Thursday paintings

Thursday morning I painted in the neighborhood since I wanted to paint my "local," Le Renitas. I had a lovely meal here last year. I liked the neighborhood sketching since it let me go home for lunch and tea and then walk downtown after.

I painted in the Tuileries in the afternoon. I've been thinking a lot about park spaces since we in Memphis are currently fighting our own city government to protect my beloved Overton Park. It's both good and bittersweet to see how fierce the French are about protecting their public spaces.

After painting I went back to the Musee d'Orsay for the evening hours. I was blown away by the five versions of Rouen cathedral in a row. Monet rented a shop window and painted I don't know how many versions at all times and weathers. I had just seen two in the Boston museum and loved them.

I had a Monet evening, also doing a sketch of his large, spectacular painting of turkeys. Something about the light and color and scale always makes me think of Sargent's Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, which is amusing with the different subject matter. It's one of my favorite Monets, and I decided I was due to spend a little time looking at it closely, which for me usually equates to sketching it.

I had hoped to see the full moon rise over the Louvre afterwards, but there was a solid low bank of clouds, and the evening was fine, so I ended up just walking beautifully home through the warm streets. It was a delightful day