Flirting on the Seaside

Just incorrigible.

Sipping a fruity cocktail in a seaside cafe, looking out over the gentle waves, your eye is caught by a coquettish eye, a perky little walk, an undulating hip.

I’m talking, of course, about dogs. Along one of the beaches in Dinard there is a row of cafés below the casino, overlooked by glorious mansions from a bygone age. A wide path follows the coastline, populated by joggers and dog walkers. We were enchanted by the parade of ridiculously sweet French pups who trotted by, many of whom looked like their owners. No, this is not a myth. I would have shown you photos but the French authorities frown on publishing strangers’ photos. Suffice to say it kept us smiling.

My husband pointed out that in the old days he would have been looking at the pretty girls. These days he is distracted by the cute canines.

Sigh. The ravages of time. Lmc

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Egg Tempera & the Curse of Cellphones

Here’s a short video on a subject dear to my heart: cellphones are taking over the world! See what you think.

Paris in September and a Long-Delayed Visit to Mona Lisa

A less-crowded view Tour Eiffel.

The sibilant tinkling of the garbage men slamming the trashcans around at 6 in the morning, the melifluous late night sirens, the jolly honking of angry motorists: We finally made it to Paris!

After waiting months for a second jab, we got on a train up to Gare Montparnasse and met up with my step son, and just acted like tourists for a couple of days.

Paris was being pretty disciplined about Covid. You wear a mask in stores, on public transportation, and in museums. You show your QR code which proves your double vaccination when you go to a cafe or restaurant. The French have an excellent system where they give you the QR code on paper. You can also snap a photo and have it on your phone.

I walked a lot, did some drawing, took loads of reference photos for future painting ideas. I got up early one morning and walked up to the top of Montmartre to look out over the city from the Cathedral of Sacre Coeur. A peaceful scene. There was an unexpected wedding party (this was 8 o’clock in the morning) who came to take photos in the morning light. Several other young men were milling around and had clearly been out all night. They were opening fresh beers. They were friendly though barely standing.

This is a small watercolor about 14” across. I’m still adjusting the color. I’m also thinking about making it a large oil painting.

I sat on the steep steps and drew for a while. The view stretches down the hill and for miles out over a tangle of apartment buildings, churches, schools, and warehouses. Most of the buildings are from previous generations. Paris has strict restrictions on building anything new, and certainly not above about six floors. So the streets are described by those atypical, elegant buildings that are constructed to fit into the haphazard, crisscrossed streets (a city of Flat Iron buildings), and the typical grand and ornate Parisian windows with filigreed, iron railings. This is a daunting subject to do as a line drawing. I am finishing it at home. I’ve tried this subject several times before. I’ll get it right eventually.

The inside of the Louvre is stupendous. The outside is not too shabby either.

A highlight of our trip was a visit to the Louvre. It’s been decades since I went there. Though I’ve been to Paris a number of times in those years I was always put off by the huge lines of people waiting to get in. Covid solved that problem this time. We bought the tickets online and just walked up. We showed them our QR codes and then we were in.

I forgot how many familiar paintings are in there. Everywhere you turned there was Art History 101: Ingres, David, Gericault, Goya, Da Vinci, Holbein, Turner, Fra Fillipo Lippi, and hundreds more. There were a lot of visitors but the only really crowded part was the rolling line in front of the Mona Lisa – of course. We could see it from the side of the room without queuing up, but everyone appeared to want selfies with it, and for that you had to wait. The guards threatened a €1,500 fine if you pulled down your mask for the photo. We moved on. There was plenty more to see.

I need to go back before the normal lines come back. Next time Grecian, Roman and Islamic Art. And possibly some Egyptians? The Louvre is Really Big. And really fun.

When you leave the Louvre and cross over to the Left Bank, you find the Sennelier art store. This is the original store that has been there since the 1880s, and where Degas bought his pastels. All the supplies are stored in the original old wooden cabinets with little drawers and weather-beaten shelves. Of course I spent more money than I intended but it is a magical place, like something out of Harry Potter. I pretty much go there every time I’m in Paris.

We strolled and chatted, had lunch with friends, spent time with the stepson who we hadn’t seen in person for two years. A truly happy experience.

It was a relief to be out and about and experience life as it used to be, at least for a little while. Covid is still with us so we need to cherish these chances to feel normal again.

Pleine Aire Painting At Crystal’s House

A side view of Crystal’s garden. Work in progress.

