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!

SALIS DE BEARN, watercolor on Yupo

SALIS DE BEARN, watercolor on Yupo, 28x35 cm. --available for purchase

Salis de Bearn is a small town in the Pyrenees in France. What's so interesting about it is that most of the town is built on stilts, because water flows all around it. I guess similar to Venice, only here the water is very low, and it is not totally an island, like Venice. Yupo, as you may know, is a non-absorbent surface, 100 % prolypopilane. It doesn't absorb the water or THE PIGMENT. Thus, the watercolors remain bright, like when you first put them down on paper. The water evaporates, and all the pigment remains. It takes longer to dry than on regular paper, but it's worth the wait! I love working on Yupo!

PARC D'ARGELES-GAZOST, FRANCE, watercolor alla prima

Parc d'Argeles-Gazost, France, watercolor, 4x10 in.

Just walking around Argeles-Gazost, I stopped and sat for a while at the beautiful park, did this little watercolor, and continued my walk. Happiness is enjoying the small things in life. The birds are flying south from the Pyrénées to the north coast of Africa. Autumn is changing the dress on the trees, every day the greens are more yellowish and orange.

We are hanging the show today, at the Bibliotheque d'Argeles-Gazost. The new exhibition starts tomorrow: "Le Mystere de l'Eau/Agua/Water". They are mostly watercolors of water scenes in Sweden, Italy and France, with two pastel portraits, two women.

LA CASCADE DE L'AMOUR, watercolor on Yupo

La Cascade de l'Amour, watercolor on Yupo, 26x20in

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My solo show:     LE MYSTERE DE L'      AGUA
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opens next week  at Bibliotheque de Cauterets, France, from September 3-30. More than 20 paintings, mostly watercolors, on the theme of water, so important for our life, and so treacherous some times. This Spring the rivers in the Pyrénées were overflown due to heavy snow during the winter, and a great storm during the Spring, with lots of rain at the same time that the snow was melting. This is the reason I have chosen the theme of water this year for my yearly exhibition in France. You are all invited to come see the show. I will be posting some more paintings on the blog during the exhibition. Cauterets is 30 km. South of Lourdes, in the  Pyrénées, France. If you are not from the area, Lourdes is between Pau and Toulouse, on the Highway A64.

Bigorre in the Rain

Bigorre in the Rain, watercolor, 6x4, painted alla prima in the car while riding with friends. So much fun to paint anywhere, everywhere! Bigorre is a region of France, near the Pyrenees, where I live during the summer and fall every year. Come visit us! It's so beautiful there!!!

L'Hallucination des Pyrenees

L'Hallucination des Pyrenees, oil on canvas 70x90 cm., 35x45".  Available: 500 Euros, or $730 US. Mailing within Europe included.
John Gage, in COLOR IN ART, tells us that the red-blue-yellow triad had established itself as fundamental among artists all over Europe b y the middle of the 17th C. Yet, blue and yellow were given new authority as the "only primaries" in the 19th C. by Goethe and others. They also formed a dominant pair for Matisse and Kandinsky.
L'Hallucination des Pyerenees, oleo sobre tela, disponible. Envio dentro de Europa incluido. 
John Gage, en el libro "Color en Arte", nos dice que el trio rojo-amarillo-azul como colores primarios fue establecido como fundamental entre los artistas europeos en la mitad del siglo XVII. Sin embargo, el azul y amarillo gozaron de nueva autoridad como los "unicos primarios" en el siglo XIX, de acuerdo a Goethe y otros. Tambien formaron un par dominante para Matisse y Kandinsky.

Autumn `a Cauterets, France

Autumn `a Cauterets, (France). This watercolor, 21x14cm., was painted from the view point of Pauze, an old site of thermal waters now closed. The 15 minute walk up is very accessible from (behind) the Thermes de Cesar and the modern and beautiful Thermes Ludique de Rocher. The view of the town of Cauterets is magnificent from there, with the church Our Lady of Cauterets in front. The motto in Cauterets, is "`A Caoutares tout que garech", in Occitain, the ancient native language, meaning: "In Cauterets everything heals." Come visit us! You'll be healed.
Otono en Cauterets, ( Francia). Esta acuarela, fue pintada desde el punto de vista de Pauze, un sitio antiguo de aguas termales que ahora esta cerrado. El camino hacia arriba de 15 minutos es accesible detras de la Termas de Cesar y las nuevas y bellisimas Termas Ludicas de Rocher. La vista de la ciudad de Cauterets es magnifica desde alli, con Nuestra Senora de Cauterets en primer plano. El moto de Cauterets es "`A Caoutares tout que garech", en Occitain, el idioma antiguo nativo, que quiere decir: "En Cauterets todo se cura." Ven a visitarnos! Te curaras de todo.

Ma Chimere

Ma Chimere, oil on canvas, 70x90 cm. is one of 9 paintings of mine at the show opening today at the Centro Cultural de Monforte de Lemos, in Galicia, Spain. All 9 oils represent my vision of life in the French Pyrenees mountains.When I paint, I think of the poem by Gerardo Diego:
"my hand tells of truths and joys
that my tongue is not able to articulate"   (translation mine)

Mi Quimera, oleo sobre tela, es una de 9 pinturas mias en la exhibicion que abre hoy en el Centro Cultural de Monforte de Lemos, en Galicia, Espana. Los 9 oleos representan mi vision de la vida en los Pirineos franceses. Cuando pinto, pienso del poema de Gerardo Diego:

"mi mano dice verdades y alegrias

que mi lengua es incapaz de articular."

Chateaux d'Argeles

Chateaux d'Argeles, watercolor, 31x41cm. (12x16") This painting was inspired by my visit, last year, to the small castle in Argeles-Gazost, in the Haute Pyrenees, France.

I recently read that Selma Lagerloff, has said: "We have to treat old stories very carefully. They are similar to old roses, in which their petals fall off at the lightest touch." Lagerloff, a Swedish novelist, was the first woman to obtain the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1909.

Hace poco lei que Selma Lagerloff ha dicho;" Tenemos que tratar con cuidado las viejas historias. En ellas, como en las rosas viejas, sus petalos se deshojan al menor contacto." Lagerloff, novelista sueca, fue la primera mujer en obtener el Premio Nobel de Literatura, en 1909.