i feel like a train wreck

one more day until we leave for seattle. i'm tired - have painted about 5 dozen pictures and other things.

also for sell will be my own stamp line and my own collage sheets. the collage sheets are very cool and are all shelly blizard designs of puglover productions.

shelly did an awesome job. these sheets will be for sale up on the etsy account in a couple of weeks. everything will be competitively priced; a package of several sheets (i forget how many) sells for $15 and the separate sheets sell for $5.00. included inside each package are several designs, instructions and one lisa bebi magic transfer sheet (registered). the magic sheet works like a kid's tattoo. you wet the object that you want the transfer to transfer to and slap it on. very easy and magic!!!!! for those artists who know how very very difficult it is to get a perfect transfer, this offers an "E" ride ticket, it is crazy simple to do and leaves a very clear image behind. once the image is transfered, it is ready to be painted on or sealed.

i will also bring plenty of somerset workshop magazines to autograph. i'm going to have blast. see you soon. i plan to take my computer and camera. i will update.

student's work

Paris workshop:
here is a piece that was done by my daughter rosie during the paris workshop.
i wish i had photos of other student's work, but somehow i didn't get them posted to me yet.
however i did get some wonderful testimonials:


"I thought Lisa was a very good teacher. Her instructions were clear
and well paced.
She worked with each student individually, and she inspired creativity.
At the end of the workshop, it was clear Lisa's students were pleased and
proud of the works they produced, myself included." ----Laurel E, San Diego, CA


and........

My Testimonial, I Loved Lisa Bebi's art class and it was the hi-light
of my trip to Paris. She is so fabulous at honing in on how to make a
photo pop and and how to use color. It's an invaluable technique for
any mixed media artist or mixed media artist wanna be! The small
workshop size allows her to really make everyone involved get some
special attention which was worth everything to me in the end.
Linda W, Chicago

and.......
The best compliment I can make is that after attending your workshop in
Paris I tried to swop into your class at Artfest.... that about says it
all. I learned something in that even
if I haven't had any formal training I could with a little help, produce a painting that I was happy to
hang up in my craft room. I did learn the basic
techniques and feel confident about trying some more on my own. It was
really great fun. I would recommend Lisa as a tutor (instructor). She shows the
technique in an efficient and easy to understand way. She provided us
with all the equipment we needed. And nice quality brushes. She devotes
all her time in class making sure her students are progressing and are
happy with their work.
Morag, London England

I love you guys, thanks for the kind words.

sitting

i'm so tired of sitting......i have been painting for days now. don't get me wrong, i love to paint, but it isn't a high energy activity. i get so hyper-focused for such a long period that when i come out of it, i find that i'm much older than i was when i started, that i haven't worked out and i am flabbier and that i haven't changed my fashion, style or clothing for that matter. i haven't done the dishes or taken out the trash. and for god's sake, i haven't even gone to get my nails done!!!
tragically, this is how i prefer to live my life. i am in heaven. it is a total luxury for me to be able to focus on only one thing for days on end. creating. i feel like i am cheating on life. and i know i am. i am irresponsible and i am in love with doing it. i feel like a giddy young girl finally getting the attention of a boy she has a crush on.

oh, tomorrow i will finish, probably, and tomorrow i will start on other chores, errands, creature living demands. get the plumber in. clean out the car, i will sort out my clothes, vacuum the house, do the dishes, get the car to the mechanic, etc. i will return all the annoying phone calls that have piled up. maybe. AND, i will get my nails done.


jeez, maybe i will even look into doing some tax bookkeeping..... that's a scary thought.
i know one thing, i will not sit around and read or type on the computer, because i feel i have used up my free time painting.

but thats not right, either!

there is a small voice in me that says, "lisa, painting is not cheating, painting is your profession, your mission and contribution in life." but that voice is kinda soft, i have to fight to hear it. i have to have many internal pep talks to feel good about it.
i look forward to a day when i don't feel conflicted about what i do.

art for sale

here are a couple small paintings i have created for artfest. one is 6"x6" and the other is 2" x 6"... i was in a bright happy mood.....what do you think?

over two dozen finished........

i'm finishing my last dozen (third) paintings for artfest. they are only 6" x 6" and 8"x8". anyone think that might be too many? not enough? i wish i knew.

also i heard the weather is going to be nasty this year. thunderstorms, snow, rain, wind. i need a heavy raincoat and maybe rain boots. where can i get these in san diego? mittens, i hear, are warmer than gloves, who knew that? certainly not someone born and raised in san diego.

someone out there want to let me borrow their snow boots? no, not ski boots. just rainboots. aw, nevermind, i'm sure i will be able to find some somewhere. if not, there are always plastic bags..........

when i lived in england, it snowed very heavily one winter and i had bought a huge fluffy dr. zhivago's wife style cap with furry trim and huge furry pompoms on the ends of the ties. it seemed sensible when i got it in san diego. actually, my mom bought it for me because she thought it sensible and i looked cute in it, and i listened to her. bad idea.

