Au Revoir!

Can't believe it's over!  The week absolutely flew by.  I know I'm still off continuing my vacation...actually sitting here on the ninth deck of the Splendour of the Seas sailing towards Croatia as I write this...but Paris was all that I wanted and more.  I was stationed at Aviano Air Base from 2001 to 2004 and did lots of traveling, but also had lots of frustration with the culture clashes and the language barriers.  I had a bit of that on my mind when planning this European adventure, but am delighted at the lack of issues I had this week.  Somehow, the many lessons that Madam Bowman, my high school French teacher, planted in my brain created a more stable foundation for both my actual ability to read signs and menus as well as my perceived confidence in just figuring things out!  It probably helps that I'm a little bit older and wiser.  haaaaaaa  Heck, I'm flipping retired!  That's so crazy and awesome.  I wake up thankful for new, fun opportunities everyday.

I spent my last day in Paris just touring--well, there was a little shopping since I needed a new piece of luggage to manage everything.  I teamed up with my new friend from Australia, Sam, and we ventured out to several sights and got ourselves on one of those big open-topped tour buses.  So fun!

We started our day at l'Arc de Triomphe in the center of the Place de l'Etoile.  Such an iconic structure and a symbol of honour, it was an indescribable feeling to be there beneath it.  The traffic that flows around it was absolutely crazy and it was interesting to see folks just going about their days, nearly crushing one another with no semblance of lanes while this monument stands proudly and calm.

Sam saw people up at the top of the momument and just looked at me with a "what do you say" kind of look.  I'm not a big fan of heights, but figured it's something we just had to do.  So, we ended up in a nice short line, paid our fee, and started up 284 steps.  I really needed a toilette, and wasn't sure I'd be able to spend much more than a minute up there before wandering back down to find one, but, to my amazement, about two-thirds of the way up, there's an exhibit space with shop and some nice WCs.  Whew.

Every step was worthwhile to see this breathtaking view.  I immediately got tears in my eyes, and not from the chilly breeze blowing.  Just so amazing.

Although my fear of heights kept me from spending too much time near the edge, I still managed to get a couple of great pics.

Got a little panoramic action going...just love it.

As we rode the bus along and around their various routes, I declared that I would never drive a car in this city.  Too crazy.  But, although traffic was a constant, I still enjoyed seeing various corners and buildings and skylines and wrought iron accents that I hope will all find their way into my work...

We jumped off the bus at the Trocadero to get a closer look at the Eiffel Tower from below it.  I broke out my Hipstamatic app on the phone and started playing a bit to really highlight the perspective.

Back on the bus, we passed the Church of the Dome, which we recognized from earlier in the week...more fun with filters on the camera.

We also drove across the Pont du Neuf on our roundabout route to Notre Dame, where we got off to get some lunch, shop the booksellers along the riverbank, and take some photos of the cathedral.

We just picked the bistro right on the corner with a view of the cathedral and the river...it was tourist-focused and postively delicious!  I had a stewy, yummy beef bourguignon that was perfect to warm up since it got a little chilly riding up on top of the bus.

Here's just one of the many pics I took at Notre Dame.  This one is from across the Seine.

Needed a little sweet snack after lunch, so had one of these giant chocolate meringues.  Perfectly sticky and yummy.

Spent the evening in a not-so-dramatic way doing some laundry at a little coin-operated place down the street and then had Thai food at a place just across the way.  The fact that we were able to figure out how to get the machine to work--and even get some soap in it, was a true victory!  So, it ended up being a suitable way for me to finish off the week.  After jamming everything into my two suitcases (up from one at the start of the trip) I was ready for my 0400 wakeup the next day.  And, then on to new adventures...like now I need to get ready to go on a dune buggy ride in Dubrovnik!  haaaaaaaa

Once Upon a Time on the Rue de Lyon

There was a room full of women creating beauty and fun and whimsy and serenity with watercolors, pencils and pens. 

They came together from Australia, the U.S., and the U.K. to be inspired and learn a bit from their fearless leader, Jane Davenport. 

They drew turned faces without a lot of erases...since every line has a purpose.

They spent only one week in this room, but their art will be forever changed with hints of Impressionists or bright Daniel Smith watercolors.

Man, what a week. Thursday was our last day in Paris with Jane.  I tried hard to make it count!  Here's my final but of art from the week...unicornicopia of awesome. I've never tried to draw a horse before, as far as I can recall, but I used a reference photo from our day's adventure and it seems to have worked!

