Exciting times.
First, Nancy and I went to France and Italy in June to
celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary and we spent our special day
in Paris, what a magical city.
After 3 nights in Paris we took the bullet train to Avignon
in the Provence region. We stayed there for 3 nights in a great B&B, rented
a car and took day trips around the area in search of lavender fields. That’s why
we came here in mid-late June, I wanted to see and paint the miles and miles of
lavenders. Unfortunately, because of the cool and wet spring, the crop was
late, 3-4 weeks late. Drove around the little villages and fields – took many
photos and sketches and when I paint the areas, I will add the blooming
lavenders. As a painter, I can add anything.
Nancy and I drove to Nice
where we left the car, stayed the night and took the train the next morning to
La Spezia, Italy and to Vernazza in the Cinque Terre. We spent three days there
running around the five little towns on the trails and on the local train. A
lot of fun really loved the towns and the whole area.
Then we rented a car and
drove to Siena and spent 3 days there. We came to this area of Tuscany for the
sunflower fields that were supposed to be in bloom. Again, 3-4 weeks too early
because of the cold spring weather.
Nancy is typing up my daily
journal and when she is done, I will post it here and you can read all about
our adventures.
Since we’ve been home, I have
completed 7 out of 10 paintings of our trip. I will unveil them at the Stormy
Weather Arts Festival in Cannon Beach, Oregon on Friday, Nov. 1. Also, I have
published my sketchbook and journal of our Italy trip in 2011. The book will be
shown for the first time also at the show. People who purchased my paintings of
that trip will receive a free book, because it shows sketches of the paintings
and tells a bit about each one, the back-story. I have found that people love to
hear the stories about their paintings and I think they will like this. The
name of the book is “Behind the Paint –
The First Chapter – Italy 2011.” It will be available in paperback on Amazon
for $9.95.
The sketchbook/journal from
our trip this summer will be published in the spring and given away free to
those who purchase my new paintings. I have decided I will continue to do this
with my travel series paintings. 2014 takes us to some of the National Parks in
Utah.
Stay tuned in.