Last week my art group had an away day, an actual meeting outside to paint in the countryside! Or at least in Crystal’s back yard. After meeting on Zoom for the past year It was pretty exciting stuff. Zoom is better than nothing but not ideal.

Crystal lives on a quarter of an acre surrounded by old trees with a stream running through the grounds. She and her husband moved to France to retire about seven years ago, and what they have done to create their elegant garden is a clear example of why people retire to live in the French countryside. Huelgoat where they live, is notable for gigantic boulders left over from the last ice age. Crystal has arranged a turn on-and-offable waterfall to cascade down the truck-sized rock behind her house.

We painted for a while in the sunshine but since it had been months since we had met in person it was more of a gossipy catchup. So nice to see my friends in the flesh! I took a reference photo and worked on the painting the next day.

As in other countries there has been a flood of people leaving cities and buying up houses in the countryside, or buying them as a country getaway. From living in the back end of nowhere, all of a sudden we are considered chic. I have Paris friends who in the past have spoken of Brittany in a slightly sneery tone (bad weather, provincial etc). Not so much now.

We are approaching the best time to be in Brittany. The summer sunshine has finally arrived, the birds are tweeting like mad things, the flowers are flowering, and I can finally walk outside with bare arms. It’s a good time to be alive.

The 21st Century Can Legally Drink Now

May you live in interesting times. — alleged Chinese proverb

2020 was a crazy awful year. While the twenty-first century has come of age and is now legally allowed to drink, it’s as if 2021 is suffering a massive hangover from 2020. Covid is still rampaging, a lot of us are stuck in our homes, and the US election is throwing up some “interesting” events.

I started a painting the other day, a self-portrait based on a Zoom photo. I’ m staring off to the side and I realized it’s a wondering expression. The fact is we can take all the action we want but at a certain point you we have to sit back and wonder what happens next.

A work in progress! I wonder what I’ll do next?

Over the holidays I was wondering a lot. Memories of family and friends, get togethers, big meals— good and bad— were swimming around my head. At the moment I plan to create a background to the self-portrait that contains hints of those memories. Or I might just cover them all up. Still wondering.

For me oil paintings take a lot longer than watercolors. With watercolors everything happens quicker, and while there is some leeway for adding and subtracting, you have to commit to a look and develop it. With oils you can endlessly tweak and chop and change. Titian would put a painting aside for six months then start tweaking again.

Don’t you wish you could do that with reality?

This is the courtyard at the Louvre, a pleasant place to stroll on a nice day. The original is available for $210.

You can when you paint. As a painter you are taking a long look at the world, and going through a process of assessment and interpretation. You can also look inward to your own memories and knowledge and imagination.

Painting as a mode of self-expression is a great comfort to me, especially when the world is going mad. I am taking from reality and my head and creating something new.

Happy New Year everyone. Things are getting better, I promise.

Painting Story: The Sights and Smells of a French Street Market

The Olive Seller - available here https://www.louisamccabeart.com/oils/the-park-in-guingamp-p2pgw-6dedh-chlzf-agjah-lfygh

This week I am posting another Painting Story. Since my Cannes show was cancelled in April I am highlighting paintings that would have been shown in the exhibtion.

I am highlighting three paintings this episode, two oils and a watercolor. They are all olive sellers. Click on the link below to see the vidoe.
https://youtu.be/Msnaq6-dPCk

This episode is about street markets. I love wandering around street markets checking out the stalls, buying tasty items, smelling exotic spices, looking at some of the ludicrous hand made items (hand-carved soap santas etc). Paris has a serious of famous markets, but most French towns of any size have their own markets. Even our local town of 3,000 people has it’s own market. Brittany does not have that many specialities of the region – pretty much cider and crepes, which are excellent of course. But at our local market you can go and get Italian cheese, Caribbean mustard, and organic crème fraîche along with the other usual French delicacies.

Markets are a great place to see people going about their business but taking their time about it. They are not rushing for the train. They stop and chat in groups. They meander around. And for a taste of cafe life they meet for coffee and croissants and debate politics and who grows the best potatoes (that one is literally true!). They gossip in line at the butcher’s stall. It’s a very undigital world even if they are clutching their devices. Life is swirling around you.

For a painter this is a lively scene, though in these Covid lockdown times everything is more subdued. If a second wave crashes it’s always good to remember what we are missing. Hopefully we can get back to a new and improved normal when the time comes.