LE COQ, FRANCE, acrylic on canvas

LE COQ, FRANCE, acrylic on canvas, 16x20 ".

You must know that the rooster, a proud bird, is the symbol of France. This painting was part of my solo show this year at the Bibliothèque de Cauterets, and is now hanging in exhibition at the Agence Immobiliere Bordenave , Cauterets, France.

SUR LE CHEMIN , EN AGUARON, ESPAÑA , acrylic on canvas

SUR LE CHEMIN, EN AGUARON, ESPAÑA,  acrylic on canvas, painted and exhibited in France in June 2015, 81x100 cm. (32x36")

I started this painting in plain-air, on a hill near Aguaron, where the rooftops really attracted my attention. After 4 hours, the heat, the mosquitoes and some dog barking loud the entire time forced me to stop. I finished it later  in France, under very pleasant conditions: in the garden of "La Maison des Arts", in Pierrefitte-Nestalas, Haute Pyrenees.

L'ESPLANADE DES OEUFS, watercolor

L'Esplanade des Oeufs, watercolor, 22x28 in. Started on location, plein air, at the center of the town of Cauterets, France. I finished it later, since I needed several layers of watercolor, and had to let it dry in between layers. Also, I used masking fluid to protect the paper for the water jets of the new fountain.

This watercolor was just exhibited at the Montrabé Art Exhibition in Montrabé, France. It is now on its way to the Bibliothéque de Cauterets, France.

COLLIURE II, FRANCE, watercolor

COLLIURE II, FRANCE, watercolor, 5x7 in., in exhibition at the San Diego Watercolor Society, San Diego, California. This is the second watercolor juried in yesterday. Colliure is a very colorful and beautiful town in the south of France, close to the border with Spain. At the beginning of the 20th C. it was the last town reached by the French trains. This is where Fauvism was born. The art tour guides tell the story of Matisse escaping the art scene of Paris, taking the train the farthest it would go, stopping in Colliure. Then he invited Derain, and others followed. They went wild with colors, and Fauvism was born.

Reception  at the Watercolor Society Gallery at Liberty Station, San Diego, California, this coming Friday, April 3, from 5:00- 8:00 pm. YOU ARE INVITED! COME FOR THE ART, STAY FOR THE WINE!

LES ALPES, oil on canvas

LES ALPES, oil on canvas 10x10" original painting, available for viewing at my studio : The Glashaus, 1815 Main Street, San Diego, California. Available for purchasing, contact me at minnievalero@yahoo.fr

Having grown up in Mendoza, Argentina, near the Andes, from the age of two to twelve, the love of mountains has stayed with me. I love all mountains everywhere. There is a sense of infinite mystery, beauty, silence, and marvel. I particularly love the French mountains, the Pyrénées, and the Alpes.

AFTER MAX RAEDECKER's gouache, watercolor on paper

AFTER MAX RAEDECKER'S gouache. I visited Max Raedecker's exhibition at the Musée Labenche, in Brive la Gaillard, France, last week. He was born in Amsterdam, and died in Corrèze, 1914-1987. He worked with white wax and gouache on paper.  I painted this with white wax and watercolor on paper. Some of his works are more traditional, landscapes, portraits,  his abstracts are very interesting.

FAREWELL TO CAUTERETS, watercolor in my carnet de voyage

FAREWELL TO CAUTERETS, (France); watercolor in my carnet de voyage. Last view from the second story window of my apartment this year. The mountains around town are changing colors daily. I painted this a week ago, they must be more red today. The contrast with the rooftops, all made of grey/black slate, is always beautiful, more so in the Fall. Enjoy!

LISA EN LAC DE GAUBE - watercolor in sketchbok

LISA EN LAC DE GAUBE , watercolor in my travel sketchbook - carnet de voyages.
This lake "lac de Gaube" is after the famous waterfalls "Pont d'Espagne", near Cauterets, France. Lisa   Marie Evans is a video artist who did a creative residency with me. At the end of her residency, offered a film in creative animation, presented at  the Bibliotheque de Cauterets. It was very well received.

