AFTER THE RAIN, watercolor

AFTER THE RAIN, watercolor, 16x10, at Art Cuestion Artists Agency, Ourense, Spain.

I recently finished reading Marian Keyes' The Mystery of Mercy Close. Helen Walsh doesn't believe in love, fear, depression or hot drinks...she's a Private Investigator, and by the end of the book, she's been scared, fallen in love, checked herself in a psychiatric hospital due to depression and suicidal tendencies, and even served hot drinks to guests at home. Fun, witty, interesting, but too stretched out and repetitive in my opinion. It could have been the same story, and better, if shorter.

PARIS MAP UNDER BALBOA PARK, mixed media

Paris Map Under Balboa Park, 23x16 in, is a mixed media piece I painted a couple of years ago. I used a map of Paris as support, and painted a Balboa Park, in San Diego scene, making sure some areas of the map showed. It is an interesting piece, framed, in exhibition and for sale at the San Diego Art Institute,  Museum of the Living Artist, in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. This exhibition opens from November 18-December 8. Reception is on Saturday, November 23, 6:00-8:00 pm. Come all, come early!! Paintings are bought off the wall, and they sell fast!!

DESNUDA, DE ESPALDAS, watercolor

Desnuda, de Espaldas, 13x10 in. watercolor, available
This painting and several others will be in exhibition and for sale at the San Diego Art Institute, Museum of the Living Artist C-NOTE EVENT,  Balboa Park, California, from November 22nd to December 8th. Reception on Saturday, November 23rd, 6:00-8:00pm. Come early!!!! Since all the paintings in this event have a fixed price of $100 or $200 or $300, they sell fast. You literally take the painting you like off the wall and walk to the check out tables. It is a very popular event, where artists  "clean up" their storage bins, and customers walk out with a favorite painting or two. First come, first served.

HOMME A VELO, inkwash alla prima, plein air

Homme à Velo, 7x7,  5 minute inkwash, alla prima, plein air, sitting at a coffee shop in Paris watching and sketching people passing by.

I recently read in the International Artist magazine, the following comment by John McCartin, an artist from Australia:
"My personal idea of success is to be in a position where I can fully develop my craft without having to spend large amounts of time doing other things. To come close to reaching my full potential as an artist while encouraging and inspiring other artists along the way."
I like this, I feel it also represents me, in a way.

PARIS, ALESIA CAFE, ink and watercolor

PARIS, ALESIA CAFE, 7x7,  ink and watercolor

I was just sitting there sketching away. When the woman noticed I was drawing her, she smiled.

"Learning is not attained by chance; it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." -              ------- Abigail Adams

"All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous, unpremeditated act without benefit of experience."
                                                                 ------------Henry Miller (1891-1980)

GAUMONT, ALESIA, PARIS, inkwash

Gaumont, Alésia, Paris, inkwash 7x7 in.
Sitting at the corner cafe, Metro Alésia , having a cup of coffee in the morning, while watching people go by and sketching. That is the life in Paris!!!

One day last week I went to the Pinacothèque de Paris. The exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun, "Les Chemins de l'Abstraction", is magnificent! Chu Teh-Chun has lived in Paris for over 25 years. He says that it's all a matter of energy, the capacity of showing with a unique brushstroke that painting and poetry are one. He says he was impressed by reading Kandinsky: "Abstract art, far from being separated from nature, is more intimately closer to nature than art has ever been."

PONT DES INVALIDES, PARIS, inkwash

Pont des Invalides, Paris, inkwash 7x7"
Quick sketch standing on the side of the Seine near le Pont des Invalides. I love to make quick sketches directly with ink, in this case a very thin pen in sepia color, and afterwards I add a little color to the sketch. 5 minutes to do the sketch, 5 minutes to add a bit of color. It's a great exercise to "keep the hand warm" as Sorolla used to say and do.

Go ahead! Draw, sketch, paint and enjoy!