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My life feels so much better, just immediately. I can walk through the Old Forest every morning. I'll go with a companion -- Dad, girlfriend, or dog -- but not all on my own. And I love walking in the forest every day. I've been walking the golf course part of the park regularly for some years now, ever since Merlin got too gimpy to go, and I'm delighted to be back in the actual forest.
Mr. Darcy also keeps me company while I work at home on my own. Below on the right is my view just now, looking down at him from my chair by the computer. And I get a marvelous greeting when I come home. Rescue dogs are so loving.
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So now I'm trying just painting on paper with acrylics. I want something that I can show the paper through (so oils are out), and I'd like something fast and spontaneous. I used the same image for comparison and tried the second piece. I'm more happy with the results, though I miss the softer texture of the printmaking, and I think I'll try some more. I can also work a bit bigger, since I'm not limited by the size of my press.
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Monotypes are prints that don't have a carved plate, so you only get one (hence the "mono"). Many people work directly on plexiglass and then run that through the press, wipe it clean, and do another one. I've done ones where I roll out ink and then draw into and wipe away highlights from that solid dark. For this series, though, I'd like to do some where I paint (additive instead of subtractive, in the official lingo). That seems to require a different sort of ink, however. I did a few tests with my Daniel Smith water soluble relief ink, which I use for block prints.
I decided to try acrylic paint, since I could get it locally right now while I'm thinking about the project. My first attempt was too watery -- I don't think I blotted the paper sufficiently. I kind of like some of the effect, though, and I may play with painting on top of this one.
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I spent one of my last days back in Luxembourg Gardens. It's such a lovely place, and I really enjoyed painting there. I especially had fun with the juxtaposition of statues and trees.
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This view is on my walk home from the city center, and I fell in love with the late afternoon light. Often by this point in both the day and the trip home, though, I'd be too tired to stop and paint. I'd just pick up bread in my favorite bakery across the street and keep going. Finally, though, I got there with time and energy to paint.
I also did a second small and quick one for Dune, my four year old roommate (once my hosts got back from Italy). He loves Sacre Coeur.
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I painted the grand, frilly Hotel de Ville three times yesterday. My favorite band here was playing on the Ile St. Louis bridge, which was perfect for me. Lots of sunshine on a chilly day as well as good views to paint.
I started out painting two of the whimsical knights along the roofline. They remind me so much of Alice in Wonderland. I wonder if Tenniel ever saw them.
I also painted the guys playing again.
And I ended with another one of Notre Dame. The sky was lovely, and the music was even better. Nice to have good views at the same time.
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I had a great time painting statues at the Luxembourg gardens, and I continued around the Louvre and in the Tuileries.
I've realized that I also have barely painted the Eiffel Tower, which most people think if first when they think of Paris. So I managed both a statue and the Eiffel Tower.
The skies have also been wonderful. The sky plus this statue on a corner of the roof of the Louvre caught my eye. I love this statue. My first sketch in Paris was of it. I just keep coming back.
While I was painting the angel, this lion caught my eye as well. There's such a wealth of things to paint in Paris that I could plop down almost anywhere and be occupied all day.
And then there's this one of the canal. I did it a few days ago when I was too busy to get a blog post up, so here it is. I had walked to a different quadrant if the city to meet a new friend for lunch, and I was glad to get out of my Louvre groove and see a little more of Paris.
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I've spent two full days painting in the Luxembourg Gardens. My sister Deirdre who lived here for a while strongly recommended the place, and I have really enjoyed just taking a picnic and a book and painting and resting a bit on between.
I couldn't resist these sycamore trees.
I've also been enjoying painting statues. I've done several smaller watercolors of just a single statue. These are 6x8 instead of 7x10.
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I had an only halfway intentional Sabbath. I somehow managed to forget my main watercolor book today, which left me with only my panorama one and a small one. I had one panorama I knew I wanted to do, but I was having trouble spotting others today.
I decided to do a few smaller ones instead. I started with a statue I spotted yesterday.
I checked my mail at lunch and found that the street musicians I'd met last week were playing today and decided to go see them. I did this small one while listening to them.
But mostly I was having a ball and just took a slow afternoon to hang out and listen to them. Here's a small video clip I took. Rene is from Louisiana and sings authentic blues, and Stephen is from Lancashire. Unfortunately the camera in the phone doesn't seem to be picking up his marvelous bass playing very well. More slap than bass, sadly.
I also did a couple of quick ink sketches of them in my journal. I'd done a watercolor of them a couple of days ago.
Then on the way home a couple was doing utterly beautiful tangos in the shady square in Abbesses. I settled in and watched for half an hour is so. Again the camera in my phone wasn't coping well with the shady light, but you can get an idea from this.
One thing I love about Paris
Is all the life right out on the sidewalk. this city is made for pedestrians, which is
perfect for me, and on the weekends it's like a street fair. Musicians everywhere. Lovely.
