Been very busy lately – and couple of projects that I had to handle make it really hard to focus on painting, but one project may be a gallery space to handle artists – it’s  still young idea and I can’t talk about it, yet, but I’m hopeful.

Anyway – it’s strange how in my social network of friends I get many opinions about things like travel – and how some of my friends think a trip to France for me this spring is good, others think it’s bad, and I’ve tended to crowd source opinions, not to obsolve myself of making decisions, but simply to have the best set of opinions and facts before deciding.

I realized, as long as I’m willing to take responsibility for making my own decisions, there’s nothing wrong with getting several opinions; one of my friends who studies Reiki and lives in Germany, says a trip to France feels stressful, and recommends against it.   I didn’t seek that opinion, but I’d be a fool to discount it.

On the other hand, another friend suggested London, where I’ve never been, and the vibes seem better for a trip there.

My painting is about that decision making process – it’s about how I come to decide what to do, how to take action, and my feelings around deciding.

Oh, by the way, this is an iPhone painting, but I’ve been working on it for a few weeks, on and off.

OK, so I’m showing off my sketches, which are from my heart; in fact, they are my heart – my most personal expressions.

 

I was visiting Paris last December, for the second time in 2007, this time, to attend LeWeb3 Conference.  Booked a hotel room in a 2 star hotel that really, really was depressing when I first saw it – small, dark, draby, especially the first day.

True, I wasn’t in it much – with so much to see and do in Paris, but in my funky mood, I decided, that first night, a Sunday night in Paris, alone, in this barest of rooms, to draw my laptop on the desk, if we can call this a desk.

 

Last fall I atteded and spoke at the XChange Conference in Napa Valley, California.  In my hotel room, during the first night, I drew the door to the bathroom, as I sat, in exhaustion, from the trip.

A few weeks later, back home, I drew a view from 15th Street and Prospect Park, in Windsor Terrace, not far from where I live, using some crayons.  I kinda thought about how my life was going, moving faster and faster – and wondered about someone nearby.

 

Just before the Brooklyn Hurricane, that really happened last year, I drew a tree that was soon to fall – as were many trees nearby, and around where I live.

Soon after, I sat down to draw an iced tea, but didn’t get far with it – maybe I went far enough.

Getting back to Paris, the only other sketches I did last December were these two, while visiting the French Paintings in the Louvre.

 

I fulfilled a fantasy I had, a desire I had all year, to sit in the cafe right next to the large French Paintings, and draw the view of Paris outside.  I felt satisfied that, had I done nothing else that trip (and I did much more) I accomplished my purpose for coming, even as I realized that all Paris had to offer me was the past – it’s past and my past.

I realized that in this life, as much as I admire the art of the past, perhaps something I even had a part in, I’m American, don’t speak a word of French – nor do I want to.   What I really wanted to communicate was my feeling – the feeling of the moment where I brought past and present together.

I was actually thinking of meeting Robert Scoble that day, but it didn’t happen – thought I might bump into him at the Louvre, was Twittering, and trying my best, to take in enormous amount of painting information that was flowing into me at that moment.   I had to sit down, have brunch, and take in all the energy flowing in around me and channel it into this these two drawings.

Later, I left the Louvre, walked and walked, tried to find a cafe where a Seesmic event was taking place – read about it on my Twitter feed, but I could not find it – and I cursed the French for building a city where just about every block was it’s own name – and then I got over it.  After all, I’m in “their city” so I thought and felt.

Too bad I wasn’t in Denver yesterday…well…I’m rarely in Denver at all ..but if I had been, I’d would have gone to a group opening at Robischon Gallery for a friend, Marsha Wooley, who had 4 paintings in the show.

I reviewed Marsha’s New York art opening last year and also went on a Paris Trip with a group of painters she led in late May/early June in Paris and Aix-en-Provence.   I definably want to do that trip again, hopefully next year.

I forgot to post this study I did last week while still in Aix-en-Provence.

I sat in a cafe on one of the main streets in Aix-en-Provence and had dinner, magically, almost, as I was creating this oil pastel study.  The light was changing slowly and I started late, but managed to finish just before all light was gone.

BTW, there’s a link on Webmetricsguru.com where I put all the movies for the Paris Trip up as part of one post..and that post currently ranks as #5 out of 42 million for the keyword “Paris Trip”.   Paris Trip – Day 1 and the rest of the trip plus Aix-en-Provence

 Enjoy.