well, as we all know, the british are more understated, rarely extravagant in dress. so, as i was trudging home one snowy day in london with my mighty snowcap on, thinking it sure seems quiet inside this massive cap and how much more quiet the street noise seemed in the snow when BAM!!! i was pommeled hard in the back of the head by a few large snowballs. i turned and saw a couple of teens running away laughing. humph. i swore my mother's name.
i lost that hat long ago, i wouldn't want a repeat of that.
as for rainboots, i will worry about them tomorrow. i think winter gear is lame anyway.

happy easter shoes....

i did a terrible job of cutting this jpeg down, but i hope you get the painting. they are a pair of Easter shoes, of course.

I hope you have a lovely Easter.


i have a few friends writing me privately saying that i haven't posted enough about paris. i'm sorry. i am under a ton of pressure right now to get my work together to take to artfest in washington state april 1.

i must say, my paintings are coming along very well. i plan to blow all artfesters' socks off and i know these pieces will do that. once i get my work done, then i promise to go back and fill you in on wonderful paris. what great friends/artists i made there too. everyday was a challenge to walk because of the cobblestone streets, but so worth it. the day at the flea market was sort of a bust as the prices were too high and the stuff offered for sale was not unusual, typical of anywhere USA. that was a bit disappointing. BUT, i did find a cool gift shop that i really loved called pylones as in www.pylones.com. check it out. it is a combination of french/japanese, i.e. colorful and plastic, but cooool - very cool stuff and practical too. there is now a shop in new york too, but they don't carry the exact same stuff. my favorite item was a salt and pepper shaker combo that are rolling birds. you wind up the shakers and let them roll to the person across the table. great way to pass the salt. also i bought brooke an extend-able fork, that telescopes to about 4 feet, because she is always eating off someone else's plate. now she doesn't even have to ask, she can just fork it over herself.
there are little purses or handbags called "henbags" since they are rubber hens. so clever and so much fun. i also got brooke a salad bowl set, where the fork and spoon were trapese artists (his and hers)....i guess you have to see that.

also, now that i see my scanner is working again, i would like to share with you some work of my participants and friends. so please bear with me for a few weeks. i hope i can type with my right hand after i have had hand surgery April 10 - if not, i will use my toes. not to worry, more to come.

my newest published work

Somerset Workshop will be hitting the newsstands, i.e. barnes and noble's in about a week...Somerset has generously given me 30 PAGES!!!! i tell all my secrets in this publication....almost. i hope you enjoy it.

robotics convention

guess which nerd is my daughter, brooke...? that's right the only girl there. yeah and she is carrying a big sword.

i tired to ask her what this robotics convention was all about but she was too busy to answer me. i guess it was a news assignment for KPCC. not exactly reporting from a war front. or is it?

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panache

i'm with meredith (cummings - a great artist!) and rosie. again rosie isn't sure about how much i have been drinking.

my painting with my daughter

this is my piece that sold in auction for $1000 at the panache fund raiser for the arts.
you can tell i was enjoying myself. rosie is not sure about me though.

rosie's mom ........

and brooke's and jamie's mom and the whistler's mom.

at the de` orsay

i deny it.........

we did NOT take a photo in a gallery without permission...........

my favorite gallery...

rosie liked it too. uhm, i think you are suppose to ask permission ot take photos in art galleries. well, we didn't get caught, but i'm not sanctioning it.

i asked the owner if i could submit my work here. we will see. this gallery, can't think of its name, is near moulin rouge. lively work, don't you think?

a moment of prayer

for my friend mary's mother....i was at notre dame cathedral.

paris runaway

rosie's collection....continued

Okay so not all the hot paris guys were, uhm, real.

this store front photo was taken along the streets of a district called "the marais"...i loved this area and this is the area where we had our apartment. it was so very cosmopolitan and just "pure paris".

window shopping rose to a level i had never known before. as well as people watching. even rosie who is only 13 said that one of her favorite things to do in paris was to sit in a cafe and people watch. i have never been one to enjoy that too much, but paris does lend itself well to "people watching" even for those who are young and inexperienced to those who are older suffering from ADD.

BUt, i have to say, one of my favorite experiences in paris centered around my olfactory nerves. or one might call it, my nose. ....i loved stepping into a cafe or bistro from a busy, rainy street and have the smell of fresh coffee, pastry and leeky quiche slam me in the nostrils. oh, yeah, thats really living. mmmmm-mm.

i also loved he galleries, but i'm saving that for another post in my blog.

so tonight i said goodbye to my rosie as she boarded yet another plane.....she is off to washington DC and on to the smithsonian with her school for spring break. can you imagine traveling with 300 jr. high kids? i'm glad someone was able to handle that and rosie gets to experience it.

as for me, i'm home now and working very hard getting ready for my next workshop, april 2 in washingotn state. Artfest 2008, here i come. then mid april i will have hand surgery on my painting hand, er right hand. wish me luck.

rosie's collection...

