"You can't be going painting TODAY," a French friend exclaimed as we passed on rue Vaugirard last Sunday in the pouring rain, "Oh, I have a lesson", I told her, "but they will probably cancel".  I must admit, I hoped they would.  But sure enough, the fellow was waiting for us in the lobby of the hotel.  "My wife and daughter will be right down".



Only Americans will power through these adverse conditions.  I had to laugh out loud as the five of us tramped through the puddles in the park to find a semi-dry spot beneath the police "surveillance" station.  He painted a wonderful Cy Twombly sort of painting, his wife two paintings of the trees, and his ten year old daughter, one large work.  Blair's painting is the painting of the week.

I get a huge boost from giving these lessons, in addition to the spending money, which we blow at once on dinner.  These folks were art professionals:  he, head of a university photo department, she an art teacher.  When I tried to show them what other painters had done in the Luxembourg Gardens, he quickly told me he KNEW exactly what he wanted to paint and how.

Blair paints well in the shade, in the somber weather, and in the rain.  Cezanne didn't like painting in the sun either.  Like Blair, he thought the sunlight washed all the  color out of things.  Today, we both painted in the park, in the blazing sunshine.  Blair's work looks bleached.  Mine is a study in light and dark:  a black man in white clothes beneath a tree in the brilliant sunshine.

We hung two art shows begin this week.  One at the Brasserie Solferino, and another at the Cafe Fleurus.  The Cafe Fleurus is a Tabac (a bar where they sell tobacco products), recently under the direction of new management.  Hardly anyone smokes there.  It's become our daily coffee spot.

Standing at the bar at the Cafe Fleurus last weekend, riotous peals of laughter came from the sidewalk.  Two little boys caught their reflection in the side of a parked car.  They hunched their shoulders and dropped their heads, making like monsters in the shiny metal.  They'd approach the concave surface quickly, and giggle wildly at the effect.  The performance continued a good 15 minutes before the building gardienne appeared and told them to quiet down.

I've been writing fifteen minutes every day this week.  It helps me recall the high points of life, and finishes off the low points.  As I scan through my writings, I have a hard time deciding what becomes artnotes and what is left unsaid.

The Cafe Fleurus has become our new favorite hang out.  In a city of five million one needs to find a place to call home.

Laurie (text) and Blair (painting) PESSEMIER
Luxembourg Gardens in the Rain   Acrylic on canvas  10.5 x 14 inches