LE CLOT, HAUTE PYRENEES, France, watercolor

Le Clot, Haute Pyrénées, France, watercolor, 9x12 in.

While resident artist in Cauterets, France, I was invited to paint plein-air in this beautiful place, with a group of beginner artists, including Theo, a 12 year old artist from the region. It is very interesting the way the French refer to a "beginner" artist, they are called: "artist en herbe" = "artist who has started to grow like grass" (at the ground level, I guess it means). Idiomatic expressions are always funny when translated from or to another language.

Le Clot is behind Le Pont d'Espagne, a beautiful waterfall in this region, up high in the Pyrénées.

HOTEL LE PETIT TRIANON, St. Jean de Luz, France, ink and watercolor

Hotel Le Petit Trianon, St. Jean de Luz, France, ink and watercolor.

This is the view from the window of our hotel room in St. Jean de Luz, a few blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. This is a lovely town! This quick sketch is in my "carnet de voyages", travel sketchbook. Enjoy!!

SAN SEBASTIAN, INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ink and watercolor wash

SAN SEBASTIAN, INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ink and watercolor on my art-notebook. Last weekend, Lisa Marie Evans, filmmaker, multi-media artist and superstar, and I drove from the Pyrénées in France, to San Sebastián, in Spain.

We happened to arrive the first day of the San Sebastian International Film Festival. It was very interesting and fun. We saw some stars walking down the red carpet, tons of people everywhere, and one movie that day: HAPPY TO BE DIFFERENT, an Italian movie-documentary about older gay people who suffered discrimination from society, and even their own families, when they were younger,  in the 50s,  60s and 70s.  It was beautifully done, a wonderful movie.

L'ESPLANADE DES OEUFS, Cauterets, France, watercolor

L'ESPLANADE DES OEUFS, Cauterets, France, watercolor, 16x24 in.
Started as a demonstration painting at the "Esplanade", an open area in the center of town in Cauterets, France, I later finished this painting in the studio. It is now hanging at the show in the Library in Cauterets. Come see the show! The two weeks of watercolor workshops just finished today.

La semaine prochaine, le cours de pastel commence: mardi, mercredi et jeudi, 15:00-18:00 hs. Enregistrement à la Bibliothèque de Cauterets, ou appellez: 07.81.96.24.15 le cours est au Club House, près du tennis.  Matèriel fourni, 60 Euros/persone, 10 personnes maximum. Merci.

EUGÉNIE DE MONTIJO, pencil sketch

Eugénie de Montijo, l'impératrice solitaire, pencil sketch in my art notebook.

I was reading the lives of famous French women, who have done something special to be remembered. Eugenia was born in Spain, in 1826, to well educated parents, the Counts of Teba. Her mother was a modern aristocrat, travelling all over Europe with her daughter since she was very young. This is almost 200 years ago!

Eugenia and Luis Napoleón fell in love when she was 23, on a visit in France. They got married a year later. She was intelligent and contributed to make the Suez Canal a reality, which she inaugurated in 1869. She worked hard in the social sphere, among other things: improve the condition of women, at work and more schooling for young women. She supported George Sand when they wanted to suspend her publications. She visited victims of cholera in 1865 and 66. During WWI, she offered her hatch to organize an ambulance for the sick, etc. She died in 1920, at 94 years of age. She's my heroine!!!

PYRÉNÉES 2, ink and watercolor

PYRÉNÉES 2, ink and watercolor in my carnet de voyages (travel sketchbook). I flew into Toulouse,  France, and took the train to Lourdes. While I look at the window, I smile non-stop: The valleys, the Pyrénées mountains in the distance, trees, sometimes cows, horses, a small mountain town here and there, flowers, everything passes quickly while my eyes and my memory try to catch a rooftop or a creek.

