daily painting - bonjour frenchie!

i love this french bulldog.  what a happy compact little fellow.  a great companion dog.  (so i have read)  kinda close in appearance to the american bulldog and much prettier than the english bulldog.  in my opinion.   i think i might like to own one.  i like short hair too.  we have a red doberman pincher.  he is a lovely elegant and sensible dog - but you don't get a lot of personality or clowning from a dobie. they are serious and poker faced.  when they disobey by eating out of the kitchen trashcan, you can hardly tell - they so gingerly pick at their food - they do thrash the trash.   the only little telltale clues are a few crumbs around the trash can and on the dog's pokerfaced nose.  aha!  he knows when he has done a bad deed - he nearly punishes himself!  all we need to do is give him the stare - the he hangs his head and sulks.
my daughter has a pitbull.  he is named gracie.  "gracie" because he is not graceful.  when we were in charge of gracie, for about a year while my daughter was busy figuring out how to sneak the pit into her rental home without the landlord noticing, we couldn't bring ourselves to call him gracie - so we renamed him taz for tasmanian devil.  it might seem wrong that we should rename her dog, but we weren't absolutely sure he was not going to be living with us permanently.  it was hard for (especially my husband) to call out after gracie across a field of other dogs and owners when gracie clearly was a "he".   my husband is a bit of a phoebe.
taz was a holy terror to the neighborhood too.  we didn't decipline him as we were not sure if we should - we were merely the dog's grandparents afterall.  he was a curious ball of muscle and he escaped frequently from our fenced yard.  one time he chase after a woman walking her dog up the hill she started screaming and had to resort to standing on someone's car.  it was a parked car.  thank goodness.  no harm done - just a ration of swear words directed at us.  another time a man was walking his little minature something or other - he was a fancy dresser, he and his boyfriend.  anyway, taz escaped and charged to the man and his dog - he only wated to play -but the man made such a loud fuss and threatened to call the police and whatnot that taz couldn't help himself (he liked excitement) and jumped all over that man and his white linen pants.  taz had been playing in the mud.    i really expected at least a laundry bill that time - but it never came - in fact i never saw those men and their minature again.
i have been speaking of taz in the past tense, but don't worry he is still very much alive and running around.  albeit slower now.  he just doesn't live with us.  brooke finally determined to take her dog home no matter what her landlord said, and she decided it was high time to discipline him too.   the dog not the landlord.  although.........
anyway, gracie is now very well mannered, fatter and  older.  sortof like the rest of us.  well, maybe not the manners part.

daily painting- yes, i cancan!

its not really a prerequisite or a "must" but just the same, it is a good idea to bone up on your cancan before taking the paris artist workshop.  instead of karaoke night - we were thinking of --- well, dance night.  ok, ok, only kidding.
it will be dancing and karaoke night after my class, december 30th.

daily painting....wintery paris - chez paul

just down the street and around the corner is a nice cafe - which corner and which street?  it doesn't much matter.  almost any corner in paris is a nice place to eat and drink.  yes, eating and drinking is not a problem in paris.  reminds me of italy - it is very, very hard to find bad food.  

i love the smell of the small cafes; their gigantic espresso machines making loud sounds with steam escaping, groaning and expelling the most comforting aroma of rich coffee.  one of my favorite treats in the local cafe is to have a hot chocolate with steamed milk.  what's not to like?  

as for food, do you like duck?  mi-cuit de foie gras?  rabbit, goat cheese with mint? steak tartare?  and don't forget dessert....a mouth-melting creme brulee a la violette or any number of other delicious and delicate pastries and creams.

i like the tight cozy rooms with intimate tables near the lacey curtained windows which is made up of small panes of wavy glass.  it's a step backwards in time.  from your seat you can watch foot traffic in the rain and feel the comfort of the warm (sometimes too warm) room with steamy windows.  there is a large hall tree at the entrance of the place with hats, scarves, coats of all kinds and umbrellas.  for me, it is a special pleasure---the smell of wet wool from these coats that mingle with the smell of coffee and french cuisine.  can you tell i am from a world away here southern california?  oh but oui, it's true.