OK i guess this hot paris guy is a bit old and cold.

we went to the gallery of the middle ages....or, the gallery cluny d'orsay. we went there in the rain on the first day. it was totally enchanting, full of very lovely sculptures and of course a crypt or two. we took the metro from our apartment. the tube is very efficient. i wish we had one here in san diego.
after the gallery visit we went on to stroll along the boulevard de michel, checking out the small stores along the way. i love walking and window shopping in the rain - the beautiful majestic building shined a milky blonde against the gray skies. all along the boulevard were scratchy black leafless trees.

we came upon a small artist supplies store that i fell in love with. i bought paints and paper - the paper i bought was a crepe metallic paper, unusual to me. and i bought acrylic paints, that i later sold during my workshop so that i wouldn't have to lug them back.
i also bought my cane on that street from an old man who took my measurements (of my leg length. silly), then cut the cane of solid maple by hand (not an electric saw) to fit and added the rubber tip which helped me amble better throughout my paris adventures.

rosie's collection

rosie has decided to collect or capture photos of hot paris guys.

the louvre

see, there's no crowd.



it was great except one thing.
notice rosie and me on the left?
rosie has on yellow pants -

but also notice i have a CANE.
boohoo. i had to get one.
why? cuz kaiser won't get around to fixing my knee.
so we couldn't get to see everything at the louvre - but then, i think it would take the able bodied person more than one day to see it all anyway.
i like the rainy weather - it feels fresh. maybe i have had too much sunshine in my life..

nothing like the real thing...

oh baby this is it.

paris fun

i'm so busy i haven't had a chance to write....
maybe tomorrow.

steady fisted joe, the bartender

took this photo. geesha, i will see if someone else in the group has a better group photo.
about half of us are here. do we look jetlagged? drunk? both?
and how about sure handed joe? think he indulges in his own stuff?

what a beautiful day we had today of sight seeing- blue skies - a bit nippy, which is great for my menopausal internal thermostat. we walked to notre dame and caught sights along the way. rosie bought a new wool coat and scarf. we hope the wool coat will last at least 2 years.

tonight between the two master chefs in the group, namely, my husband, gastone and renee richetts we had the most wonderful meal. gastone made pasta from scratch - the sauce was to die for and fresh cheese to boot. renee made a vegetable soup from all fresh whole foods bought around the corner - it had a leek base. they bought a whole chicken that had been killed within the last few hours, plucked and cleaned. initially they were going to use her (the chicken) for soup broth, but she was so lovely, she showed up as part of our main meal with fresh rosemary. renee did the finest job roasting her. of course we had wonderful wine - although cheap in cost, wonderful grade. and the bread was wonderful french country stuff that tastes perfect and fresh from the (french, duh) bakery., also around he corner. the massive brick of french butter we bought just yesterday is nearly gone.

oh, did i only talk about food again? well, shoot.
the stroll along the seine was beautiful and peaceful today. i kept saying, gee, there just aren't that many people on the streets, so different than going to rome in the summer. ugh! i love havig paris to ourselves. it was nice just walking and looking around, then suddenly coming up upon a monument, like the eiffel tower appeared in the background from nowhere.

that was an enchanting surprise.

joe, the bartender in paris

as you can see i am making new friends in paris...joe here, took our group pic which i will need to upload for tomorrow. this little brassiere around the corner was a perfect place to hang out while letting jetlag melt away into rich, fresh, coffee creme bliss.

its a bit chillier here than i expected...about 46 degrees f. which can mean only one thing..... shopping for a nice coat is added to our to-do list for tomorrow.

guess what is just outside our front door? a crazy funky bead shoppe. AND... we are in the watch, purse and shoe district (wasn't on my to-do list, but i guess i can add it) AND 2 blocks away is a contemporary art museum. oh, and of course a wine/cheese, pastry/crepe shoppe on every corner..... did i die and go to heaven?

goodbye angelic two

last night i said farewell to a painting entitled "mild bewilderment" as it sold for $1,000 at the "panache" auction at the escondido arts partnership. thank you rich folks for buying her.
i forgot to mention that earlier this month, i had to say farewell to the angelic two entitled "enchanted siblings" (above) as they went to one of my dear artist friends, laurie mika, for a nice trade of her enchanting work.

and say farewell to my family and me as we take off for pairs tomorrow - my poor broken down body and all. i'm hoping the french atmosphere will liven me up and heal some of my weary limbs and tender stomach from taking too much vicodin.

i hope i return to a surgery schedule for my knee - (god help me this is taking along time.)
while in france, i will be searching for interesting art, papers, oddities and trinkets.

see you in a few weeks.