Tuesday, September 23, 2014
A New Post on "My Paris Vacation 2014" Page
I've just created a new, long post on what's been going on in my world as I continue to visit Paris for a month. Remember, let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
A new post on my Paris vacation page
I have my computer now and will be posting hopefully daily about my vacation. If you find it interesting, please let me know by commenting. If you have questions or comments, I'll do my very best to answer or address them.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
See "My Paris, France Vacation 2014" Page to Follow My Trip Information
So I don't bore others who are only interested in my artwork, I've added a page about my Paris vacation. I post on it pretty much every day, but it doesn't show as a new listing, so check it out daily if you're interested. In it, I talk about jet lag, packing lightly, list of clothing for a month, traveling in general, upgraded tourist seats, what it's like to "live" in Paris for a month, etc.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Oregon State Fair
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| The empty horse arena. It's an amazing building. |
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| A beautiful sheep who is going to be in a painting soon. I'll have to find out what kind she is. |
A llama with attitude!
We took a break from everything yesterday and went to the Oregon State Fair, in Salem. It's been something we've done since we moved here to Portland 20 years ago last month, so it has become quite an established tradition. It was the first time we've gone on the opening day, so there wasn't much going on. The upside, though, is that all the exhibitors were fresh, not jaded; the animals were clean and not bored out of their minds yet (though a bit frightened at being in a new place), and the entire place was nice and clean. The big downside was the horse arena, where we go every year to see the same horses, the same wagons, the same everything -- and nothing was happening! We saw a few miniature horse competitions, some with only one entrant - who always got "first place" - and that was about it. We ate the same treat as we do every year, a caramel apple, but this year my little granddaughter shook things up a bit: she bought some cotton candy, which everyone tasted and everyone except her, of course, complained that it just didn't taste the way it used to. We all got way, way too much sun, walked -- no, ambled -- way, way too much -- and had a great, great day! I've attached a few photos I took, some of which will become paintings.
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| A brown Swiss Cow that I think will become a painting! |
Friday, August 22, 2014
New Cow Painting Started
I started a new cow painting yesterday. I haven't been doing much painting lately, and I was starting to feel withdrawal symptoms; so with all I have to do now related to my trip, I started a beautiful Jersey cow painting. She's a Jersey cow that I photographed a few months ago at a very small dairy farm about 60 miles south of Portland. I don't know if I'll finish her before I leave, but I'll do my best. However, she probably won't go up for sale until I return a little after mid-October.
The painting is so far done with acrylic paints on a 16x20x3/4" stretched canvas. If I feel I have time, I might finish the painting off with oil paints. I love the simplicity, speed, and ease of clean-up with acrylic paints, but to "top off" a painting with oil paints really gives it an extra punch of color and vivacity. This is not to say I can't achieve the same results with acrylic paints, but the oils make it a little easier -- and they go on oh so smoothly.
The painting is so far done with acrylic paints on a 16x20x3/4" stretched canvas. If I feel I have time, I might finish the painting off with oil paints. I love the simplicity, speed, and ease of clean-up with acrylic paints, but to "top off" a painting with oil paints really gives it an extra punch of color and vivacity. This is not to say I can't achieve the same results with acrylic paints, but the oils make it a little easier -- and they go on oh so smoothly.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
My Paris Art Supply Store
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| Adam Montmartre Art Supply Shop |
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Speaking French
I've been noticing something recently that bothers me: I have many friends who want to go to France, as I'm doing, but who are afraid. They don't know the language, they might get lost, lonely, have their pockets picked, etc., etc. Well, I share the fears above, all except for one: I have worked on learning the language for years -- and for the most part, I've done it with no formal instruction. And I'm not bragging here; I'm telling you that it can be done! (Well, I guess I'm bragging a bit because, by golly, I've worked very hard at learning this language!)
I do admit that over twenty years ago, I lived in Toulouse, France, for nearly two years while I did some graduate studies in neuroscience. However, when I went there, I had had no French language education at all -- well, except for about three weeks right before I left, which only made matters worse, not better, because those pitiful three little weeks gave me a false confidence that I knew at least something. But here was the problem when I arrived there all those years ago: I could ask where is something or other --- BUT when the other person responded, I had absolutely no clue about what they were saying!! I bought a French language textbook before I went; and after I got there, I studied it every day, every chance I got. And I got by. That's all I did for at least the first year; I got by. And I might add, too, that almost no one that I knew spoke more than just a few words in English, too, so I didn't have that "out." I found out, too, that hand signals were powerful and that I could live with making a fool of myself, very often! I got by.
