This past weekend we took advantage of the MLK holiday to drive up to Montréal on a pilgrimage to see the John William Waterhouse show which is open until February 7th. Go soon, if you haven’t had a chance and you’re able!!! It was fantastic.
Here we are in front of the museum: fellow illustrators Scott Murphy and Becca Solow, and union-organizer-but-art-appreciative boyfriend of Becca, Alex. We were also joined in Montreal by a host of other artists that we knew who happened to choose that weekend to visit as well. We had a merry ole time! Unfortunately we were only there one full day, so we didn’t get to do much daytime sightseeing. We were lucky with the weather – in the mid to high 20s and no snow.
Friday upon arrival and after check-in at the hotel (Hostelling International Montreal – HI has become one of my favorite places to stay, I highly recommend them!), we took the train, very nice metro system might I add, to Schwartz’s, a famous Montreal Jewish deli. There we feasted on Smoked Meat (pastrami). Dudes, delicious. That evening, after recovering from food coma, we checked out the Port and Old Town, peeped at the bizarre outdoor ice/rave dance party Igloofest, and ate crepes and quiche at Chez Suzette. Yum! In the evening we met up with a bunch of other illustrators at a pub called Gery’s.
Saturday we indulged in a delicious HI breakfast (they have a little cafe + bar inside the hostel!), and ate Montreal Bagels, which are very good! We then went to the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal for Waterhouse goodness, and the permanent collection too, of course! Wow. Seriously awesome show. I’d never seen a Waterhouse in person before. The only downside was the awful AWFUL catalogue. Worst reproductions ever! We then had a quick lunch at a place nearby called Gourmet Burger (mmm) and sampled lots of flavored mayonnaise. We never got to try poutine though ): next time! In the evening we met the other artists again for an Indian dinner, stopped by an arcade for a bit, and then hung out at Grumpy’s Bar, near Gery’s. We played darts and it was trivia night. So I pretty much only saw Montreal at night… I definitely need to return in warmer weather! We drove back all day on Monday (traffic = hideous).
And in other news, Fancy is done! I turned it in to Cartwheel Books last week. Also, I was wrong about my 3×3 award. It wasn’t just the cover that won, but the Nico’s Journey ‘series’ I had sent in! So I have a full page in 3×3 Illustration Annual 6 showcasing the book. Awesome! (: I was pleased with that surprise. What next? Not sure, but hopefully in the next couple months some new project will pop up!