Day 3... I think...

Today was absolutely mind blowing.  My brain is mush and I can hardly think straight. We were on our way to see Notre Dame and found St Gervais.  This church was stunning!  Every step there was something awe inspiring to see.  At the far end is an alter dedicated to Mary, I sat down and cried, it was so beautiful.  After that we went to Notre Dame, the line was so long we stayed outside and admired the gargoyles and flying buttresses.  From there it was on to the Louvre.  It was closed for the day so we spent an amazing couple of hours looking at the architecture and statuary.  Luckily I purchased tickets ahead of time so we'll go back tomorrow morning first thing and spend the day inside.  I can't possibly describe how lucky I feel to be here...

Day 2

Well, the trip started off with a bang. I thought I’d lost Cindi and she thought she’d lost me and my family thought I was stranded in Amsterdam. Needless to say, the next trip I take I will splurge and buy a cell phone that works internationally. Turns out we were both in the same hotel, when Cindi checked I was already checked in but they somehow they said I wasn’t checked in and gave her another room (which they are not charging us for because they were completely incompetent!) Long story… the good news is we found each other this morning and managed to have a truly amazing day. We began with a nice little breakfast in a café then headed for the Musee Jacquemart Andre. It’s a lovely “smaller” museum housed in a beautiful mansion. The paintings included work by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Boucher, Boticelli, Tiepolo… more than I can remember. The rooms were decorated with the original furniture, tapestries, Persian carpets, all of which was stunning. I was in heaven! Next we happened upon St. Augustine church. Such a lovely brooding place with gorgeous stained glass windows and statues of Mary, the saints and many angels.

I made it!

Ok, I made it.  This is the view from my hotel window.  It was quite a long haul to get here, not without it's trials and mistakes, but all in all, I'm rather proud of myself for getting from Seattle to Amsterdam and then Paris.

Almost forgot going over the pole we had the best display of the Aurora Borealis, not much color but very clear and great movement.

Made use of my travel journal sketching passengers waiting for our delayed flight to board.

Tomorrow... possibly an amazing flea market.

How being a "fraidy cat" pays off ...

One of the benefits of being an anxious person is that I plan ahead even to the smallest detail.  This means that as my travel day approaches part of me relaxes knowing that almost everything is taken care of. When the plane takes off I'll feel like that cat, but as soon as we level out I'm fine!  Out will come the book, drawing stuff and head phones.  No where to go for the next 11 hours, so just relax!

New book coming out on Amazon,

Just for kicks, this is a book I co-illustrated with my friend Jo Gershman, for Peter Pauper Press.  My job was to draw all of the people and Bo.  Jo did everything else!!!  It will be fun to see if this book does well.

Leaving on Thursday...

First Stop Paris...

Ok, here's a confession.  Some of you already know this, but I am not a spontaneous person.  Terms used to describe people like me;  creature of habit, timid traveler, control freak (on my worst days!)...
 

So I  have been challenged in a multitude of different ways planning this trip.  Let's just say I can't just "wing it".  Some interesting things I learned while being my own travel agent:  on google if you want to see what your hotel looks like in Paris, just type in the address, click on maps, then click on satellite, you can zoom so far in that you can literally walk the streets.  To do this you drag the little icon of the person down to the street you want to see, voila, you are there.  One hundred years or more ago, you would have opened your Baedeker (travel guide) and read about your destination and opened the map. 

The internet is an amazing tool.  I have a couple of hours in Paris before my buddy Cindy arrives, so by doing a little sleuthing on google, I discovered there is an amazing museum just around the corner from my hotel, the Musee Jacquemart-Andre.  For about $15 I can buzz over and look at amazing paintings while I wait for Cindy. 

Super Cool!

More later...

Less than a week away!

Oh my goodness, my brain is fried!  I'm scurrying around trying to make sure everything is finished before I leave.  Being the rather timid traveler that I am, this trip is really stretching my comfort level, but c'est la vie! I am determined!

Preparation for my Grand Adventure

I'm getting very near my departure date and things are looking good.  Train and plane tickets  all purchased, rooms have been reserved, and the intinerary set. 

Here's the plan,

April 2nd arrive in Paris and meet my travel buddy Cindi,  

one whole day in the Louvre then two more dys of exploring Paris.

