Tilting at Windmills : Painting Quebec History

By Marc Taro Holmes in Montreal, QC, CA

This one is from back before the book release started to envelop all my available time.  It’s from my summer watercolor sprint. The work I did just before heading to Brazil.

This quaint windmill is on L’Île-Perrot in the Pointe du Moulin – a tiny park on the south east tip of the island. In the summers they have a bit of historic recreation going on here, but I missed the costumed docents for the year. I did however, meet a genuine Voyageur.

While I was painting, a fellow beached his canoe. As I sketched, he proceeded to unload about 500 pounds of gear, and carry it, then his canoe, up the bank to the parking area. It was worth striking up a conversation to find out what was up. He told me he was just back from three months canoeing the great lakes – a few weeks of that being lost in terrible weather – trying to follow routes established by his grandfather. Not for any reason, other than to be closer to his heritage as a Quebecois.

He was quite the physical specimen. Looked completely the part of the rugged outdoors-man. I didn’t doubt any part of his story, and was impressed to have met him.

That chance meeting is exactly why I love painting out in the world. You can never say what’s going to happen on a given day.

This outing, I’d forgotten one key part to my tripod. (The threaded bit where the drawing table attaches). Fortunately I could use this stone wall as a table. I did have to pile rocks on the drawing boards to keep them from blowing away. I think the unsteady work situation added some excitement to the brush work. That and all the spiders coming out of those rocks. I was careful not to jump around like a little girl while Mr. Voyageur was anywhere near by.

~marc