Jane and Angus put together a wonderful treat for our morning: we took the metro to Bercy and were treated to a tour at Le Musee des Arts Forain.  I just love that it's on Rue Lhuereux, which sort of translates to "happy street."

The property is a hidden gem amongst regular office and apartment buildings; it was originally built as a storage area for wine and, according to our tour guide, was rather key in the wine distribution and growth of wine culture in Paris.  Apparently, Louis Pasteur was a local and so wine was described as a "hygienic beverage" since the alcohol would help clear the bacteria from water.  Why drink dirty water when wine is available?  haaaaaaa

The wine storage barns and rails have been transformed to house the private collection of M. Jean-Paul Favand--an extraordinary eclectic collection of amusements and toys and games from fairs and carnivals and shows dating back to the mid-1800's.  Absolutely unbelievable.

It's a wonderland of delights in every direction...just look at this view complete with chandeliers dangling from tree limbs:

The museum supports itself with private tours and reception rentals.  Can you imagine your party guests riding a 150-year-old carousel?  We actually got to ride a lovely carousel, spin on a crazy bicycle ride, hear a traveling carnival organ, and play some games.  I took too many photos for inspiration later, so here's a small sampling...

After the museum, several of us stopped for a delightful lunch at St.M cafee, near the metro stop at Bercy.  We took far longer than expected, but I enjoyed every bite of that dejeuner.

Once back in the workroom, Jane continued the fanciful theme of the day with a lesson on mermaids. We've been working on our faces so diligently all week that it was time to expand...but not so far as to require a full body workup, thank goodness!  Here's my spread from the afternoon starting with a sketched head on an already-collaged page start:

Since the non-hand looked so crazy I gave her some macroons to eat!  Theyy have been a favorite snack this week.  Love the little pastel bites.

Here's a shot of the workroom...you can see we were well into creating and generally gave up on keeping the tables tidy.  I know I work big and messy, normally, so it was a challenge to keep it even this clean!

After it all got cleaned up in the afternoon, though, we called the class "closed" and spent a bit of time sharing our work from the week.  It was awesome because each of us came to the class from such varied backgrounds with different skillsets and motivation, but all felt the inspiration of Paris and took tons of lessons and tricks and tips from Jane.  It was a really positive experience to be able to create in a time-space-place like this.

Our final group activity involved food...crepes, to be exact.  We all strolled down the street to a tiny little creperie and enjoyed both savory and sweet options.  This was my final crepe view.  Thank goodness for Nutella.  

I went to sleep Thursday night with a fully belly, a happy creative brain, and dreams of returning to Paris to explore some more. 

Workroom Bliss in Paris

Wednesday was a work day.  We spent hours and hours with our books taking all the fantastic inspiration from around the city and the fabulous lessons from our divine instructor, Jane Davenport.  There are only ten of us, and we've been together doing things all week, so we've become fairly intimate with our creative processes and the results all around the room have been amazing.  Positive energy and persistence were key for me.  I tend towards the prolific when I'm working because I like moving around to various pieces in progress as things dry or I take new looks at them, so I finished quite a few pages in spite of the breaks I had to take due to crazy profile frustration or wet-on-wet destruction.  Here are my offerings from the day...

This little diva started with a face that I actually copied from a piece I drew in Starbucks a few months ago in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  I love that I can see that same face but she's become a Parisian.  I experimented with several different watercolor brands and came back to the Peerless palette because the color was just too lovely (and it's now familiar to me!)  The monkeys are from an old French children's book that I picked up at the flea market over the weekend.

Here's a little pre-color/post-color share...

While at Monet's Garden on Monday, I did this quick contour sketch on an already painted background (that I did with leftover paint during a class at Art & Soul a couple of weeks ago).  I just caught the basics of the bridge and the weeping willows that will turn into a dream for this girl.  The pic shows an earlier sketch of her on top and then a more complete face with a collage of serviettes that came from the Garden's gift shop featuring Monet's work.  This one's still a work in progress because every time I work on it, I get transported back to the side of the pond where I stood to sketch and it's a wonderful escape.

This little bit of crazy got worked on a page I collaged the first day we were here with a bunch of tissue serviettes that were shared by others from the class.  So, as she looks up dreamily she's seeing the contributions of everyone from around the room.  I used a water-soluble pen (only sort of on purpose) so I had to work with the shading as I applied acrylic and pencil...learned a lot on this one.