April 5th, take the night train to Florence and hopefully check out the Uffizi.

April 8th, on to Rome.  A nine hour tour of the Vatican, good shoes required!

April 12th, Cindi heads home and I'm off to Nice for four days. 

April 16th, meet Ken in Brive la Gaillarde and head to Beynac et Cazenac

Explore the Dordogne region

April 20th, off to Amboise and exploring the castles of the Loire Valley

April 25th, Ken heads home and I'm off to Brittany, and a little town called Dinan.

April 30th, head home!

I hope to post tidbits from the trip every couple of days while over there.  Hopefully my computer works!

more stuff on the easel and one finished piece

sorry about the sideways image, that's the finished one...

On the easel

This project is on the easel at the moment. It's very interesting translating a small sketch to a very large painting. The sketch was started on site. As of ten as possible working from life is the way to go. The photo is then the backup and helps with fine detail and overall color and light. It's very interesting to see all three images together. I can see some adjustments to be made in the painting. Slim down trunk and taper width especially. I am happy with the way the light is coming through. Now to start really refining all of the shapes and bringing in more detail.

Distinguished Guests

My grandmother Bette who (will be 90 next October!) my Aunt Jean attended my reception at the Carco theatre. It was a fun evening! Thanks to all the help from my family and friends.

What's on the easel...

Here are some new paintings. The first is a still life portrait of my husbands dad and grandfather. I chose items that belonged to each of these men or reminded me of them. It was challenging but fun to paint. The pears are just what they seem, something lovely to eat and paint. The final images are from a commission I'm working on. It's a still life with the clients daughters favorite toys. Very fun!

Solo Show at Carco Theatre in Renton

I have a show going up at the Carco Theatre in Redmond located at 1717 SE Maple Valley Highway. It will hang Feb 1st through March 26th. There will be both landscape and still life paintings. If you get a chance stop by and take a look. Hours are 10am to 5pm. Prices for paintings available upon request. Email me at michelle.wd@verizon.net.

Last few days of workshop

Here are some more images from the John Morra workshop. It was an intense experience, so many new ideas and much needed technical imformation. Now to implement them!

Morra Workshop

Here are more images from the John Morra workshop. I'm learning alot of cool stuff about sight sizing, how to measure..., composition, lightinig. My brain was complete mush on Friday night, but I'm rested and ready to go back to still life boot camp and John calls it.

John Morra Workshop

Here's a glimpse of what I'm up to this week. Let me just say that John Morra is a wonderful teacher and very generous with his time and ideas.

Happy New Year

2010 will be a big year for me! I'll start off with a bang by attending a two week intensive workshop with John Morra at Gage Academy. He's a master oil painter specializing in still life. I can't wait to watch him work.

In April I will make a month long trip to France and Italy. The goal is to spend lots of time studying paintings and building a travel journal. There is no substitute for viewing art in person! I intend to spend many hours studying the works of the worlds greatest masters.

Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted!

On the Easel

These are all works in progress. The gnarly tree is a color study for a commission. It's coming along. One of the things I'm working on these days is slowing down and begin more conservative with my paint. There is a tendency to just slap down lots of strokes to get it done quickly. But the painting goes more smoothly when strokes are thought out and the paint has a nice mix of transparency and opacity.

Beginning Jan 4th, I'll be studying with John Morra in his workshop at Gage Academy. I plan to pay very close attention to his treatment of backgrounds and edges.

Sunrise

It's almost time to say goodbye to 2009. I love the idea of a new year and starting fresh. No more new years resolutions though, instead steady effort to live a good life works for me. There are big things in store for me in 2010, I'll be pushing many bounderies, which is exhilirating as well as scary! Change is good, I hope.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

satsumas, YUM

This time of year, one of my favorite fruits is at the local grocery. They're wonderful to eat and fun to paint!

The Frog Prince and Papa's Cookies

Here are some new paintings in progress. It's fun to work on something light hearted, especially this time of year. These paintings make me smile!

Happy December 1st!

Each December I begin decorating the house for the holidays. We have a small alcove near the fireplace where I like to create vignettes. This years it's a winter fairy garden. Lots of work and many hot glue gun burns later it's almost finished.
Here it is so far.