Day Eighteen

Socrat
Oil on Linen Panel  8 x 6"

I'm hoping someone from my trip who stayed with me at the Chateau will remember the name of this dog. Please let me know....
Thank you Alison for reminding me of his name. Socrat is short for "Socrates".

He doesn't really look like the old dog that lives there, he ended up looking more like a puppy. Oh well, at least I'm getting a lot of practice with new subject matter by participating in this challenge. I do love to paint interior scenes and I have had some fun with those and learned a lot in the process......

This is the third piece from the same area of the Chateau. I walked in from the back toward the dining room near the kitchen and I looked up the stairs from me to see Socrates, just sitting there bathed in the light from the window. He stayed long enough for me to snap a photo. I think he was just comfortable and didn't want to move, or he likes to have his photo taken...?

Day Seventeen - Morning Light at the Chateau

Morning Light at the Chateau
Oil on Linen Panel  10 x 10"

Well, the day was busy and my painting time was broken into several sessions. At one point I wanted to toss this one. I started out too light and struggled with getting the dark pattern back into it.  I really wanted to capture the light from that beautiful morning.....

Day Sixteen - Paris Cathedral

The Church of St-Germain-des-Pres
Oil on Linen Panel  8 x 6"

The oldest Church in Paris, but most of it has been rebuilt many times, is the Church of St-Germain-des-Pres. This was a difficult exercise for me but something I've been wanting to paint since my first trip to Paris. Hopefully it will get easier because there are many more beautiful Cathedral's on my list.

Day Fifteen - Waiting For You

Waiting For You
Oil on Panel  6 x 6"

This looks like a fun way to get around and a great way to see Paris. Care to join me? I just had a cancellation today for my workshop in Southern France next June. That leaves room for you! We're going to rendevouz in Paris for a few days before the workshop and then take the train to our destination and paint for two weeks. I know you want to......

Day Thirteen - French Poppies....

Poppies of Provence (study)
Oil on Panel  6 x 6"

This was a fun little piece to paint. A close up from a photo taken in Provence. I had a hard time with the photo after dark so we'll see what it looks like in the morning. Painting daily like this is becoming a habit...a good thing.

Day Twelve - Les Deux Musee'

Les Deux Musee'
Oil on Canvas Panel  6 x 6"

This quaint Bistro across the street from the Musee d'Orsey was a nice stop for lunch and also a rest for our feet after a few hours studying the Masters with Ovanes last May.

Day Eleven - Castles of the Languedoc

Castles of the Languedoc
Oil on Linen Panel   10 x 8"

This was painted from a photo of the Languedoc Region in Southern France, the location of my upcoming Oil Painting Workshop. We will paint in and around the small villages of the region and also do some sight seeing. My hope is that we are not too late in the season for poppies!

Day Ten - There She Is

There She Is
Oil on Linen Panel   16 x 8"

This is the first time I've painted the Eiffel Tower. I found it to be a challenge in itself. The day I took this photo I was on a bus returning from the Musee' Marmottan Monet. I was on the other side of town from where I was staying in the Latin Quarter in 2009. So I was on the bus on my way back when the bus came to this observation area and there she was! Big and bold right in front of me. I headed toward her and snapped this photo. There were many more people on the corridor but I decided to omit them.

I continued to walk and walk and walk and finally I was looking way up. My feet were killing me so I grabbad a cab back to the Quarter..

Day Nine - At the Louvre

Renee at the Louvre
Oil on Linen   14 x 11"

My dear friend Renee' while enthralled with the Masters paintings last May at the Louvre. Wish I had a record of the artists whose work she was admiring. A good day indeed!

Day Eight - French Birdie?

Value Study on Linen   8 x 8"

No I did not paint a French subject today. And my day is done so it isn't going to happen. But paint I did!
I painted this little demonstration in my Oil Painting Class at the School of Light and Color today. We mixed grays and made a value scale, then we used our piles to paint a study. This was very quick and fun.

My belief is that if we learn to identify values first and then to see the value of color, we are half way there. I love having mixed grays on my palette. Just look at some of the old Russian masters, especially Nicolai Fechin. He used many grays in a dominant manner while using some vibrant color and WOW!
I am reading "The Art and the Life of Nicolai Fechin, by Galina P. Tuluzakova.

So get out the black and white, mix some grays and have at it. You can't go wrong.