After having been back in the USA for nearly twenty years, except for occasional European visits, I didn't study French at all until just two or three years ago. Then I decided I was getting old and that I wanted to complete what I had started all those years ago. But still being stubborn and wanting to do everything my own way, I decided, once again, to go it alone. So I started reading everything I could in the French language. That meant, of course, that I had to have a dictionary beside me at all times and that I spent more time studying the dictionary than figuring out what the heck I was reading. And I'm not talking simple books, either: To this day, one of my favorite French authors is Emile Zola. I struggled with his novels, one after another, for many, many months at a time, each one. Not only did I not know the words, but I couldn't even understand the sentence constructions. But slowly, v e r y s l o w l y, things started to fall into place. Progress was very difficult even to measure for many months at a time. But then it really began to pick up speed. Today, I read without a dictionary present -- except for the occasional word I need to know. I found out, too, that I didn't have to look up every single word, even back when I wasn't understanding much at all, because I could get the gist of the story -- and I could learn many high-use words by context after a while.
More recently, (in the past year), I upped the demands on myself. I got a TV5Monde, French language, subscription so that I can watch French (nearly) TV every day. I say "nearly" because much of it is subtitled, and I find that subtitles are counter-productive. Even before the TV5Monde, I had discovered France Inter radio station online, and I listen to it anytime I'm painting, for instance. (I especially like the channel "France Culture.")
I'll continue this discussion over the next couple of weeks and hope some of you chime in. Are you studying French? How do you study? Do you have any tricks you can share? Is not knowing the language of a country you love preventing you from doing something you want to do but are too afraid to do? (I love the French culture, the food, the language, the people, the land, everything!)
I do admit that over twenty years ago, I lived in Toulouse, France, for nearly two years while I did some graduate studies in neuroscience. However, when I went there, I had had no French language education at all -- well, except for about three weeks right before I left, which only made matters worse, not better, because those pitiful three little weeks gave me a false confidence that I knew at least something. But here was the problem when I arrived there all those years ago: I could ask where is something or other --- BUT when the other person responded, I had absolutely no clue about what they were saying!! I bought a French language textbook before I went; and after I got there, I studied it every day, every chance I got. And I got by. That's all I did for at least the first year; I got by. And I might add, too, that almost no one that I knew spoke more than just a few words in English, too, so I didn't have that "out." I found out, too, that hand signals were powerful and that I could live with making a fool of myself, very often! I got by.
After having been back in the USA for nearly twenty years, except for occasional European visits, I didn't study French at all until just two or three years ago. Then I decided I was getting old and that I wanted to complete what I had started all those years ago. But still being stubborn and wanting to do everything my own way, I decided, once again, to go it alone. So I started reading everything I could in the French language. That meant, of course, that I had to have a dictionary beside me at all times and that I spent more time studying the dictionary than figuring out what the heck I was reading. And I'm not talking simple books, either: To this day, one of my favorite French authors is Emile Zola. I struggled with his novels, one after another, for many, many months at a time, each one. Not only did I not know the words, but I couldn't even understand the sentence constructions. But slowly, v e r y s l o w l y, things started to fall into place. Progress was very difficult even to measure for many months at a time. But then it really began to pick up speed. Today, I read without a dictionary present -- except for the occasional word I need to know. I found out, too, that I didn't have to look up every single word, even back when I wasn't understanding much at all, because I could get the gist of the story -- and I could learn many high-use words by context after a while.
More recently, (in the past year), I upped the demands on myself. I got a TV5Monde, French language, subscription so that I can watch French (nearly) TV every day. I say "nearly" because much of it is subtitled, and I find that subtitles are counter-productive. Even before the TV5Monde, I had discovered France Inter radio station online, and I listen to it anytime I'm painting, for instance. (I especially like the channel "France Culture.")
I'll continue this discussion over the next couple of weeks and hope some of you chime in. Are you studying French? How do you study? Do you have any tricks you can share? Is not knowing the language of a country you love preventing you from doing something you want to do but are too afraid to do? (I love the French culture, the food, the language, the people, the land, everything!)
