0 Onsite Sketching!

I finally bought my ticket for Paris last night - YAHOO
I'm the world's worse procrastinator when it comes to purchasing plane tickets - toujours les meme choise

It hit me I better get out there and warm up sketching onsite. This is the News Cafe - rue Vavin 75006...
'Course the last time I went out sketching I came down with a rotten case of sciatica so I better be careful (Mariage Freres)

Onsite sketching can be deleterious to your health :(

Le Pain Quotidien is the perfect place to sketch onsite since you're surrounded by lovely subject matter...

Angelina is nothing to sniff at either...mais oui

Yes I am doing back my exercises!!

Basically this is a 'nudge' post to get me cracking...

A nice thing about having a blog is you can post a visual reminder to yourself...

Then you've got your subscribers (Hi PBers!) to give you the occasional petit kick dans le derriere in case you forget...

I have never drawn onsite like this! I seek refuge in a cafe/salon de the. I am not so fearless. Perhaps I should try in October? Oui o non? Ok I'm going sketching now...

BONJOUR ONSITE SKETCHING!

0 Tarte Attack!

Round #1 - the tarte wins. Lecon learned. Do not speak ill of local tartes if you value your health.

So how did a tarte put me in the back of this vehicle yesterday? Granted I am now permanently in love with FDNY EMTs! New York's finest are the greatest and the cutest! Firstly I haven't been to the pool for months. Secondly I sit A LOT, but I get up frequently. Evidently not frequently enough. Lastly my two encounters with drawing New York tartes onsite on Sunday and Monday did me in. I was so focused, so nervous, so fraught I sat drawing for 2+ hours straight and forgot to get up at all = not good for sciatica. Tense as a cat grappling with these damn tartes, my brush was my weapon. Another lecon learned. YOU MUST RELAX! On Tuesday an old sciatica nerve injury complained.. Photo by Sarmdmemt On Wednesday I started doing exercises on YouTube = bad idea when you're in pain. Wait until the pain goes away for before exercising! On Thursday I woke up in worse pain and my left leg caved like a strand of over-cooked spagetti. I had to crawl around the apartment. Time to call 911. A friend suggested I bring books and sketchpad to the ER... How right she was!

It's been a long time since I've sketched onsite except for said tartes, but this was fun and a distraction from the long wait (3-4 hours). The final diagnosis - bed rest, rehab, pain killers and a cane.

C'est la vie. I've been checking in with a few of artist friends who sketch onsite ALL THE TIME. Rick Tulka draws everyday at Cafe Le Select in Paris and has no back pains to speak of...

My cousin-in-law, William Ternay is never without his sketchbook. Bill said to me:

"You must bring to this new experience "Beginner's Mind" Give yourself permission to be uncomfortable, make errors and go with the old flow! . Easier said than done".

Time to go back to Drawing With The Right Side of The Brain - all about loosening up and getting with the flow whether you draw regularly or even draw at all!

Two drawings by a fourth-grader - before & after! This book used to be my drawing bible and I just reordered it. I need to relax and enjoy the process of drawing -

"Don't worry, Be Happy"

Tartes, I'm not done with you yet, even though you knocked me out first round, I'll be back soon and in a better frame of mind.

BONJOUR TARTES!!

0 Pastry Sketch Crawl Chez Moi

More tarte adventures today - the pastry sketch crawl continues...
It's a SNOW day in New York, so I thought I'd paint pastry at chez moi...
Last Sunday the plan was to paint onsite at Cafe Petrossian on 7th Avenue

But they were just closing so I bought the berry tarte above...

You can find candy caviar at Petrossian...

As well as the REAL thing...

You know you're in the 'Frenchie' area when you look across the street and spot La Parisienne Diner...

Then again you know you're in New York City when you get nearly run over by giant hounds...

On Monday I met a friend at another Pain Quotidien...

I thought perhaps having company onhand whilst painting might aide and abet the outcome...

No such luck malheureusement...

So today I dragged out the Petrossian tarte and went to work at home - my still life setup.

My not-so-hot results. Evidently it will take MANY tartes before I figure out how to paint these puppies. Why does that teapot look pregnant? :(

Oh dear...not there yet.

"Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more"

(many more attempts are required before I get the better of these %$#@ tartes. I ate this one. Vengence is mine! It was superbe)

One good thing about sketch crawling at home, I can get up and change my paint water frequently. And I can check the refrigerator contents - oh perhaps not such a good thing after all.

"Out, out damn snow!"

BONJOUR PASTRY SKETCH CRAWL CHEZ MOI!