In the damp clearing
Posted: May 28, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized 8 CommentsIf you have a bit of free time today I encourage you to have a look at Ian Brown’s article in The Globe and Mail. It’s a beautifully written piece about Banff artist Alex Emond and his love of plein air painting. And it describes perfectly so many of the sentiments that go through my head when I am painting outdoors. It made me wish I had been a fly on the wall during their conversation, except that there were no walls surrounding them out there in a damp clearing in the woods near Banff.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
Hi Shari
I have not had my coffee this morning and it shows.
I sent the previous ‘comment’ to you rather than forward to my sister Cori Emond, who is married to Al, Alex Emond’s brother.
In past visits, they have shown me some of his earlier paintings.
Thanks for suggesting the article.
On a normal note, I have been enjoying your street scenes very much these days, especially since the trees have been changing to green.
Cheers,
Chris
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HI Chris. I was wondering about that comment and I have now deleted it.
It’s a small world, isn’t it? Please tell your sister to pass along the message to Alex about how much I enjoyed reading about him and his art. Now go and have your coffee.
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Hello Shari,
Your blog is so beautiful and interesting! I recommanded your blog to my friens on mine:http://paulinevohl.eklablog.com. I like to see your painting and drawing every day. It’s a plaeasure for me.àPauline
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Bonjour Pauline. Merci beaucoup! So glad you are enjoying the blog and sharing it with others. Thanks for letting me know!
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So, you can delete comments? Is this what has happened to all those other comments that I have posted?
And, this new sketchbook that you have been using is interesting… do you realize that your style changes when you work in that book?
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Yes, I have that power Ross. Any comments can be deleted if I choose but some reason yours are all still there : )
About the new sketchbook, yes, I realize that my work looks a bit different. It’s partially the very absorbent paper but also my conscious effort to be less precise and more loose in my sketches.
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I just scanned that article and have saved it in my “Art” picture folder on my computer. (I’ve had the article kicking around for some days now).
I liked the article too – and the painting as well.
I was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming a couple of summers ago and there are many galleries there. There were some gouache / watercolours done plein air by an artist rafting down one of the big western rivers. They were superb and I would have bought one if I had the dough to spare. Alex’s painting reminded me of the spirit of those – as open in spirit as nature itself.
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Matthew, I’m so glad to hear that you read the article also. I still think about it often.
And maybe you’ll have a chance to get back to Jackson Hole one of these days with a bit more dough in your pocket…
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