daily painting...wintery paris

here 

here is a famous art nouveau footbridge in paris - only  can't remember it's name.  anyone?  what ever.  just wanted to paint the lovely curves and fancy ornamental iron wrought beauty of the railings.

daily painting...moulin rouge

i love the night lights surrounding the moulin rouge.  just below are art galleries and street venders preparing thin crepes filled with anything you like as you watch them work with ease.  my favorite is nutella. and sometimes nutella and bananas.  depending on how hungry i am and how many i have already had that day.

daily painting...wintery paris

paris pets:  bonjour le chat, bonjour le french bulldog.  thank you for being my friend.

daily painting.......wintery paris

this is Sacré-Cœur Basilica.....poised atop a hill in paris - this highest point in the city.  it is the summit of the butte montmartre.  this is where our art retreat takes place -not in the basilica, itself, silly.  but just below in the artist colony, a square called  the Place du Tertre; this is where pablio picasso defined his role in the modern art world.
then below that,  going down hill is the moulin rouge and the various interesting night life, shops and galleries.  also nearby is the famous art nouveau underground metro station. 

daily painting....wintery paris

so this is not exactly a wintery scene of paris - it is a french chair that would be nice to sit in if it were snowing, cold and wintery outside.... with a nice  bordeaux or hot chocolate.  or just as likely, absinthe.  that stuff will warm you up.  it is highly alcoholic (45-74%ABV), a bohemian brew.

i like to imagine a nice fire roaring in the front of this chair and a tight knit of good friends, laughing and talking - in the best of spirits.  and why not?  this is paris afterall.

daily painting....wintery paris

sometimes the best things are simple.  just a free colors and brushstrokes and it is done.  like this piece.  i liked the contrast between the greenish black wintery trees against the lavender snowy eiffle tower.  the weather here in san diego has been chilly.  i felt especially chilled as i painted this particular snow scene.

 

and i guess my accidental lavender thumb print acts as the sun or moon.  depending on your point of view.

ok maybe its just  thumb print.

daily painting....wintery paris

note to self:  when painting wintery paris scenes it is imperative to include a vintage vogue piece.  n'est pas?  well,  i think so.

but what does it mean?  this is some kind of blouse.  i can't be sure if the top itself is a tutu or just a very large tulle collar.   in any event, it is hardly appropriate for the snow.  

but it is so oo la la and so paris.  back exposed, high heels, large rimmed black hat and pedal pushers.  and please don't forget the yellow gloves  - so what about that is appropriate?  or what about this is not inappropriate?  matters not, really - fashion is like art - when it comes to creating there are no rules.

 

i'm not letting my daughter wear this, though.

et oui, teenagers ....

may take the paris workshop for half price.  yes, it is true.  we love teens, don't we?  such a fresh start on life.  if only i could have known what i know now when i was a teen.  i wish i had been wise.  but alas, i was not.

well, nevermind the past.  i must push forward.    enjoy what i have with what energy i have for the remainder of my life.

hopefully it will be a long life.  because i am long wise.  i hope.

teens - if they only knew what we know.  but, that's life.  n'est pas?

faire de la bicyclette

i can't think of france, england or italy without thinking of  bike riding.  i haven't been to too many other european places, but i know they too ride bikes a lot.  my mother-in-law, nearing 80 years old still rides her bike into town to buy groceries in Gubbio, Italy.    she is not alone.  i remember when i was studying law at Cambridge University in england - it was unusual not to ride a bike.  there were bikes and bike racks all over.  the campus was littered with them.   it was important to watch your step on footpaths in Cambridge because professors in their long robes and striped ties where flying by to get to there classes or tea breaks or a pims break on time.  mad professors.  course they were not the only ones.  students too.   but not me, i preferred to walk.  i preferred to take in the beauty and admire the lovely willowed streams with punters slowly pushing people here and there.  and ducks - lots of ducks and their young ducklings paddling right behind their momma almost soundlessly moving across the the glossy mirrored water.  you could almost see Lewis Carroll right there on a lawned bank telling long tales to an attentive group of children.

anyway, its no different in France.    bike riding is not just for the youth - it is for all ages and for practical reasons.  mostly transportation from one place to the next - usually for women to fetch the day's groceries as does my mother in law.

can you imagine that here in the states?  i can't.

