Joan of Arc Garden Quebec City

In Quebec City on the Plains of Abraham, there is a lavishly decorated area called Joan of Arc Garden. I was there a few years ago, 2023 and made a painting or two of this garden.This painting is a re-composed version done from the location painting, some google research and a bit of memory. It was a gift for a graduating student Mehri, who is now at McGill University after graduating from Concordia with her PhD degree. In 2023, we were all at a conference in Quebec City, and while I was waiting for my Hotel room, I walked around this garden with my luggage in tow. Surprisingly, I ran into Mehri and her Husband who were at the conference, and we had a little chat. So the painting is a memory of that time, and I included my red luggage at the bottom right to tell the story. The luggage also holds the composition on the bottom of the painting. I worked out the composition in advance with sketches, the positioning of the path and stairs was tricky because the idea was to feature the lush flower bed and landscaping. It was meant to be like a bouquet of flowers but in landscape format, with a piece of luggage. Its always a little intimidating to make a gift for someone and then reveal it for the first time in front of a table full of people eagerly anticipating. Mehri seemed to like the painting, which was in a Deserres frame, so it went off well enough. 

Joan of Arc Garden Quebec City,  watercolour 12 x 15" watercolour paper, August 2025