Oh Montreal -- you are so beautiful

 Ladies at lunch

Black marker on lined Moleskin paper

5 x 9 inches

Barbara Muir © 2011

Thinking at dinner
Black marker on lined Moleskin paper
5 x 9 inches
Barbara Muir © 2011

It turns out my little stay in Montreal has been the cure
for my nasty bug.  I am, for the most part, over my
dizzy, sick feeling.  We had lunch yesterday in a lovely
restaurant -- sitting outside under maple trees.  The
meal was a delicious concoction of sautéed veggies
pressed into jelly, and married to a soft slab of
frighteningly good cheese. You know what's funny.
The entire time I've been here I haven't had one meal
on a round plate.  The square plate salesperson made
a bundle in Montreal.  Wonderful food - squared.

I did a little drawing while we sat listening to the birds
under the trees and enjoyed the afternoon.

Napoleon et al
The day before we visited the Montreal Museum of Fine
Arts.  There's an exhibition on of paintings, furniture, china,
and sculptures from Napoleon's life.  My favorite thing was
this little pink and gold covered dish.  I am a complete
china freak -- and this would be a piece I could covet.
Judging by Napoleon's death mask, done when he died
at 52, he was a good looking man.  But there is also a
sculpture of him in the exhibit which tells the same story.

Covered dish from the Napoleon exhibit 

at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art

Circa 1800 - 1836

Sculpture of Napoleon

(Sorry I didn't think about 

getting the name of the sculptor.

I was too in awe of the exhibit)

We wandered into the permanent collection and I was delighted
to see a Raeburn.  Actually there were a few.  He was a Scottish
painter and his name crops up in Alexander McCall Smith's
Isabel Dalhousie series. This portrait explains why I tell my
students not to cross their arms.  The lady looks quite gruff and
angry about having her portrait done.  Too bad -- because the
painter dutifully painted what he saw.

Portrait of Mrs. O'Beirne

Oil on canvas

Henry Raeburn 1823

This gorgeous city
We wandered around old Montreal yesterday and I picked out the
window I'd like to replace our window in the living room (studio)
back home.  It may be a bit grand for a rug brick semi-detached
Toronto house, but I like it.  Then we happened upon a lovely
garden and settled on a bench to take it in.  We aren't too good
at taking our pictures by ourselves, but must have tried 10
times to get our heads under a sign that says Narcisse, French
for narcissus, because one of our friends loves to point out
that people are narcissists, so we thought it would be funny.
Unfortunately we couldn't get a great shot because we kept
laughing about our terrible photography.

 My ideal window -- found in the market building in old Montreal

A gorgeous garden in old Montreal

Steven and me laughing in the garden

 I will miss you Montreal.  I love your grand avenues, your carefully
preserved architecture, your understanding that history matters,
your lack of dedication to the condomania plaguing my home town,
Toronto.  And I will miss the food! Hmm.  So good.