 

if only......tricot de peau---

today is my daughter's sweet sixteenth birthday.  i can't believe she is that old, yet i can't believe she is that young.   but this is not the exact sort of present i got her - no she got something very modest instead.   this is just something i wish i had the courage to wear when i was in my 20's or 30's, slim and flirty.  and it's french.  rosie loves french things.
but mostly i painted and posted it because it is pink and pretty and makes me think of her today.

au cafe avec ma meilleure ami.....

a little cafe au lait with my friend.  one thing i love about painting is that i can slip away to any era - any time of the day.  aw, the 1920's, i think.

Pont Neuf The "New Bridge"...is the oldest standing bridge of Paris.

yet another bridge painting.  i didn't paint this one as a wintery paris scene.  i started painting it in oranges and felt it was right - so i went with it.

daily painting....wintery paris

just a little walk across a bridge in Paris.  i am about to fall asleep - so good night for now.

daily painting - wintery paris - my waredrobe

 

this is the kind of hat, gloves and fur i would like to lavishly adorn myself in for paris - er, if i were about 30 years younger and alive during the 1930-1940's.  

ever feel like you should have lived in a different era?   i feel an affinity towards the 1940's and early1950's.  i have always had a fascination with styles of those years.  to me the styles were the original sophisticated glamour gleaned from starlets and movie magazines.  a time steeped in dreamy wishes to capture the alluring look of olivia de havilland, rita hayworth or carol lombard.

the upswept hairdos with bobby pins and giant loose curls.  women's tailored two piece suits with shoulder pads and ample skirt material for the more casual dress.  and always a big belt to cinch in a waistline to create an hourglass figure on casual or cocktail dresses. 

solid looking high heeled shoes with peep toes, or laces.   coin purses with little silvertone clasps that made a mighty loud snap when you shut them.   bakelit or lucite jewelery.   pearls - long strands for wrapping round and round the neck.  scarves for the head and neck.  always silk, long and blousy. 

a wholesome look to the skin with little makeup but very deep red lipstick and deep red nail polish as well.  like ingrid bergman.

swing coats that finished at the hip.  asymmetrical hats with feathers and veils.  

well, you get the picture.  

funny, my reality is a wardrobe of jeans, sweats and tshirts.  but my dreams are always vivid.

all these things i love to look at and imagine living during this time frame.         

the colors were black, white and a dash of deep red.

painting a day - wintery paris

 along the walk in a park in paris. imagine snow on the path and scratchy leaf-less trees.
 i'm so excited to be going to paris this winter i can hardly stand it.
to do:  buy a wool coat, scarf, gloves and beret.  maybe also some boots. with non-slip treads for soles. by contrast here in san diego, CA ii was wearing flipflops today and got a sunburn at my daughter's swim meet.  it's crazy hot here we are in mid-november and dying of the heat.  my lips are chapped as well. 
i will welcome the sting of cool, nippy air on my cheeks.  front and rear!
the smell of wood burning fires, maybe chestnuts  by street vendors like in the streets of italy.   i will love to sit in a small corner cafe sipping strong black coffee looking out frosted tiny window panes at people scurrying by from one indoor location to the next.  the sort of wet wool smell of the underground that we will take to the louve or the eiffle tower.  i can't wait to have have a crêpe filled with nutella and chocolate.  my favorite.  well until then - sweet dreams.

painting a day... wintery paris "sacre-coeur"

maybe i should have added snow.  when you get to this windmill your legs will know it.  what a climb. oh but what a view and what colorful atmosphere!  luckily there is a little cafe around the corner with a bar.  its nice to sit, visit and drink while your pups are resting.

a wintery paris painting a day.......

