Tuesday, June 9, 2009

I have nothing to say

Ile Dorval 1866 -- another painting by Frances Anne Hopkins

Fram Actual & Fram the First meet Frances

I have nothing to say. My mind is filled with thoughts, but nothing wishes to emerge. In which case, I will take the opportunity to post another painting by Frances Anne Hopkins. This one is titled, Ile Dorval 1866.

Dorval is a small community located on the southwest portion of the Island of Montreal, along the shores of Lake St. Louis. Many wealthier families from in and around Montreal, mostly English-speaking, went there in search of a summer refuge during the latter half of the 19th Century.

The history of Dorval dates back more than 300 years to 1667, when Sulpician priests established a mission on the outskirts of what was then called Ville-Marie. The mission, originally named "Gentilly," was later renamed "La Présentation de la Vierge Marie" and finally, "Dorval," after the nickname of a French landowner.

Offshore is Ile Dorval. Such was the view when Frances painted it in 1866. This piece demonstrates her skill and her versatility, as well as her knowledge of the fashionable art of her day.

And, if the gentleman reclining in the foreground looks at all familiar, I will admit to being present that day, and was captured while admiring the antics of the three young ladies in the rowboat offshore. For those with keener eyes, they might also notice the head of Fram the First in view just in front of me. He chose to appear in Wolfen form and fashion that day. He is a funny joker, and rarely bites.

Music Note: Listening to Iron Maiden
Specifically, "Brave New World"
Some lines from "Dream of Mirrors"

Have you ever felt the future is the past,
but you don't know how?
A reflected dream of a captured time,
is it really now, is it really happening?

Don't know why I feel this way,
have I dreamt this time, this place?
Something vivid comes again into my mind
And I think I've seen your face,
seen this room, been in this place
Something vivid comes again into my mind

All my hopes and expectations,
looking for an explanation
Have I found my destination?

The dream is true, the dream is true
The dream is true, the dream is true

10 comments:

TheChicGeek said...

Hi Fram :) I like this painting. I would like to be out on the island...LOL Maybe Fram can get off his bottom, hop in his canoe and come out to visit the lady of the island :D LOL
Then he might really have something to say...LOL :)

I know the feeling of this song too, something vivid in your mind, feeling you have been in this place before, only in this song the dream is true...I like the lines, "all my hopes and expectations, looking for an explanation, have I found my destination?" It's NEAT :D
Have a Fun and Happy Day!

Katy said...

Love the picture, Fram, beautifully old fashioned, with an effect almost like that of a print from a woodcut. Love the way the sky and the water merge through light - is it a watercolour?

Fram Actual said...

I expect he/I would have plenty to say, Kelly, should he/I pay a visit to the lady on the island. Looks like a 15 or 20 minute steady but leisurely jaunt. Possibly bring a bottle of wine -- or two. We will leave it at that.

Those lines you cited are the best in the song, I think, and I cannot wait to sing them myself.

Fram Actual said...

Yes and yes and yes about the painting, Katy. I would love to find a print of it to buy. I do have prints of three of her canoe paintings.

I am certain it is a watercolor. It has the appearance of one. There is so little information about her and her work, but I do know she used watercolors extensively on her "voyages" with her husband because of the ease in transport and use while "on the trail."

daijoji said...

Well, I feel the same quite often, but the different is that I do not even think then. One of my favorite moments :-) Nice picture. Have a beautiful day, Fram the Wolf :-) Bye, bye.

A Cuban In London said...

What a fantastic painting! I love the immensity of the background and the contrast with the figure lying down in the foreground. It's almost as if she didn't want any interruption in her depiction of that vast landscape. Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

Polly said...

I like this painting too, it evokes such feelings of peace and quiet, I really want to be there now!

I know how you feel. My mind is full of random thoughts but I'm having real trouble turning them into words these days.

Fram Actual said...

Perhaps that is what I need, Magda, a day or two without thinking. Allow the rain to refill the bucket, so to speak.

Yes, the painting is beautiful.

Fram Actual said...

I agree with you, CiL. The elements of the painting flow together and blend into a unified panorama.

Beyond the historical aspects to the paintings by Frances, I appreciate her versatility.

Fram Actual said...

That is my feeling, too, Polly. I want to be there, in the painting, at the moment it was born.

Another element, for me, in paintings such as this is to go to the site now to find out how much the view might have changed.

Exactly, yes, about the thoughts. Sooner or later, they will battle their way to the surface in the form of words or deeds.

Something special ....