On our 4th day in Paris my daughter decided she wanted to go to the Louvre. I wasn’t up for that, I have been there before and I really wanted to paint! So we went our separate ways for the morning. I walked from the Louvre to the Tulieres Gardens, thinking I would paint the gardens. But the Seine beckoned and I headed that direction. After studying a couple of the bridges I found a nice perch in the shade with a great view.
Most of the time I was sitting on that ledge with my pochade box in my lap. I was a little concerned about my pochade box falling in the river (ha, perhaps I should have been worried about me falling in the river!) so I tied my pochade onto my apron string. Then I worried about my backpack which had paper towels and more brushes so I tied that to another apron string. I never lost anything.It was really a peice of Heaven to sit on that ledge and have the luxury to paint for a couple of hours. That is something I will never forget.
We had a nice lunch, walked around the city, had chocolate crepes (a daily occurrance) and eventually made it back to our hotel room. We looked up what time the sunset was: 8:15 p.m. I decided that if I wanted to paint again that evening, I needed to head out at 6:30 p.m. to find a spot, get set up, and finish by the time it was dark. So my daughter and I walked over to the Eiffel Tower, kept walking to the Seine, and I found another view of a bridge. My daughter sat on a bench and read her book patiently while I pianted. I barely finished. Then we walked back to our hotel room as the sun was setting, passing right under the Eiffel Tower.
What a great day!
There are so many things that can disturb you out there, I often have fears like that too. The painting came out well, and is a lovely depiction of the Seine!
Great paintings , in Paris really there is no trouble in finding suitable subjects!! But Joan, maybe a silly question, but how do you transport the wet paintings home without smudging or ruining them?? I mean…it is wet oil!
Beautiful painting, Joan. I so enjoy reading the details of your fabulous trip!
Joan, you have done fantastically well. I can’t believe you have spent so much of your time in Paris painting. That is dedication! And they have a wonderful fresh quality to them like all good plein air paintings should. All I brought back was a few miserable sketches. Isn’t it a wonderful place though – I know you have been before. You seem to have been a bit out of luck at the Pompidou. When I was there last year there was a Lucien Freud exhibition – a big one. He is one of my top favourites painters so I was delighted. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Europe!
Hi Joan!
I loved reading about your Switzerland / Paris trip. Looks like you had a good time and did lots of small paintings. Brava!