Moments in Paris- a series of mini paintings

 After what seemed like six months but was probably only four, my husband picked up my laptop from the shop we sent it to for repair. It had been a long and convoluted journey to the repair center and back twice and had cost us both immense energy in dealing with warranty companies that didn't want to cover charges, telephone numbers that never reached human beings, and shop assistants who didn't seem to think the repair and return of my laptop was a matter that concerned them personally. Friday, He brought it home to find that it hadn't been repaired, or in fact even touched. My frustration with the shops inability to provide warranty services on products they sell is a discussion for another time. The reason for my mentioning it now is to mention that I use it to display my photo references as I work on acrylic paintings. Some of these paintings are fairly large and I set the laptop on the shelf above my desk near enough to the easel to see it while I paint. This hasn't been possible the last few months as our alternative- a desk top is located in the library, a room unsuited to large easels and palettes. I have used this time to delve more deeply into both urban sketching and aquarelle, but at the core of my being, I love to paint. To feel the texture of the materials and brushes as I build up a motive layer by layer.

  My phone has not been large enough to serve this purpose and frankly it doesn't stay 'on' more than about 5 seconds at a time meaning that I have to keep reentering the password over and over with paint stained fingers. A delay and distraction, although it does work in a pinch.

   While in Paris I had the privilege of viewing quite a bit of art, not in magnificent galleries and museums but in smaller private and contemporary galleries. Although I love detail in my own work I have always admires artists who can loosely dab in paint and end up with a great image. A suggestion rather than a copy of reality. I enjoyed many such pieces of art work scattered throughout the galleries and markets that I viewed.

I would love to be more impressionistic in some of my work and have therefore decided to use my phone for the only thing it is good for, quick and imperfect glimpses of images. Starting last week I have begun painting small loose Paris motives and have been fairly happy with the way that they have been turning out. I am calling them my 'Moments in Paris' series. At the moment there are four of them. Four delightful memories from the city of light. Four glimpses back at the glittering lights of autumn in that beautiful place.

 Here are close ups of the paintings- They are small, 13x18 cm (5.1x7.1 inches) - the size of a large postcard. Acrylic on canvas board. As a result they are not over burdened by detail but are large enough to carry atmosphere and catch the eye from across the room.

 I have added a teacup and a few other items to the photos for scale.

 Framing:

Just for fun I popped one of them into a frame we recieved as a wedding present. The black really makes the simple, bright colours pop.

 These will probably be available on a first come first serve basis for 40 euros each. I may make prints if there is any interest. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Update- these have just been sold- if you loved them, I might be willing to make prints.

If you liked this series you might also like:

Melody of the skies ( there are still a few prints available in this series)

Bonuses:

- I will be offering similar paintings of your home for a limited time this Christmas- Look for this weekend's posts for all the information.
- I am offering a seminar at Oma's Teekanne, here in Graz on the 29th of November- Check the link (workshops) at the top of the page for more information.


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