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.

Minnie Valero: L'ESPLANADE DES OEUFS, Cauterets, France, watercol...

Minnie Valero: L'ESPLANADE DES OEUFS, Cauterets, France, watercol...: L'ESPLANADE DES OEUFS , Cauterets, France, watercolor, 16x24 in. Started as a demonstration painting at the "Esplanade", an...

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.

La Fille d'Elise, pastel portrait

La Fille d'Elise, pastel portrait, 16x24 in.
Completed last month, and brought to the town of Sireix, in the French Pyrénées, for her parents.  This young woman died very young, soon after her baby son was born. Her parents were happy with the portrait.

Before you start a painting, in whatever medium you are using, watercolor, pastel, acrylic or oil, you must first consider the composition. Where will you place your subject? What will be your most important area in the painting? Cold or warm colors? How will you arrange the different shapes? There is a lot to consider before you pick up the brush or the piece of chalk, or the pencil. Usually, when you start painting, the painting is already done in your head.

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.