Also, you don't want to miss Leslie Saeta's Blog Talk Radio Show tomorrow morning. She will be talking about the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge with Lisa Daria. Lisa has been painting a painting every day for four years.....! Leslie posted about it on her blog at  http://www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com/

See ya tomorrow....

Day Seven - Afternoon Light in Angoin

Afternoon Light in Agoin
Oil on Linen Panel  8 x 6"

Last summer I attended the workshop in the Burgandy area of France. We stayed at the Chateau ‘d  Angoin in the village of Salornay sur Guye. I took some photos one late afternoon as we walked through the small village.... good memories. 

Day Six - French Bistro

French Bistro  
Oil on Panel   6 x 6"

Continuing with my 30 paintings of all things French. I snapped a photo as we walked through the City of Beaune, in the Burgundy Region. I hope to have an opportunity to return to this wonderful little City. It had a small village feel and not a lot of tourists. I loved that we were able to take a few days and immerse ourselves into the French culture. The little Bistros stayed open late, inviting us to dine in the open air. We stayed in a very old Abbey, on the third floor. It was a job getting our luggage up some 72 steps, a winding staircase. But it was worth the stepping because the view above the streets gave us the wonderful sights of the rooftops and the bell tower was just outside our window......

Day Five - Avignon

Rhone River Walk
Oil on Linen Panel    6 x 8"

My first trip to France was in 2009. I took a workshop with two of my favorite people, artists and teachers, Brigitte Curt and Jim Smyth. Our group was to rendezvous in Avignon to rent cars and drive to our destination in the more remote villages of Provence.
My first night there I was alone, having spent a wonderful 5 days roaming around Paris before taking the train down to Avignon. I decided to take a walk through the city and just at dusk I came to the Rhone River. Just north of this area is the famous Avignon Bridge (Pont d'Avignon).
I took a bunch of photos of the bridge, cobblestone streets, steeples, and market area. Then I tasted the best gelato in my life!
I'll plan to continue my theme of all things French and share more about Avignon as I paint my way through my French travels.

Day Four - Saturday Market, Beaune, France

Saturday Market in Burgandy
Oil on Linen Panel   8 x 6"

This is a little 8 x 6 of Saturday at the Market in Beaune, France. Some of us stayed in this little wine village just North of our destination at the Chatueau, for three days prior to the workshop. It was a good decision. We enjoyed our time there while catching up on some needed sleep after our trip. I would love to visit this village again someday.

Day Three - Yvette's Kitchen

Yvette's Kitchen
Oil on Linen Panel    8 x 6"

I am having fun with this theme, "All Things French". It has taken me back to France last summer to the Chateau we stayed in for the workshop with Ovanes Berberian. Our host's took such good care of us and treated us like their personal guests for two weeks.

One early morning I snapped this picture of the light coming through the kitchen window. It was very inspiring.

Day Two - Chicks on a Plate

Chicks on a Plate
Oil on Panel  -  6 x 6"

While in France at the Ovanes Berberian workshop last May we stayed in a wonderful Chateau hosted by Eve's and Yvette. Every morning Yvette cooked our breakfast fresh from the farm. It was a delicious treat every day. (Yvette was under the impression that Americans eat eggs everyday) She would cook our eggs any way we desired. They are wonderful people who thoroughly enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed getting to know them. And I love eggs!

Day One - French Cows

"French Cows" Oil on Linen Panel
8 x 10"

Finished up my first piece for the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. My theme is "All Things French". Last summer I attended a workshop with Ovanes Berberian in France. We stayed at a chateau north of Cluny in the Burgandy area. 

Each time we went to Cluny to eat dinner we drove along a beautiful highway with a view of the valley below. It was so beautiful and changed every day with the weather and time of day. One evening I decided to turn off the highway and we drove through this countryside. 

The cows seemed to know we were American Tourists, because they just stared at us!

Three French Hens?

Okay, I have settled on my theme for my 30 paintings in 30 days. All things French!
I was torn because I wanted to stick with France paintings, and I was considering landscapes of Southern France. Somehow it seems a little too limiting and I also love the still life so I've decided on All Things French. Perfect!
I'll start tomorrow, but I won't get to paint until we get home from Truckee in the afternoon. Hoping to post my first painting tomorrow night, but it might be Thursday morning instead. Can't wait to get started!

"Three's a Crowd" Oil on Linen
8x16" framed
 Available   $600