Autumn Colors

I don't have a lot to show in the way of artwork, but the beauty of the season has me dazzeled so I will share instead, Nature's art, the luminosity of autumn as she shows us her true colors.

I have just finished a still life study with Gundula Jacobs,

I study with her once a week in the evenings and I do look forward to that time.

The hat

I am working on a new study of Magda this week and having only four days left to finish it, I hope I can do it justice. That I will save for the next post, but to give it a verbal preview, it is also a study with the colors of autumn.

Autumn sunrise

This week I heard a man say "Reality is far more beautiful than your imagination has led you to believe."

Colors of the evening

Rainbow over the Argenton

The lights of the autumn late afternoon and evening are clear and brillant, a prelude to the darkness of winter which is not so subtly enveloping the region. The smells in the air are often those of burning firewood as folks begin to settle in to keep warm..

Tonight we change the clocks back so it will be quite dark in the afternoons.

I have been fortunate to come into the second half of Studio Escalier's workshop so I am continuing to train with a live model under the tutelage of two very talented artists Timothy Stotz and Michelle Tully. Look up their website if you are interested in seeing some beautiful work.

unfinished sketches

On Wednesday evenings I drive to Gundula Jacob's still life workshop in the small village of Tigne. I love that evening and am learning a lot more about rounding and light effects, about seeing and comparing; and as Ted used to say, not trusting one's first impression, but really looking.

I celebrated my 54th year on the planet this month with a lovely fire, friends and roasted chestnuts. In these years, I have learned that love is the most powerful tool we have, forgiveness is essential, and that we are all part of the web of light.

Tanza

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!

It is already August and the month began with the feeling of fall in the air, rain and winds and grey skies. Today the sun came out and it got quite warm so maybe we have a few days of summer left.

Harvest is in the air, corn , hay and now I see fields of sunflowers. My own harvest in my small garden was delightfully abundant. ..healthy zucchinis, tomatoes, green beans and after the rain, the roses began blooming again.

I have been working on the  draperies behind my still life and here is the still unfinished version. I have learned a lot from this work, but am missing my props!!

Really I have so much to be thankful for and I have plenty other props to practice with. Hula hoop has become a staple for the breaks! Low impact stress relief. 

 The downstairs room in my house has become a rehearsal space and the floors are solid oak.  They have been sanded and still need to be treated and finished, but I make good use of that space, dancing and stretching and practicing. 

This weekend I was thinking of the laws of manifestation and because I am impatient to turn the attic into a studio, I decided to work up there on Sunday to get the energy happening. It was rainy, as I said, and cloudy days are supposed to be the best for landscapes. I set up my easel and did a little study of the river from that  point of view. I left the little study on the window sill and returned in the evening only to find a bat (chauve- souris) had set up his space up there too!  There is a local museum with a exhibition on the local species , so maybe I will educate myself instead of just covering my head and running for cover.

Patience.

 I will keep you posted when it is actually a working studio and the bats are evicted.