The Importance of Windows

When the cold weather comes, I find I spend a lot of time indoors. That's when I realize how important windows are, for expanding my view and seeing the world outside. This is one of the windows in my apartment in the city, and I really liked the pattern of the shadows on the glass.

I realize I have been taking a lot of pictures of windows lately, and of the views through windows. This is a skylight in my house in the country, showing the top of a maple tree outside. It is such a pleasure to look up through this window and see the immense blue sky above.

Sometimes I take pictures of the sunrise through a window, as I did one morning at my apartment in the city. It was such a beautiful start to the day.

And sometimes I take pictures of the sunset through a window. This was taken from a window in the building where I work. I was looking westward over the city of Gatineau towards a bridge crossing the Ottawa River in the distance.

And sometimes I take pictures when I am outside, looking in. I took this picture when I was walking around the Byward Market, passing by a coffee shop. I was impressed by the fact that all the people inside were staring at their laptop screens. Oh well - I guess that was another kind of window for them. So I was looking through a window at people looking through windows! Cool!

Imitating Jack Bush (the sincerest form of flattery)

This past Sunday, I went to the Jack Bush retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. I loved the show, primarily because the paintings were so bright and colourful. My favourite paintings were called the "Sash" paintings, which he did in the mid-1960s. When I went home, I decided to try some drawings in the style of these Sash paintings.

This is my first effort. I discovered that it is not easy to imitate a Jack Bush Sash painting. His colours and shapes and lines worked so well together. But I had fun trying.

This is my second attempt. I was imitating one of my favourite of his paintings, called "Tight Sash". Again, I found it really difficult to replicate what he had done with his work - the almost perfect composition of colour and shape.

Here is a photo of Bush's "Tight Sash", from a National Gallery brochure. Isn't it amazing? I really liked Bush's work when I looked at the paintings, but I have even more respect for it now that I have tried doing the same sort of thing myself. Anyway, it is a good show - highly recommended.