Monday, August 18, 2014
A sweet Irish setter painting I finished a few days ago
A custom painting I finished recently -- a Weimaraner puppy in his "SpiderMax" suit
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Getting Closer to Being Ready for Paris
I'm a little closer to being ready to leave for Paris now: I finally purchased my plane tickets. I have for the most part always flown economy class, which is generally okay, being a part of the big crowd of budget travelers -- we all go to the same place, right? But this time I decided that it's worth a few hundred dollars more to at least upgrade my seat to the "economy comfort seats," or some words to that effect. So for my one long domestic flight and my two international flights, I have upgraded to more seat room and silly perks such as ear plugs, a sleep mask, I think a video screen right at my seat, probably a slightly upgraded meal, which I almost never take anyway because I'm vegetarian and almost always buy my meals before I board, and unlimited alcoholic drinks. Being a very, very lightweight drinker, however, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that one; wish I could have a bit of a discount for not drinking, though. Well, I'll have one tiny glass of wine, though. It's not that I don't like alcohol; my body doesn't like it, and I become ill after more than one drink.
Back to the tickets: I'll be sure and report how these comfortable economy seats work out and if they're worth the few hundred dollars more. Most likely, though, anything that gives me more room to stretch out on long flights is worth it to me. And maybe I'll actually have wider armrests, too. That would be really great because for some reason, I almost never get "armrest rights" when I fly. Too timid, I'm afraid.
Regarding artwork while in France, as I've mentioned before, I intend to paint while I'm there. As I don't intend to have a checked bag on my flight over, I am taking only a few brushes and some prepared but unstretched canvases. There's a really nice art supply shop just about a five minutes' walk from my apartment there, so I'll go there and buy my paints. I intend to use acrylics only to ensure that everything has dried well before time to return. If I want to add some oil highlights later, after I return here, that will be easy to do, of course.
I've been attending an advanced conversation group once a week here in Portland, and it concerns me a bit. I realize just how not-fluent I am in French. I struggle on as I try to engage in quite deep conversations at times, but from the often bewildered expressions on the faces of my "interlocuteurs," I fear that I'm not quite communicating as well as I had hoped. We'll see . . . . .
My greatest fear (after the fear of not getting lost on my way to my apartment from the airport, of course) is that I will "hole up" in my apartment when I arrive, something which I have a tendency to do when faced with potentially frightening situations. But fortunately, there will be no food in the apartment, so I'll be forced to go out at least for some wonderful bread, pastries (bien sur!!), and some essential groceries. I'm going to do everything in my power to force myself - again - out of my safe zone and go out and explore -- tentatively, of course, at first, but with more confidence as each day passes.
I still have several custom paintings that I need to get done within the next few weeks, and then I'll have more time to spend on getting ready for the trip. As it's been such a long time since I was last in France, I have a lot of things I'll need to catch up on, such as how my smartphone is going to serve me there, how to be able to charge all my electronics, which, of course, are now an essential part of every person's life, how to ensure that my debit card works well everywhere (and, of course, how to avoid exorbitant fees for its use). I remember when I was in Denmark a couple of years ago, I was able to use my debit card everywhere, for everything from cash to groceries to parking "meters," without a problem and with little to no added fees. I presume it will be the same in France, but I'll check beforehand to be sure. Just lots of little details I need to cover before I leave.
Back to the tickets: I'll be sure and report how these comfortable economy seats work out and if they're worth the few hundred dollars more. Most likely, though, anything that gives me more room to stretch out on long flights is worth it to me. And maybe I'll actually have wider armrests, too. That would be really great because for some reason, I almost never get "armrest rights" when I fly. Too timid, I'm afraid.
Regarding artwork while in France, as I've mentioned before, I intend to paint while I'm there. As I don't intend to have a checked bag on my flight over, I am taking only a few brushes and some prepared but unstretched canvases. There's a really nice art supply shop just about a five minutes' walk from my apartment there, so I'll go there and buy my paints. I intend to use acrylics only to ensure that everything has dried well before time to return. If I want to add some oil highlights later, after I return here, that will be easy to do, of course.
I've been attending an advanced conversation group once a week here in Portland, and it concerns me a bit. I realize just how not-fluent I am in French. I struggle on as I try to engage in quite deep conversations at times, but from the often bewildered expressions on the faces of my "interlocuteurs," I fear that I'm not quite communicating as well as I had hoped. We'll see . . . . .
My greatest fear (after the fear of not getting lost on my way to my apartment from the airport, of course) is that I will "hole up" in my apartment when I arrive, something which I have a tendency to do when faced with potentially frightening situations. But fortunately, there will be no food in the apartment, so I'll be forced to go out at least for some wonderful bread, pastries (bien sur!!), and some essential groceries. I'm going to do everything in my power to force myself - again - out of my safe zone and go out and explore -- tentatively, of course, at first, but with more confidence as each day passes.
