It is fitting to create a new post on the last day of May, with a beautiful spring sunrise. 

The days are lengthening and the weather is finally changing. We had a lot of wind, rain and cold, the result was that the pink climbing roses, heavy with blossoms broke their retaining wire and fell. I hoisted them back up onto a strong nylon line and they rewarded me with fragrant prolific blooms. This is my little corner of the earth after all the rain, rich in color, wild purple bells climb the steps. I have herbs in the boxes and have planted two tomatoes, one called corazon and the other a cerise.

Here is a close up of the pink roses. Now as the wind picks up and days are getting warmer, the delicate fragrant petals have begun to fall and cover the walkway creating a light carpet. Will my compost be sweeter next year when I sweep them up? I visited the beautiful Rose garden in Doue la Fontaine  and of course in the gift shop there were many options of rose products to buy. It was a hot afternoon so I ordered a scoop of rose ice cream. yuk! Tasted like grandma's soap!

Up the river from me, I shot this little wild plot by the roadway. I don't know if someone intended a little fairy garden, but it is a tiny paradise of color. The poppies are brilliant in the morning sun.

Well down to the business of art and learning form and structure, which is why I am here after all. This was a four week pose that I did in sepia and white on a light blue paper. Magda's eyes are the clear blue of the paper and I enjoyed letting that be the only bit of the paper that showed through.
Here is the beginning of the painting of Pulcinella, second in a series of Commedia masks. This is a color wash, that is, done without medium like a water color which serves as the base. I have partially started form painting in the right corner of the draperies and a part of the bass recorder.  The photo shows the model in the background. The cup is the hand turned ceramic copy of an antique and the big white clay pot I found to be quite elegant.
I close today, the Sunday before Pentecost with this incredibly joyous  gem,  the perfection of Nature's design.The miracle of structure and form is that there are no two forms exactly alike, yet the blueprint exists and everything, as Ted says, has its own special shape.

A mist hangs over the Argenton river tonight creating a fairy-like atmosphere. The swallows are winging and the birdsong is rich as the day comes to a close. It was quite rainy and windy, and the lowlands had an electrical storm. My climbing rose took a nose dive so I spent this evening in thick gloves to avoid the thorns and managed to tie it back up. It is just beginning to bloom pale pink, and seems happy inspite of the trauma.
Well since this blog is also about painting, the news is that I have spent the last month doing poster studies. For those of you who are painters, you know how challenging they can be.



This is a pencil drawing that I experimented with on a dark paper. I was totally in the dark light and am not particularly pleased with the outcome, but just so you know I am working and not just enjoying the French countryside, I will include it!
As you can see we have an exquisite model.

Now I have begun work on a still life, another commedia mask, Pulcinella. I have already blocked it in and have begun the color wash. I have included a beautiful sexy (if pots can be sexy) white ceramic pot, an ebony colored bass recorder that my friend Revell gave me, and the hand turned wine goblet that I used in the painting of the Harlequin mask. I did not take a photo of the poster study, so next post...

Well to conclude, I do enjoy the "vide grenier" yard or garage sales we call them in the states. In French, literally means 'empty attic'. Here one can find all sorts of things. I furnished my fireplace as well as found unique and wonderful things like this brass
pas de deux.
So you see, my heart is still with the dance and I do manage to do a barre, stretch and dance once in a while!