Macon Music Festival

When we visited France last year we attended a couple of music festivals, which are held throughout the year in many European countries. This was a little cafe in downtown Macon. Notice the beautiful architecture. I love Europe. They don't tear down their beautiful buildings and drop ugly ones in their place. Instead they build with quality materials, maintain the structures and restore as needed.

Perhaps the recurring was have taught them how easily things can be destroyed, so they tend to value their history a bit more than we do.

9" x 12" oil on canvas

Painting from a Rooftop

I'm back from a two week trip to Paris with a side trip to Macon, and feeling quite inspired. After my visit, I was convinced there are no finer museums anywhere than the ones in Paris. The Louvre was almost too beautiful to believe, and the Musee d'Orsay, while not nearly as large, held many paintings I had only ever dreamed of seeing.

This is one of my favorites, by Eugene Burnand. It depicts the disciples, John and Peter, running. It breaks some basic rules of composition, but is successful in spite of it. I'm floored by the sheer emotion I see in their faces, and the roiling skies behind them.

My painting partner decided she needed to cross an item off her bucket list so we ascended to the top of the Galleries Lafayette, a ritzy department store in the midst of downtown Paris, and set up our painting equipment. The day was perfect; there was no wind, which might have been disastrous atop a seven story building, and it was morning so there were no crowds.

She faced the Eiffel Tower and I looked toward The Opera. It was an unforgettable experience. Of course there were the inevitable American tourists who came by and chatted, but fo rthe most part, people left us alone.

9" x 12" oil on linen

Atop the Galleries Lafayette

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