On my third day visiting my daughter we took the train 3 hours from Geneva to Paris. Here is a photo just after we arrived in the Gare St. Lazare. We immediately took a taxi to our hotel. We had stayed in this quaint hotel before and asked for the same room. When we didn’t get the same room, I went down to the desk and inquired. Turns out the room we had before had been remodeled but they said they would give us that room, an “upgrade”, for no extra fee.
We got the key to that room and when we opened the door what a shock we got. The room had gone from a darling French room with red and yellow printed curtains and carpet to . . . . stark modern furnishings! No more carpet, only fake hardwood floor. No more comfy upholstered chair by the window to sit and watch the Parisians walk by on the sidewalk below, only a hardwood uncomfortable chair. C’est la vie. It was a bit of a bigger room so we went with it. An hour later we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and I painted the Eiffel Tower! So much fun!
Here I am painting. Notice the scarf! Haha, trying to fit into the French fashion scene. My daughter sketched a bit, sat on the grass and read her book, and generally just had a relaxing time. Chilling, as she would say.
The next day I decided I wanted to paint the Eiffel Tower again, but this time with more color. So I pushed the color a bit, using warmer colors like orange and yellow for where the sun was hitting the Eiffel Tower and trees and cooler colors for the shadows. I’m not sure which one I like best. What do you think?
Great photos! Great paintings!! Great mother and daughter time!
Hi Joan, I love the scarf…very French!!! I enjoy your blog and your work, and your comments today about how things change struck a chord with me. It’s always so disappointing when a place we enjoy and have an emotional attachment to…….has changed in the face of ‘progress’ when we revisit….isn’t it? Sometimes things are fine left just the way they have been for years. I like the warmer colours of the second one, but like the composition of the first one. How wonderful to be painting the Eiffel Tower en plein air!
Delightful!!
Thank you for sharing your time with your daughter (who is gorgeous, by the way)! It must be wonderful to be able to paint these wonderful scenes in Europe while traveling. It reminds me of visiting my son in Rome when he went for one semester. Beautiful memories!