I've been having quiet mornings and walking to museums in the afternoons. Today was the Orangerie, which had an exhitbition of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works from a collection in Tokyo that was well worth seeing. Then I couldn't resist going upstairs to the rooms with the enormous, all encompassing late water lily paintings of Monet. It was crowded, but I still love sitting in those rooms. (The back room is never as pushed as the front one.) And I always want to sketch. Today I didn't even try to get any details of the paintings. I just did a quick sketch in the general palette, which happened to match the French ink I just bought. It was fun to go for the impression. I had done more precise work this morning, working on the Mr. Darcy book, so it was nice just to surf art and sketch loosely for the afternoon.

I followed about the same pattern yesterday and went the Musee d'Orsay instead. I didn't even sketch inside, just a quickish view from out on the roof, yesterday being one of the rare and unpredictable days they allow people out to enjoy the stunning view.

The weather is overcast and chilly, and the light isn't calling my name for painting in a serious way, so I went to my favorite Saturday markets today instead. First to my local one for tomatoes and avocados and a small umbrella (necessary equipment to carry in Paris, though gratefully I didn't need it today), and then to the Marche d'Aligre, my favorite brocante, which is my favorite French word, meaning any second hand store or flea market or sidewalk sale. One word fits all for second hand goods. It's an alluring word. It was quite thin for August. The booth where I got my favorite teapot last year wasn't there. But I got another long sleeved shirt, which I feel I will need this trip, and I got my favorite mint tea, with a huge sprig of fresh mint and pine nuts floating in the top. I sat and sketched and wrote in my journal and generally breathed deeply and stopped moving for the first time in a long while. It felt good. I'm enjoying the quiet time to walk and contemplate here after feeling underwater with the church book project (marvelous though it was to be asked to do) for much of this year. Two weeks at home with multiple repairs and business to attend to followed it, so Paris, where all I have to do is feed cats and myself for the moment, is quite a restful change.

I also sketched on the way home. The city had taken an expanse of cobblestones off to the side of the Pantheon and erected benches, one of them with enormous gargoyles scattered down its length. One of the things I love about Paris is its creative use of public space. It continually plays with different options to invite people out into its spaces to mingle and enjoy. I love that, coming from the land of everyone being sealed up in their air conditioned cars and houses. It's hard to mingle in Memphis. So I sat to sketch a bit and then bought some Angelina's hot chocolate to drink in the park on the way home. Bliss.

I did a lot more walking today and once again ended up in the Musee d'Orsay. The nice thing about getting a pass is that I can go and do several rooms deeply without having to see the whole museum. I can also take time to sketch. They move and switch out the artwork. This Redon wasn't out last year, and it really moved me. I love the figure rising out of the ocean. So I sketched him standing up (and halfway in the dark -- they keep the symbolism rooms super dark for some reason) and then sat down out in the middle and sketched a few people. I need to get in more practice doing people, and Paris is a great place for that.

I also did one quick sketch in the Tuileries. I had tried to do a gouache study at lunch, but I had forgotten the actual gouache in my jet lag fog. I'll have to go back and do it a different day.

I got to Paris today for what has become my annual August stay. I was pretty groggy, so I only did one quick sketch. I also went to the Musee d'Orsay to renew my pass and revisit some favorite pieces. I'm looking forward to the exhibition of Cezanne's portraits when I have more brain power.

​I also did did a quick sketch leaving Memphis, since I couldn't resist going ahead and testing my new grey sketching ink.

I've been enjoying illustrating poetry lately, and I did another one today. It's based on this poem, and I had been carrying this phrase around for a week or so, wanting to paint from it. I treated myself to a long lunch at a pebble beach. I took a picnic and Mr. Darcy and did three watercolors while enjoying the sunshine and warmth that have finally arrived.

I also did a second version of the last poem I illustrated. I wanted it in my journal too, and I had fun placing the words in a longer format instead of the more square watercolor paper I usually use. It's based on this poem. The rocks are less detailed, but I think the wording was more successful.

Here is the original version.

I have been enthusiastically collecting river stones since I got to Washington, as well as for years before. I remember the pebble beach on Hydra that my sister Marian and I went nuts poring over, picking up, putting down, ultimately bringing a few multi-colored stones home to remember that place. There's a small shelf over the sink in my bathroom with stones from a number of special places and trips. My friend, show-partner, and fellow stone nut Melissa Bridgman more recently turned me on to both heart shaped and striped stones. She gave me one of each in a hard place last year, and they have been talismans for me since. She says stones with an unbroken stripe around them bring good luck. Both are in profusion here in Washington. I have never seen so many heart shaped stones in my life.

Yesterday Jude took me to a national forest with a gorgeous boat ramp/pebble beach at the confluence of two small rivers. I was charmed and brought home a handful of stones, and he later wrote a poem about it. You can read the full poem on his tumblr site. Melissa has sketched lovely river stones in her journal and made pottery in their image, but the poem gave me a new twist to use instead of just copying her idea. I've had a full day of printmaking but wanted to do something fun for myself, as well as celebrate this beautiful poem.

My friend John Reed is a poet in Memphis, and there is a documentary being made about him and his work. For part of the project, artists have been invited to create works based on his poems. I have been enjoying painting from other poetry and jumped at the chance to be included in this project. I've always loved John's poetry. Plus the Mr. Darcy blog has me enjoying mixing text and images again and working in foutain pen and watercolor together.

I knew exactly which poem I wanted to paint from, and I made a trip down to the coast on a sunny day to visit an overlook where I could see the coastline laid out beneath me. I did two journal sketches (below) on site and then came back and used them to create the triptych. Each panel is 6x8", since I work in modest sizes in watercolor, but the three together hold a nice space.

Here's what it looked like laid out on my work table.

And here is John's award winning poem, which he was kind enough to say I could share here.

​The Cartographer's Proposal
I've set their names on maps, but never found
the things themselves. Vainly, I sought escape
in Mystic, Concord, Providence, New Hope--
a gazetteer of irresistible lands
each marking a potential journey's end.
Always a stranger, I never learned the ropes
and wasted time exploring tourist traps,
missing what I'd come so far to find.
But look: a place explorers have passed over
and mentioned only in this arcane chart,
pristine and fraught with possibility.
No human plan's imposed on plain or river,
but mail addressed to Mercy, Healing Heart,
will reach us there, if you will come with me.


John Richard Reed
River Styx 97

This is a poem by Jude Dippold that I illustrated in my journal for fun. Most of my work continues to be the book project that I can't show yet. It was nice to step away from the prints for a little and just do something for myself.

My friend Mark Goshorn Jones was shooting a movie short at the Annesdale Snowden mansion in Memphis not long ago and invited me to sketch on site. I submitted a sketch for my sketch feature in the Daily News, but I stayed a while and had a good time doing several sketches. Here is the full set. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the cameras and working action with the grand old house.