Mean girl, here, ended up in the front of one book.  She needs some bigger lips. I started her out on a background of drippage from a bigger painting I worked on at home months ago.  What to do with a big stack of dad's old folders? I spread them out under my easel while working so they catch the scraps and become fodder for something new later, like a Paris diva.

I brought it back to center after some frustration with a tilted face sketch and added short hair...since short hair rocks, obviously.  I've been wearing my itchy orange beret everywhere, so this little pixie got to wear it for a while, too.

My favorite from the day, if I can actually have a fave, is this crazy one that I did over a collage featuring a Paris metro map serviette.  I put a little sampling of the progress on this one because I started out with Buzz Lightyear by accident and thought it was hilarious.  I drew the face on another piece of paper, cut it out, and glued it in.  I included the top of the head, though, so it looked like a bit of a bald cap...even when I had hair added across the top.  Luckily, Jane was able to mentor me through that one and helped change up the hairline and highlight the flow of the hair.  She has a "fleshy-toned" paint marker that she uses like an eraser...hilarious.

And, last but not least, we worked on some actual figure drawings after a lesson from Jane.  Very challenging.  Jane added her lines and joy to my work and we ended up with this little collaborative piece that I just love...especially because I worked through the frustration of jacked up face proportions!  I'm motivated, now, to sign up for Jane's on-line class that specifically deals with figures based on her training and years of experience as a fashion illustrator.  So excited.

I relaxed all evening with a walk around our neighborhood here near the Gare de Lyon.  Dreamily (but with plenty of situational awareness...haaaaa) I spent time imagining living in one of these little apartments and walking through the park on the Viaduc des Arts on my way home from class or a student internship at a gallery or museum.  Last thing in my google search?  "College of Charleston Study Abroad Programs."

Il etait Mardi en Paris

Started out our Tuesday in the workroom and got this face going, turned and all.  I put it on a background with an old European travel map that I actually got at an antique shop in Summerville, South Carolina!  I got the map for the cover of the book there, too.  I've been working in a set of two books that I made specifically for this trip using a couple different weights of watercolor paper and a whole bunch of my dad's old manila folders.  When I saw boxes of them at my parents' house ages ago, they were destined to be recycled via the big blue bin.  Instead, I've upcycled them into these journals using coptic binding that my friend, Bette, taught me.  The quality of the surface isn't fantastic for watercolor, but a little gesso or matte medium and it's wonderful!  I've been using all sorts of markers and paint on them to experiment and haven't been disappointed at all, even though some work takes more layers than others.

Anyway, back to Paris...where we walked and walked and walked to check out several shops for art supplies.  I took this picture just to capture the skyline so I can play with it later.  It's a view down the Seine and we were near Notre Dame, but we were walking quickly and I didn't record in my brain exactly where I was looking.  I'll have to check the google later.

A quickie Notre Dame selfie, just because.

Our first shopping stop of the day was actually a department store, but it was unlike any I've ever been in and the selection of art and craft and stationary goods was amazing!  We definitely left our mark (or our euro, I should say!  haaaaaa) at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville, aka BHV.  At the end of that stop, my backpack was full of bits and bobs that will be perfect for collage and other projects.  As heavily laden as we all were, we walked (and walked and walked and walked...at least that's how it felt to my feet!)  down the left bank to Magasin Sennelier. This is a pic of the tiniest art supply store I've ever experienced.  Sennelier is noted as the creator of the colors and pigments and pastels that the impressionists used in the late 1800's.  The business is still family owned and operated.

My friend, Robyn, took this shot of the pastels...oh so beautiful!  However, I was dressed for the walk (aka warm) and had a giant backpack on, so this tiny store was just about more than I could handle.  I left with a few new Prismacolor pencils and that's about it.  

I felt sheer relief I felt at being released from the shop back onto the cooler street.  I met up with my friend, Sam, and we continued down the street to the Musee d'Orsay.  We had a bit of a wait in line, but it was only about thirty minutes before we were able to get in and soak in the goodness.  She went to the Monets and I went to Van Gogh.  We only had an hour before we needed to meet back up and get back to the hotel for dinner plans, but I tried to make that hour count.  I did a quick sketch to capture one of the many sculptures on the second floor along with some of the architectural detail of this museam that was once a train station.  This is another place that I believe/hope will play a part in my art education with a return trip someday.

