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Last December one of my landscape paintings won First Prize in the amateur Watercolour & Gouache category of the 35th edition of the Montréal-wide Pierrefonds Art Contest.
This year, due to a change of venue, the art contest and exhibition will be held in June and July rather than in December through January.
All artworks for this exhibition have to be delivered next week, so I spent some time today matting and framing one of the watercolours that I'd just finished.
I'm quite pleased with how this one came out, even though you can probably see stripes of vertical reflections in this photo - particularly near the bottom - as it's notoriously difficult to get a reflection-free photo of a framed watercolour under glass! Anyhow, this photo is meant to show off the frame...
I buy Canadian-made wood frames at a local independent art supply shop, in a variety of colours and finishes, so that I'll always have 'the perfect one' on hand when I'm reading to frame one of my paintings for a show.
The finish on this one has a beautiful lustre or glow, that caught my eye when I first saw it standing empty in the shop... and I think it looks even better now, with my watercolour!
As for the painting itself, this is a scene from one of my lakefront bike rides.
I'd stopped to rest in the shade at a nature park, while cycling on a very hot and humid day, and watched this old canoe swirling in the slight breeze. Every now and then the wind would still completely, and I'd catch sight of an almost perfect reflection of the white canoe in the water.
I knew immediately that I wanted to paint that moment in time; that reflection with the marsh grasses to the side and in the distance.
The next time the breeze lulled, for just a moment, I was ready to snap the perfect shot with my phone.
One of the best things about living in Montréal, to me, is that I'm never far from the waterfront because the entire city is on an island. Most of my cycling is on routes that follow streams, river, and lakes, and this is often reflected in my paintings. (Pun intended!)
The exhibition for this year's Pierrefonds Art Contest, open to all of the over 2 million residents of Montréal Island, will take place at the historic Pierrefonds Cultural Centre from June 16 through to July 6, 2023; I'll post opening hours and other details next month.
By the way, don't expect another announcement that I've won a prize in this contest - winners of the 2022 edition aren't eligible for prizes again until 2024, although we are allowed to participate in the exhibition.