la morte e avrà i tuoi occhi

Another translation of a Cesare Pavese poem. Even without the knowledge that the poet killed himself only a few months after this was written, Verrà la morte e avrà i tuoi occhi  surely stands out as one of the most chilling and concisely … Continue reading

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Cesare Pavese – Meeting – Incontro

Here is my translation of  the poem “Incontro” (“Meeting”), by the great Italian novelist and poet Cesare Pavese (1908-1950). The hills referred to are those of Pavese’s native Langhe region, in Piedmont. It dawned on me as I was translating this that … Continue reading

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