I pretty much flamed out on Day 3 from staying up until 3 am for three nights in a row. I took the day to look through books, magazines and photos to find a photo to paint from on Sunday. We went to Michael’s and then to Red Lobster for dinner — neither had much to do with our Paris staycation, but hey, we both felt like seafood and they serve seafood in Paris, right? 😂😂
My sis-in-law read up on Paris history, and we watched another Rick Steves Paris tour video before switching to two Hallmark mysteries set in Martha’s Vineyard. Yeah we strayed from the Paris thing. 😆
I spent the better part of yesterday immersed in creating this little Paris flower shop, and it was so much fun to do! We were both so excited to paint together, we never left the house all day!
I decided to try something a little different and use my Pitt brush pen to outline things. I painted this in gouache. Love how forgiving this medium is. Mess up something? Just paint over it — much like acrylics.
I found the reference photo on unsplash.com. They are copyright-free — a great thing for an artist on a staycation wanting pretty reference photos. I actually wanted to do a painting to have for a puzzle. This will make such fun puzzle!! When I get home, I will scan it in high resolution and put in my shop.
The little flower shop’s name is Anais with two dots over the “i”. I looked up the pronunciation and whenever there is an i with two dots you break up the word into two syllables. So this is pronounced Ana ees, and it is a female name. I’ve always had a thing about pronunciation and correct spelling. Why I’m not sure. Maybe the influence of an English teacher in the past?
My sis-in-law loves books so she found a photo of Shakespeare and Co. and did this oh so charming 4x6 ink and watercolor. And best of all—she’s going to give it up for me! Hopefully, she will have time to paint another one to keep before I leave. I think this is her best watercolor painting ever!
Last night we watched two Hallmark Aurora Teagarden mysteries. I try to watch as many as I can while here, because I don’t have cable at home and I’m not paying just for Hallmark channel. Who doesn’t love a good Hallmark mystery? They’re cheesy and predictable, but such a fun escape!
A trip to Barnes & Noble is in store for later today. It’s nice having one just 10 minutes away. Mine is a 45 minute drive from my house. 😟 And we really need to find at least ONE French pastry, even if it’s just eclairs from WalMart! 😆
I have one more 4x6 painting planned for today to leave with my wonderful hostess as a thank you for all her hospitality while I’ve been here. We always have such a good time together, more like sisters than sisters-in-law. That’s such a wonderful thing that we both treasure. 💞💞💞