Vaci Utca, Budapest, watercolor

Vaci Utca, Budapest, watercolor, 14x21cm. Available.
Vaci is the most expensive street in downtown Budapest, Hungary. Similar to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Vaci is the name of the street. Utca means street. I keep doing small watercolor sketches wherever I go, learning about Budapest, its people, its culture and its art. Certainly not on Vaci Utca,  with all the brand names and marks that you find anywhere in the world of the rich and famous, but I am walking the city, and taking regular buses, trams, trolleys and metro, going to the market, and just plain living and surviving in a city where I do not speak the language. Most people, particularly younger, speak English with some level of proficiency.

King Ludwig II and his Castles, watercolor

King Ludwig II and his Castles, Munich, Germany. Watercolor, 14x21cm. available.
One and a half days in Munich, I flew in from Toulouse last Thursday. Munich is fun! King Ludwig II had many castles,  but this one is special because he was born here: Nymphemburg Palace, one of his favorite places. It was a lovely visit, after spending the morning in Dachau. I did not paint in Dachau, a very sad place.

Maison de la Violette, Toulouse

Maison de la Violette, Toulouse, France. watercolor, 14x21cm. available.
Wallking along the canal, about a block from Gare Matabiau, on the other side of the canal, you find this "paniche", painted violet and light green. They have just opened a refreshments bar upstairs, and inside downstairs is the store with all things made of violets. From beauty products to sugared violet petals to float on your champagne, violet honey, violet everything!

Place du Capitol, Toulouse, watercolor

Place du Capitol, Toulouse, France. Watercolor, 14x21cm.,  available.
From the hotel Le Bristol, across the street from Gare Matabiau (Toulouse train station), I walked to Place du Capitol, about 10 blocks, on a lovely afternoon. There is always something happening at the Place du Capitol, this time there was an open air market. Suddenly, it started to rain, so I sat at a bar under a big umbrella, and painted this watercolor. Toulouse is called "la ville rose", due to all the buildings in red brick.

From the Train, Lourdes-Toulouse, France

From the Train, Lourdes-Toulouse, France. watercolor, 14x21 cm. painted last week, on my way from the Pyrenees to Toulouse. This watercolor marks the beginning of my Carnet de Voyages- Sketchbook July 2012. I will be publishing daily now the sketches from this trip.
I've just read that the invention of the hand-held Kodak camera in 1888 opened the practice of photography to everybody, including artists! The Indianapolis Museum of Art is holding an exhibition of artists photographs with the masterpiece alongside, by Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Dennis, Felix Valloton, Eduard Vuillard, and other members of the Nabis Group, till September 2.

Fantasmas de La Tourette

Fantasmas de La Tourette, small watercolor, 4x6" available, of course!

I painted this in bed, in my little apartment of La Tourette, in Cauterets.  looking at my African masks on the wall, they were looking back at me. The next day I left Cauterets, France, for Toulouse. On my way to more painting adventures...in Toulouse, France, and beyond! Stay tuned!

Puente Bujaruelo, Espana

Puente Bujaruelo, Espana, watercolor, 4x6", not available. Last Sunday, my friends Marie Christine and Mireille, and I went driving from Cauterets, in the French Pyrénées, to Spain, through some extremely beautiful mountains, rocks, valleys, forests, rivers, waterfalls, and this little ancient bridge. I painted two little watercolors from the car, the wind was very strong! This is one of them.