Walking Home This Evening

There are often interesting things to see when I walk home after work. This evening, after I left the building complex where I work in Gatineau, I saw this wonderful figure standing by the side of the road in front of the Museum of Civilization, waving at traffic. I asked the woman wearing the costume if I could take her picture and she stopped waving to pose for me. Her sign says "Harper: stop the slaughter of seals." Isn't that a great seal costume?

I crossed the bridge to Ottawa and walked to the National Art Gallery. I was struck by how beautiful this golden tree was in front of all that grey of the building. I want to enjoy the colours as long as I can - they will be gone so soon. 

This exhibition of drawings has just opened at the National and I decided to visit the show. 

The light was gorgeous this evening as the sun was setting, lighting up the buildings in the background behind Louise Bourgeois' wonderful sculpture, "Maman". The people in a group underneath were listening to a guide explaining about the sculpture. 

The light was also beautiful coming in all the windows in the great entry hall. I have always liked the soaring architecture when walking up the ramp to the hall. There were lots of people here, all dressed up for some special event. I wended my way through them and into the exhibition. It was a marvelous show for anyone who likes neo-classical drawings. Very inspiring. Made me want to go to my studio and pull out my pencils and do all that fine detail and cross-hatching and the kind of stuff we did in art school. 

By the time I left the National, the light was gone from the sky and it was a typical autumn night. I liked these spires in the cathedral, all lit up against the dark sky. Very gothic, almost spooky - perfect for getting in the mood for Hallowe'en.