First Fridays in Ellicott City!
Come visit the studio this Friday! We will have the shop open from 3-8pm and would love it if you would stop in to say hello. All of the shops down Main Street will be open late. (we have parking on site too!)
French Lessons - Part 2
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Class started on Friday. I was glad to have had two days to acclimate to the time change and get to know the neighborhood. Class started off at a fast pace and only grew faster.
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We began with finalizing the drawing that was pounced on our panels previously. Jean discussed the "Chromatic Link", a secret and ancient method of unifying all of the elements that will be painted within the canvas. Actually its just toning the canvas. No secrets. Then we added layers of glazes to create the look of limestone, the material in which the entire niche is constructed. After Jean demonstrated the technique, we laid in the foundation for the ornament above the niche and moved to the background color for the urn. The marble panels at the bottom would come later, taught by Pierre. Then a discussion of how light affects shadows and how forms dictate their shape.
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Jeannie!
My buddy Jeannie from Long Island decided to make the trip last minute, and thank goodness, it wouldn't have been the same with out her. Tre Drole! Lots of wine, baguettes, croissants, and many other French delicacies were shared. The class was full of students from around the world; Taiwan, France, Israel, US, (and California :)) a true "UN of painting!"
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Wine at lunch!
Lunch was on our own and many people either brought food or went out and grabbed some to bring back. One day, Maddie's husband Frank bought sandwiches for everyone! There was always goodies to be had that people would bring to share, croissants, chocolates, and treats. Great conversations around the lunch table.
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Dinner at "Cafe Aux Crepes" with some students
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Gates at Chateau
The third day we were guided by Pierre and Jean Luc on a tour of the Palace of Versailles which included the Chateau, the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, and the Queen's Hamlet. I believe the word is gobsmacked. I literally couldn't believe what I was seeing. Beautiful gilding, marbles, trompe loeil... And surprisingly, a lot of the marbles were painted! Even the King had a budget! Every last inch of the place was decorated. We were treated to an unconventional tour where our "guides" pointed out details of the decorations that would not normally be on the tour. You can read some of what we learned on Pierre Finkelstein's blog.
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On our way to the Chateau
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Pierre and Mikey, aka, the Crazy Frenchman and "le Stupide Américain"
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The famous Hall of Mirrors
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The War Room
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Amazing Trompe L'oeil (look closely at the gilded moldings. Where the figure crosses the molding, the area is flat and has been painted and gilded to create the 3D effect.)
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More beautiful marbles, marquetry, gilding, and murals.
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The king's bedroom
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Marie Antoinette's bedchamber
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Some examples of faux marbre:
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Grand Trianon
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Rebecca, myself, and Jeannie
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Beautiful painted armoire holding china in the Petit Trianon
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Marie Antoinette's bedroom in the Petit Trianon
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Even the queen has to go sometimes!
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View from the queen's bedroom at the Petit Trianon
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Queen's dressing room. The wall panels raise and lower for privacy.
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The group
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Petit Trianon exterior
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Interior of the Belvedere. Look at those grottescas and ceiling!!
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Belvedere and Grotto
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Some of the sheep that reside on the grounds at Versailles.
I could go on and on! Check out more images in my gallery on my facebook page
Up next, "French Lessons - Part 3: Mike's Adventures on the Bike"
French Lessons - Part 1
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I have been back for a week and already I feel it was a dream that I was in France. I had the opportunity to take a class with world renowned decorative arts professionals Pierre Finkelstein and Jean Luc Sable at Ecole Sable in Versailles, France. Yes, I said Versailles. <sigh>. And it was amazing. Mike came with me, he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to travel to one of the cycling meccas of the world, even if it was in March. We flew out of Dulles outside of Washington DC on the 4th of March replete with our necessities: painting materials, guidebooks, and Mike's bike in a box. Yep. Mike brought his bike. Does that surprise you? Me neither.
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Day One:
We flew into Charles De Gaulle Airport and took the RER across town to our little place I rented in Versaille. It was an ordeal to say the least. We didn't realize that we had to steel our jet lagged ears against singing and accordion playing gypsies, traipse up and down stairs trying to change trains, hoist our gear up into the train and race against the closing doors that will NOT reopen...not to mention the 1/4 mile hike from the train station to our place once we arrived at Versailles. All with our luggage. And Mike's bike box. But we made it 13 hours after we left Dulles at 6pm the night before.
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We had two days before class started so that we could explore the town of Versailles and Paris. The day we arrived (after we recovered from our train ride) we had a bite to eat at a restaurant a block from our place and then walked around the town of Versailles and were in awe of the magnitude of opulence that is the 'Chateau'. We had dinner that evening in Versailles at Chez Lazare, where they spoke English! Tres Bien!
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Day Two:
The next day we went into Paris and followed "Rick Steve's Historic Paris Walk" which started us at Notre Dame then around to the Latin Quarter. We deviated and took a side trip to the Pantheon and then returned to Saint Chapelle and the Concierge (which was closed.)
Notre Dame: I remember learning about these "flying buttresses" in art history class.
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Medieval Paris
Saint Severin
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Pantheon:
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Saint Chapelle:
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Concierge
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Le Metro
Day Three:
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The third day we went back to Paris and headed straight for the Place de la Concord and walked up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomph. Mikey was in his element. It was really cool seeing all of these landmarks up close and in person.Pont Alexandre III
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Here Mike is standing in the gutter on the Champs Elysees. Next time you watch the final stage of the tour, keep an eye on when they ride this stretch. Since its the smoothest part of the street cyclists fight to get a part of the gutter which is only about 16-18 inches wide. And they go about 30 mph. We then walked over to the Eiffel Tower and then back to the Musee de Arts Decoratif.
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Up next: Class starts and Mikey goes on his own "Tour de France"
To be continued!