Last days of France and return home...

I'm home from Ireland and France and still absorbing it all- knowing I'm changed from the experience and curious how the change will show itself in my life. I wanted to show you a few images from the last four days in France...

This is the Abbey at St. Florent le Vieil, a town along the Loire river west of Paris, where the International Pastel Festival was hosted so beautifully. Every artist and organizer we met was lovely and made our little group of Texas artists feel very special.

Coming into town, we stopped to take pictures- the one above was among them- and when we returned to the rental car we found Diana Moya, our leader and driver, unable to find reverse on the stick- shift Renault. Each time she released the clutch the car moved a few more inches toward a plunge into the river Loire. I want to you to picture four very well-dressed dainty women pushing a full-sized sedan up a hill with the car in reverse with me (in jeans and tennis shoes) behind the wheel. Never underestimate the power and determination of women artists! I expect to find a video of this event on YouTube someday, posted by some startled passerby.

L-R: Yours truly, Debra Richardson, Sue Wiley, Mary Beth Martin, the Mayor of St. Florent le Vieil, Patrick Martin, Francoise, Libby Peters, Chris, Diana Moya

An article about us in the newspaper in France...

Here are my two paintings at St. Florent (two others are at the other Festival site in Feytiat, France)...

Evening Flight, and Morning Flight.

Posing with the Mayor of St. Florent le Vieil

The street between the Abbey and our hotel on the water. The whole town was just charming.

Back the next day to really look at all the paintings....
Then we (the Texas artists) went to lunch at this terrific crepe restaurant. This was my salmon crepe with white asparagus and a to-die-for sauce and that's, yes, a mojito to the left of my plate and a glass of wine to the right... uh huh... and an assortment of cheeses, some made locally, and crusty bread. We laughed, we talked art, we stuffed ourselves. Mango ice cream was involved.

After this meal, my dear friend and portrait artist, Libby Peters and I took a walk back to the hotel. We sat down in the grass along the path by the Loire river and talked for hours. Funny- we live an hour from each other and had to go to France to get time to talk. My internal art compass got reoriented by talking things over with Libby. I owe her BIG.

One last look at the Abbey...

Ginette works with the Abbey and generously offered to drive me the 40 km to the train station at Angers on Sunday. She spoke no English and I spoke no French but together we sang along to the Beatles' Penny Lane when it played on the radio and hugged each other and grinned when we arrived. People are wonderful everywhere.

Joanna and I had one last night in Paris before our VERY early taxi ride to the airport on Monday. We sat at this sidewalk cafe by the Seine for a long, long time over our dinner

and coffee and talked about what the time away from home had allowed us to see more clearly about our lives: Our lives are good and it's always worth becoming more conscious about what is now habit and what could be fine-tuned to something better and more authentic.

Back home....

This painting was a portrait (commissioned by the man's son) I did just before leaving, so was now dry and ready for varnishing on my return. He picked it up yesterday, was delighted, and has three other portraits in mind, one of which will be of himself from a sitting. I'm really looking forward to that- it promises to be very special.

Thank you for going along with me on my summer adventure! An adventure that requires a passport is always wonderful, but the one I have sitting in front of my easel with a paintbrush loaded with one juicy color after another can be just as transporting and life-affirming and exciting.

Heck, just a conversation with a good friend can change your life.

Here's to our next adventure!