  

french dress forms - who does not love them?   i wouldn't mind 7 or 8 of them lined up in my house.  i could decorate them like christmas trees.  OR:  i could drape art from them - jewelry or garlands of candy or lights.

  i could open one up in the front and make it into a secretary desk.   

i could use one as a hat tree or coat rack.  

i could make one into a clock.   

i could put a small refrigerator in one or make on into a lamp.  that would be fun.  make a french dress form out of a translucent  dried rabbit skin and put a light bulb inside it.

OR:  it would be fun to use on as a projection screen for home movies.

one could be made into the character karen from spongebob square pants.  or the maid in the jetson's.  i think her name was rosie the robotic maid.

the dress form would look good collaged or painted in bold colors.  or even colored in a vintage tea stain color and plastered in old love letters like french correspondence or old pictures.  OR: one could be used as a boa holder or a scarf holder. 

or,  it could be stripped to its wires and made into a birdcage.

a couple could be made out of cement with a wire running between them, placed in the garden to hold up creeping vines.  hopefully old zinfindel vines.  or a fountain spout.

one could be placed one the roof with directions attached to the top to use as a weather vane.

there are so many things one could do with a french dress form.  but mostly it would just be fun to have at least one left as is for a cool display or conversation piece.  no home should be without one.

paris winter scene - painting a day...the cat

seems there ought to be a cat somewhere in one of the painting of paris.  right?
but really its the dank narrow alley that i wanted to portray.  this is the kind of street i know of and love about paris.oops this is really for thursday's painting a day.  i jumped the gun a bit.

a winter paris painting a day........

i like the idea of doing a painting a day - i  have seen some other artists doing this and i have always wondered how they can promise to paint a painting a day, upload it and blog it every single day.  things come up.  so i wish i could promise this, but i know myself.  so i will attempt to paint a wintery paris painting a day until.....until......until i run out of ideas i guess.  i was going to say until i go to paris on dec. 26.  but that's a lot of paintings.  we'll see.
this style of painting i hope reminds you of toulouse lautrec.........

getting excited for paris........

can't wait until our paris artist retreat. oh, sure it will be probably be a bit nippy- i hope even snowy - but it's so beautiful this time of the year.  and romantic.  i hope to spend new years eve on top of the Eiffle tower with my honey and my daughter. 
if you are considering going on the paris retreat with us (pam carricker, renee richetts and me), you will not be let down.  not only is it one of the least expensive ways to visit paris you will have the extra coolness of hanging with artists who actually know paris and can help you see what you would like to see.  you will experience delicious home cooked french meals. 
many of us are bringing our high school aged teens along who will be on school break and of course our husbands or S.Other.  so extra said family members will (probably) not be involved in the workshop but will be on hand to hang out together (the teens) and/or see paris with their dads.  my husband is fluent in french and can help accommodate all.  he loves to eat, drink and go to museums.
there's individual housing for each family, but you may come with a friend and share or contact us about sharing with others.  you don't have to have a family/husband/significant other to come.
so bundle up and wear your fancy gloves - you know you got them for a reason......
paris 2010 -workshop days dec. 28-29-30, 2010
for more info email rrichetts@cox.net
goggle pam carriker's name if you don't already know her fine work.
www.lisabebi.com for mine and renee's work is on facebook.
we have all have had our work highlighted in Somerset Studios numerous times.

with a song in my heart........

i love mondays.  a fresh new week - means i can plan and be productive.  i begin everyday with a list.  a check off list.  as the day goes on i add and subtract as i accomplish things or as contingencies arise.  it is a wonderful feeling to have the list completely checked off at the end of the day.  if  i don't get everything checked off then i simply add it to the next day's to do list.  this trick is to make it to friday with less not more on the list. 
i am not at all an orgainzed person.  in fact, i suck at it.   that's why i have this system.  also i have a faulty memory.  the check list is essential.  and my calendar.
so today is monday and i begin my check list.  first thing on my list today?  write in my blog.  check.

reflections - san diego night on the harbor

what could be a more beautiful and welcoming sight than san diego......it is positively jewel like shimmering on the harbor.
italy was beautiful - but san diego has her charms.  loaded with them, actually.right?

i love flying in at night.