Still in Quarantine

On a roll! Back to France again. The biggest joy of painting these watercolors from France is reliving the day, the time, the weather etc of when I took the photo. Above, the waiter in his dapper apron and vest his attention everywhere at once. In France they are not minimum wage workers - Being a Waiter is a “Profession”....and they are proud of it. This particular restaurant with its little round tables and motorcycles and bicycles parked in front of it was quintessential French. It was across the street from the Louis Vuiton store which was closed for renovation, but in a posh district. Note the refection in the glass, I loved doing this paianting, if not just to see if I could make it work. The two under the umbrella to the left are my traveling companions. Amber my grand daughter in her yellow slicker and Heather my daughter. I think rainy days are the best possible days to depict in a watercolor. You can do wonderful reflections with watercolor.This view of them - I was always behind - is among my favorite memories of our trip!

We stopped in the town of Auxerre just south of Paris on our way back from Beaune. This wonderful little town has a marvelous clock tower and lost of Fachwork buildings. The red and creme one at the end of the street was one of the best. The town had the unusual collection of brightly painted statues of ordinary people doing ordinary things. At the bottom left is a gray haired Madam with an umbrella and a basket of flowers. There were parsons, children etc. each on a pedestal and meticulously painted.

Just for fun i tried an to depict alleyway. What i liked in the photo was the contrast of the shadows. There was not much interest in the shadow and I should have just left it a a shadow, but it was a great deal of the painting so I tried to put in a mother and child. I need much work on painting people into paintings. Auxerre’s people painting was more successful. I love all the pipes, sighs. loose cords, window shades, stuff in the windows etc that you fins in windows in Europe.

Above “First Cup O’Joe: a couple enjoying the early morning ritual of France. It is an special treat often with a sweet pastry of some sort of a Bagguette with butter and Jam. The cane chairs were everywhere on this trip. Comfy and convenient for watching the visitors streaming by on the sidewalks. Cafes are every few feet in some districts and offer a chance to just cill out and enjoy the sunshine.

Still more to come