Paris Painting Returns to Paris (Kind of)

Song - Little French Song by Carla Bruni

I had a happy surprise several months ago when a woman named Isabelle contacted me through my painting website.  She was wondering about purchasing a painting that I did a number of years ago.  Unfortunately that specific painting had sold several years ago so besides making sure she was legit and not some hacker, I did my research and put on my thinking cap.  Isabelle has a French language business in Paris and she is a tutor.  She wanted my painting for her website.

Here was my solution.....anything sent to Paris would be incredibly expensive to send and since she only needed an image of this painting (which I still own the copyright on) I offered to send her a high resolution copy for a nominal fee while the money transaction would go through PayPal.  She was very happy with that idea and the most charming thing is that we still email each other every few weeks wondering how each of us is dealing in this time of craziness!

If you would like to take a French language class in Paris or on Skype her contact is here:

https://french-in-paris.com/

At Home & Painting

Happy to be at home and painting again!  Above is a painting that I started yesterday of a bouquet of peonies.  The photo reference was taken this spring in Paris. (see below)

Can you believe this beautiful and massive bouquet taken through a shop window?

"Just living is not enough....

one must have sunshine, freedom, 

and a little flower."

--Hans Christian Anderson

Challenge - Day 20 &21

 

Day 20 is from a photo I took last Fall in Paris at Momartre.

Day 21 is from a hotel we stayed at in Bordeilles with a Roman bridge next to it. Beautiful place. The window is from the dining room.

 

I have been in Tahoe and without cell service so I am painting a lot but can not post often. It's beautiful here!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Smitten in Paris

"Smitten" SOLD

 Oil - 20" x 20"

When ever my husband and I go to Paris, we go to lot's of bistro's and eat outside.  Two of our favorites to "people watch" are Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots.  They are very touristy but I love to watch the hustle and bustle of the old fashioned waiters dressed in their vests and long aprons as well as the cast of characters who are there to dine, drink, meet up with friends, smoke like a chimney and enjoy their four legged friends.  It's amazing to see the waiters squeeze through tight tables, maneuver around dogs and people all with various items on their well balanced trays.

I caught this man nibbling his dogs neck while his dog looks to be enjoying it thoroughly!  I'm not sure who is more "smitten"!

New Summer Work

I have been busy with a large commission piece and I didn't want to post photos of it in progress because I wanted my client to be the first to see the finished piece.  She loves it and has it hanging in her living room. The painting is of a favorite coffee shop she used to frequent in North Beach, San Francisco.

Caffe Trieste

I also just completed a painting for an upcoming show entitled "White Balance".  I love whites!  There is so much subtle color reflected in whites.

Summer

Thursday I began painting a night scene. In 8 years of painting, I have never done a night scene. It is looking at Cafe du Metro and the church is St-Sulpice in the Saint-Germain district in Paris. The church was made famous in the book/movie "The Da Vinci Code". My girlfriends and I were walking back to our hotel from dinner when I photographed this scene.

The beginnings of "St-Sulpice, Paris"

Cowboy in Paris

Cowboy in Paris

This is one of my new paintings from my waiter series for the New Lafayette Art Gallery exhibit "The Heart of the Art"!  I just loved how it looks like a still life with each person in their own little world.  And the reflections of the outside world on the glass were fun to paint!  Did you notice the diner's cowboy boots?  Hence the name.....Cowboy in Paris!

Every other year, two of my girlfriends and myself go to Paris for several weeks.  I am able to snap so many photos of Parisian Bistro's and Cafe's.  Especially because most of them are outside on the sidewalk and with my telephoto lens, I can do it without getting in anyone's face.

We missed our trip last year because of too many commitments all around but Jackie just emailed me that she is ready to go Spring of 2014!  I can't wait!!!

 The Lafayette Gallery has finally moved to it's new location at The Forge in Lafayette!

Please join us for our Opening Reception or just stop by and say "Hello"!

"The Heart of Art"

October 8th - December 28

Grand Opening Reception on November 9th from 5 - 8 PM

Lafayette Art Gallery                                                         

3420 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Suite A                                          

Lafayette, CA 94549                                                          
925-284-2788                                                                        
Open Tues. – Sat. 11 - 5                                                                                
www.lafayettegallery.net

The Morning Paper

Tomorrow we will be setting up a new show at the Lafayette Gallery.  The show -  "Inside/Outside", will include various paintings from 24 local artists.

This is one of the paintings that I will be submitting.  I painted it from a photo that I took in Paris several years ago at the Cafe du Metro.  This gentleman was enjoying his morning coffee and paper while it was storming outside, just before hopping on the metro right outside the cafe's door.

A New Beginning

Does an artist need a website or will a blog be more up to date with current paintings and events?

This is an experiment of mine to see if I can eventually do away with my website and add new art to my blog!  Therefore allowing my sweet son, Jon, who has been my "webmaster" for all of these years to take a little break from mom's lack of understanding HTML!

Thursday I began a new painting that I am very excited about.  After painting several 8 x 8 painting's, I was ready to jump into something big!  Luckily on Thursday in class, a painting buddy of mine happened to have a fresh canvas in her car that she offered to me. I tossed out the 8 x 8 that I had brought and pulled out some reference for a larger painting.

I began by placing a grid on both my reference and my canvas.  From there I did a quick sketch from my reference.  A few angles were off on the sketch so I fixed them as I went along.

I then began adding my darks and my central figure.  The photo was take at the Cafe du Metro, Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, 6ème in Paris. It was pouring dogs and cats outside.

The windows were steaming up from the coffee machines & fresh baked goods. I loved the busy waiters and the hustle and bustle of people coming from the nearby Metro station but this older man had found his "zen moment" with a cup of coffee and the morning paper.

As I worked on the painting in my studio, I contemplated on whether to leave in the foreground craft of water.  I felt like it gave the painting a foreground, middle ground and background but I also felt like it was distracting.  We will see if it stays or goes as the painting progresses.

Thank you for viewing my art and if you have any questions, please contact me at jeanette@jeanettebaird.com