I still have several custom paintings that I need to get done within the next few weeks, and then I'll have more time to spend on getting ready for the trip. As it's been such a long time since I was last in France, I have a lot of things I'll need to catch up on, such as how my smartphone is going to serve me there, how to be able to charge all my electronics, which, of course, are now an essential part of every person's life, how to ensure that my debit card works well everywhere (and, of course, how to avoid exorbitant fees for its use). I remember when I was in Denmark a couple of years ago, I was able to use my debit card everywhere, for everything from cash to groceries to parking "meters," without a problem and with little to no added fees. I presume it will be the same in France, but I'll check beforehand to be sure. Just lots of little details I need to cover before I leave.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
A Sweet English Bull Terrier Painting I Recently Finished
Next I'm working on a couple of custom paintings: A weimaraner in a most unusual outfit! And a really sweet-faced, elderly, mixed-breed dog. They're both due right away, so I'm going to be working hard, hard, hard.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Update on upcoming France trip
I don't know how much I've already posted about this; but for friends who are interested (since I don't touch FB anymore unless a family member tells me some nice family photos are there for me to see), I'll mention my plans a bit here. As I may have already said previously, my plans have changed considerably because of a certain little child who doesn't want me to be away from her for very long. Now I'll be going just to Paris for a month in the autumn, with the ultimate intention (if I still want to do it after having spent a few months there over the next year or so) of possibly moving there for at least part of every year. For now, though, my plans are pretty much set in stone. I'll be spending a month in Paris, half of it just myself and half of it with my family, except for my husband who can't go this time but will probably go the next time. He's disabled, permanently in a wheelchair, so we'll have to make special plans for him to be able to go. We're all really excited about the trip, and I feel quite confident about my French language abilities now -- hope I'm not wrong!!!
I'll be posting a few photos of my stay in Paris and will be doing a lot of painting while I'm there, so expect to see a lot of what I hope aren't touristy paintings when I return. I'll probably do a few animal paintings, but I hope to spend a lot of time painting interest scenes that I find here and there.
Now that I'm not going permanently at this time, I won't be talking much about how I go about getting there because anyone can figure that part out on their own. And I'm kind of sad to say that I hear that since I was last living in France, over 20 years ago!!!!, many, many more people, especially in the large cities, speak pretty much fluent English. So for that reason, although I'll be staying in Paris for reasons of convenience and ease, I'm staying far from the touristy areas in a quiet residential neighborhood, in the 18th arrondissement for those who know the layout of Paris. I've found a smallish apartment and will rely only on public transportation while I'm there.
The hardest, by far, part of planning for my trip has been finding an apartment; but that's finally been finalized. Now I have to take care of the much less important things such as having Verizon show me how to get my smartphone to work there, which metro stations to take, etc., etc. My sweet husband is going to be taking care of my online orders (and my precious dog Harry) while I'm gone, so that's a great relief. But next time, both my husband and Harry are going! Well, it might be too hard to take Harry the next time, I guess, but he'll get to go with me eventually.
I'll be posting a few photos of my stay in Paris and will be doing a lot of painting while I'm there, so expect to see a lot of what I hope aren't touristy paintings when I return. I'll probably do a few animal paintings, but I hope to spend a lot of time painting interest scenes that I find here and there.
Now that I'm not going permanently at this time, I won't be talking much about how I go about getting there because anyone can figure that part out on their own. And I'm kind of sad to say that I hear that since I was last living in France, over 20 years ago!!!!, many, many more people, especially in the large cities, speak pretty much fluent English. So for that reason, although I'll be staying in Paris for reasons of convenience and ease, I'm staying far from the touristy areas in a quiet residential neighborhood, in the 18th arrondissement for those who know the layout of Paris. I've found a smallish apartment and will rely only on public transportation while I'm there.
The hardest, by far, part of planning for my trip has been finding an apartment; but that's finally been finalized. Now I have to take care of the much less important things such as having Verizon show me how to get my smartphone to work there, which metro stations to take, etc., etc. My sweet husband is going to be taking care of my online orders (and my precious dog Harry) while I'm gone, so that's a great relief. But next time, both my husband and Harry are going! Well, it might be too hard to take Harry the next time, I guess, but he'll get to go with me eventually.
A Guernsey cow painting that I finished recently
I've been doing a lot of paintings lately, but I don't feel comfortable showing many of them because, as I've said before, I'm learning to do landscape paintings, and I still don't feel confident enough to show very many of them. But I will before long!!
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