I am home, when I arrive to the Pyrénées. The train stops : Muret, first stop. Later we continue, I can't read my book, I'm addicted to looking out the window, looking at these beautiful mountains I fell in love with ten years ago. I can't stop smiling. I am home.

LA JOLLA SUNSET II, acrylic

LA JOLLA SUNSET II, acrylic on canvas, 22x28.
Painted in La Jolla, California, last month. It is in exhibition in my studio at The Glashaus, 1815 Main Street, San Diego, CA 92113. Visits to my studio are available by appointment only, since I am painting in France at the moment. To make an appointment, call Ernesto Aeberhard: (USA) 949-338-1446.

Next week, a three hour workshop at La Raillère, Cauterets, France, 2:00-5:00 pm. To register, send me an email or contact the library in Cauterets: (France) 05.62.92.59.96.

La semaine prochaine, un stage de peinture à La Raillère, Cauterets, France, 14:00-17:00 hs. Enregistrement à la bibliothèque de Cauterets, France: 05.62.92.59.96 ou envoyez moi an email.

NICE, FRANCE, watercolor

NICE, FRANCE, watercolor, 5x7"
This small watercolor was painted on location in Nice a couple of years ago. It is framed, and available in my studio-gallery at The Glashaus, in San Diego, California.

Remember: Balance, Unity, Movement, Proportion, Emphasis are the keys to your composition. And simplify, simplify, simplify!

COLLIOURE II, FRANCE, watercolor on Arches

COLLIOURE II, FRANCE, watercolor on Arches paper, 7x5 in.
Collioure is the extreme South of France, next to the border with Spain. Actually, it is the very last town in France where the train goes. Matisse took the train to the very last station in France, and started painting there. Later his friend Derain came over, too, they started painting the beach red, and using strong colors, plus black lines, and....voilá! Fauvism was created!

Anyway, here I was in Collioure, enjoying the beautiful light, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the boats, the lighthouse, and the beautiful and colorful town.

SMOOTH SOUNDS, acrylic on canvas, jazz series

Smooth Sounds, acrylic on canvas, 36x24 in. one of the jazz series at the restaurant of Inn at the Park, Spruce and 5th St., near Balboa Park, San Diego, California. Go have a drink, and tell the friendly and lovely bartender Jersey, that I sent you!

In Creating Depth, an article by Cindy Sorley-Kelchinger, she says that being a self-taught artist is freeing in many ways, since there are no rules to slow you down, and you have the fun of finding out what you like and what you don't, on your own. That's what I did, I chose my instructors, in California and France, and learned from the best!

LE PONT NEUF, TOULOUSE, watercolor

Le Pont Neuf, Toulouse, watercolor, 14x20". Painted on location in Toulouse, France, about two months ago, this watercolor is in exhibition and for sale at the San Diego Watercolor Society during the month of December. This is in San Diego, California.

Tonight, at the reception,  I noticed a couple standing in front of my painting, so I approached them. They surprised me by telling me not only that they had recently been in Toulouse, but also in the area of the Pyrenees where I live part of the year, including Cauterets! They are bikers, and have biked up the mountains from Lourdes, to Cauterets. This is a feat that only expert bikers can achieve!

DEJA VUE, acrylic

Déjà Vue, acrylic, 16x12 in, at Art Cuestion, Spain
At this moment, you can see several of my paintings with Art Cuestion in Ourense, Spain,  at Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Assisi,  Italy, at Ricklundgården Museum in Saxnãs, Sweden, and in two places in Cauterets, France: la Mairie de Cauterets (City Hall), and Agence Immobiliere Bordenave. At this moment, you can also see my work in San Diego, California, at the following places: La Jolla Art Gallery, in La Jolla, California, Petrini's Restaurant in San Diego, California, Women's Museum in Liberty Station, San Diego, California, and  San Diego Art Institute, Museum of the Living Artist,  in Balboa Park, San Diego, California.
You are invited to the upcoming reception at La Jolla Art Gallery on Saturday, November 16, 5:00-7:00 pm. Come on over! It's a beautiful little gallery!