I had a busy few days on arriving this time. A friend also happened to be here who had never been to Paris before, and it was neat to get to walk with her and see the city through her eyes for a bit.

Then Sunday she was at the Tour de France, and I'm not fond of crowds, so I hung out with my musician friends again and did a couple of quick watercolors while they played. Above is Hotel de Ville and below is Notre Dame.

Both of these are a little smaller than my regular pad (6x8") and on hot press instead of cold press, which plays more nicely with pens and washes. I'm still trying to do some more sketch quality pieces as well as the tighter finished paintings.

Then walking home the evening was beautiful, so I stopped in Luxembourg gardens and did a quick journal sketch.

One of my favorite things to do in Paris is to go out on the weekends and hear my friends play music. Rene is an American who has been making a living in Paris as a musician about 24 years, and Stephen is from the north of England, here about as long. They both play with multiple people, but I love Stephen's marvelous bass playing added to Rene's wide mix of songs, and it made me happy they were playing together this weekend.

And not only together, but at my very favorite market, the Marche d'Aligre. Funky and off the beaten track. I scored a table at the cafe just behind them on the corner, had mint tea, and settled in to paint. (Above.)

The next day they were at the Bastille market, a much bigger and bustling place. My favorite soap maker (I get the fig and raspberry scents) goes there, so I got soap and also hung out to sketch. Sadly, after doing a couple of sketches of Rene I was pleased with in the spring, I am back to making him look like a muppet. He's very nice about it, though. And I am pleased with that recent print of him and Dede, so hopefully I can do some more in that vein while I'm here.

I got myself a yearly membership to the Orsay, delightfully called a Carte Blanche, this spring, knowing I would be coming back for another chunk of time. I am really enjoying being able to duck in and out. I met my friend Carol there yesterday and did a bit of sketching while she looked around.

I sketched this Monet (not really getting all the colors right) because I liked the gentler value contrast in it. I had an idea for a lighter overall print of my
park just before I left, and here is Monet painting his park in lighter colors as well. I wanted to spend a little time looking deeply.

I've been thinking about trying to slow down a bit in Paris. I was going flat out before I left and will have several months of the same this fall when I get home. But it's hard for me to ease off that much. I wrote two pages' worth of what I hope to do here in my journal.

I did do my first watercolor on Friday, my first full day. I was afraid the window display might change, and I love how it coordinates with the door and street signs. But the arrival of my friend Carole has slowed me down. We had a lovely long walk and dinner last night at my favorite creperie. Today I'll hear Stephen and Rene play music at my favorite market and then meet Carole for some more exploring. It's nice to have some friend time to ease into a long trip mostly on my own.

I got to Paris today and started out right, settling in with tea. I had started the journal on the plane with a simple sketch of a new print of the Greensward (hopefully a companion piece to the phlox) that I woke up with. I figured if I put it there, I would still remember it when I got home after a bunch of other art.

Then in a effort t stay upright, I went out walking and got some lunch to eat on a park bench.

I also walked a loop and visited a couple
of my favorite spots -- Luxembourg gardens (specifically the statue of Genevieve) and the Musee d'Orsay. I got myself a "carte blanche" when I was here in the spring and plan to use it a lot. And, as one friend pointed out, how often are you given carte blanche anyway??

My life changed today. When I first got my Chandler and Price press (a 1909 treadle), I didn't know much about presses. The printing area was 10x15", but it's clam shell press, which means it gives one good smack, and the pressure diffuses across that whole area. So clam shells never print well across their full area. I tried to do a couple of prints on it, was dissatisfied with the results (prints are also much darker than type, which is a large percentage of white space and therefore easier to print), and gave up. I love this press for its ease of use. I can do 500 note cards and other small items easily, but I mentally wrote off doing actual art prints on it.

I finally realized this summer that I have much more experience with it now and could probably get it to do more of what I would like. It inks the prints itself, instead of me hand inking, placing the paper and block together on a diagram to get them straight, carrying both to the proof press, and sliding it across. I can do a dozen prints that way instead of 500.

So lately I've been testing smaller blocks on the press. I started with a 5x7", which worked great when I proofed it (still haven't printed those but will quite soon), and this is a 6x9". I'm going to try an 8x10" next, which is probably about as big as I can go, but still a huge leap for me to be able to do some of my printing in a much less laborious way. I love the carving and creating the image, but the repetitive printing is the least fun for me. Today I did my first block on the C&P and printed an edition of 50 in a couple of hours (including oiling the press, set up, and clean up). Utterly amazing. My prints may be getting a little smaller from here on out...

Here's the proof of the cafe scene I printed today. When the prints dry, I'll be able to scan in a cleaner image that has a background that's whitish, like the paper. This is based on a watercolor done near Montmartre.

I've been painting again today. I'm still feeling rusty in oils. I had such fun doing this Parisian sky, but I'm not sure about the rest of it. I've brought it downstairs to stare at tonight and see if I can make up my mind about whether to do more and what else this one might need.

I feel better about the canvas below. I just finished it, well overdue to go to its forever home.

I had a historical kind of day on Saturday. I walked through both Yorktown and Williamsburg. It was fun to see the old houses and history, but once again, I notice that what I actually sketched are the trees. I have realized recently that one reason I like old places is that they also tend to preserve their old trees. I sketched the tree above on the fringe of the Yorktown battlefield.

Just for variety, I tried the bridge nearby as well, next the farmers market they have. I've been trying to work more in markers again, but this one wasn't particularly successful.

I finished with one more garden, somewhat hidden away, with a gorgeouly gnarled tree at its center. It was a lovely shady place to sit, and I couldn't resist sketching as well. Many thanks to my patient tour guide who hung out while I did all this. I was just on a panel at Crosstown Arts about art and travel, and one of my fellow artists said one key piece was to pick patient traveling companions and also make sketching just the thing that you do, so they know it's a part of who you are. Good advice all around. I tend to travel solo usually but am grateful to my periodic traveling companions who do end up being kind and patient while I sketch a bit.

I am a total sucker for sawgrass. I got to hike in two Virginia parks over the weekend that featured water snaking through sawgrass, ospreys, herons, eagles, crabs, dragonflies, and sunshine. Both parks also had gorgeous forests, but since I get to do forest sketching at home, I focused on the more exotic (to me) scenes.