On Wednesday I met up with my favourite Vancouver artist, Neil Wedman at a café on Granville Street. He was there with some artist friends, a photographer and two people who work at an important Vancouver art gallery.

It was fun to feel a bit less isolated. Ever since I stopped working for magazines and newspapers I no longer have access to some events. As an example a former tango partner of mine from my past who is studying in London met up with Tilda Swinton. My friend told me that Swinton will be here in August and could I set up an interview with her so she (my friend could do the interview) and I would take the pictures. With no access to the Globe & Mail for whom I worked for many years it would be impossible to get to Swinton. At this point in my life I am happy to photograph “ordinary” people and I leave the celebrities to others.

Wedman asked me if I had read in the NY Times about an artist. I had since both are avid readers of the NY Times and particularly of the Friday edition. The Friday NY Times has two arts sections. There is the ordinary (but very good) one on film, theatre and dance, but the second section is all about the visual arts.

Unlike Wedman I never had an arts education so I am attempting to catch up by reading. In the Friday NY Times I discover new artists or read about those I know in much more detail. The issue for Friday June 17 (I am writing it on that date) besides interesting stuff on Dada had two ads. One for a gallery
 in NY City called Cavalier Gallery and the other for the London Art Week 2016 1-8 July.

Glory Days - Peregrine Heathcote

The painting illustrating the Cavalier Gallery feautured a painting (but reproduced in b+w) by someone called Peregrine Heathcote and it is called Glory Days. It is not hard to notice the Mercedes Benz 300SL convertible on the right. I would believe that Wedman, who besides being a very good artist, is also a bit of a snob, would find this English painter derivative. I would be afraid to ask Wedman about it. The second ad had in its centre a drawing that caught my eye. It almost looks like a profile of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. I looked it up and it is by Amedeo Modigliani.

I happen to have a very good new model who has very short and very blue hair. Her chest matches Modigliani’s drawing. I will be doing a variation of it in the next couple of weeks.

Standing Nude in Profile (Nu debout de profil)