Sam and I found our way back via train and metro to our stop near the Bastille.  Now that we've been here a few days, I feel pretty comfortable reading the maps and navigating from point a to point b (via two other points, sometimes!)

A small group of us went out to eat dinner at a lovely place called Dersou with a prix fixe menu for five courses with cocktail pairings.  It was fabulous!  Most of my meals have consisted of baguette, croissant, cheese, fruit, yogurt or crepes, which is not a bad thing since they're all deliciously French. Anyway, the Dersou meal was fantastic--a bit of an Asian influence with French at the core. Since I know my mom is going to want to know what we had, I wrote all the courses down as we went, but now that I'm looking for that little slip of paper, it's nowhere to be found!  haaaaaaa  From memory, though, we started with a vegetable broth soup with tofu and coriander that seemed to have a hint of truffle and butter.  Then, oysters with a cabbage salad and finely grated cheese...all very tangy.  Next came a pasta with two creamy sauces and bits of lobster.  The cocktail from that course was delicious and was served in a glass coated on the side with hazelnuts.  The third course was my favorite: seared white tuna with leek and cabbage.  The meat course was pork with roasted apples and jalapeno peppers.  The pork seemed raw, which went against all the food safety I learned in seventh grade, but it was delicious.  Rounded it all out with a roast pear and some sort of other creamy deliciousness that shall remain nameless. haaaaaaa

Lundi a Giverny

Many Parisians were on the train Monday morning headed to work during the crazy rush hour, but we were headed to Gare de Paris Saint-Lazare to catch our 45-minute ride to Vernon.  We met our Fat Tire Tour guide, Thomas, at platform 22 and he gave us a lovely talk on Monet and the impressionist school as we traveled the rails on the way to Monet's home and gardens at Giverny.  During the trip, I had my book out and worked a bit taking some notes and playing with a turned face and some Peerless watercolors.  (There's some gesso texture on the page from a stencil, in case you're wondering what's on her cheek.)

At Vernon, we shopped a bit for picnic snacks before Thomas issued our bicycles for the ride to Giverny.  We all saddled up and got our "pedal feet" together before leaving the parking lot.  Angus asked if I wanted a photo and he caught this gem as I goofed and laughed. So funny!

We set off through the small town of Vernon by "dominating" as a group of bikers in the street.  Most of the stores and small businesses were closed since it was Monday, so the traffic was easy to manage.  We stopped at the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame to admire the medieval architecture and spent a few minutes inside.  The contemporary windows are so unique and unexpected!  They are mid-to-late 20th century replacements for windows destroyed during World War II.  This is just a little collage to show the shapes and colors...

We pedaled on over the Seine across a lovely bridge with a nice wide bike path and then landed in a small park where Thomas set up our picnic area.  There were dozens of ducks surrounding us, as they clearly know what's going on when a tarp comes out of a bag and people park their bikes.  I had a yummy baguette with roast beef and egg along with a delightful little lemon tart.  We shared some of the area's best hard cider--some sweet and some more dry.  We saw a couple of swans and I was surprised to hear my Australian friend, Sam, exclaim in delight that they were white.  Apparently, they only have black swans in her area near Brisbane. 

Grabbed the book for some quick sketching while Thomas, the guide, continued his chat.  We had this sweet little cabin next to our picnic so I used a randomly printed page (the blue background) in the book to make a quick sketch with pen and colored pencil.

After an absolutely lovely bike ride on an easy trail (which seemed easy at the time...later my knees did not delight after the hills!) and up the Rue Claude Monet through Giverny, we arrived at Monet's Garden to enjoy several hours of inspiration and relaxing with the light and scenery.

The riot of color and variety of shapes and sizes of the flora was amazing!  It was like walking into a wildflower jungle that just flowed from oranges and yellows to pinks and purples and reds and on and on. Of course I spent a few minutes doing a quick sketch of the water garden where Monet captured his waterlilies, but my favorite part was back by the house.

My Aunt Sara visted the garden just a couple of months ago and raved about them, so I thought of her and my mom as I wandered through and enjoyed the variety.  I know there were zinnia and daisies but beyond that, the shapes and sizes didn't really matter as they were all completely delightful!  I found a bench and used that cacophany to inspire this little flower girl portrait. Every one of the individual flowers was actually something I could see from my vantage point.  

You have to imagine smelling roses and lavendar and hearing a bee covered in pollen buzzing slowly between flowers...sweet and delightful.