UP to the top of Montmartre early in the morning to paint and draw near the resident artists on the Place de Terre near Sacre Coeur. The red tablecloth was Polychromos 126 #pencilscolormyworld.
DOWN the long hill with engaging guide Corey Frye (A French Frye in Paris--blog) who filled us in on the wild lives of the artists who lived there in the early 20th century--VanGogh, Renoir, Toulouse Lautrec, Utrillo, Seurat and more.
UP to the Musée de la Vie Romantique and a lovely exhibit of JP Rédouté--a rock star of the 18th C botanical world.
DOWN to the Seine and one last
UP to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which never ceases to thrill with the sheer height and spectacular views.
DOWN to a recap dinner with friends old and new.
All in, the day was a huge UP!

A fine Paris day began with a morning at the wonderful Museé d'Orsay. Our tour of the VanGogh collection was part art history, part color theory, part technique analysis. Sue Ann retains an amazing guide, Mme Joelle Coate, a quintessential Parisian woman of a certain age, whose encyclopedic knowledge always impresses me no end. A beautiful lunch at the museum restaurant as well, with a limoncello sorbet in color 104 by Faber Castell. #pencilscolormyworld. Took in a special exhibit of Cézanne's portraits. Of course I liked the drawings best. We took a late day trip to Montmartre to scout drawing/painting locations for the morning. I may take on Sacré-Coeur. I provided a lesson in urban sketching. Some great results!

our artists arrived throughout the day. We took the travel-weary lot to the wonderful restaurant, Au Vieux Paris d'Arcole for a late lunch. Its wisteria covered building was the original clergy quarters while Notre Dame cathedral was being built in the 1500s. We walked through the stunning Notre Dame and even located Lilith at the west portico (first wife of Adam). Lace balloon clouds were being installed at a nearby gallery. Ended the day with a long walk along the Seine.

An atypical tourist day scouting teaching and painting locations on Montmartre. Visited the "I Love You Wall", took in the ubiquitous graffiti and street art and enjoyed the 6'5' accordion player in unicorn head and white high heels #bestbuskerever. The artists arrive Monday morning. Allons-y!

Bienvenue à Paris! A chilly tarmac walk in Reykjavik woke me up. My lovely co-hosts Sue Ann Hum and Connie Willis met me at the hotel with a warm welcome and a glass of wine, then we enjoyed some yummy escargots. Looking forward to a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we hit the town for an intensive planning day.

Here is everything for a month away. Even I am amazed when I consider that it includes 22 sketching kits for artist participants! See you on the other side of the Atlantic!