ALORS! - a traveling art blog by Sue Scoggins

Tree Line
6x12 original oil on canvas

These I left out the top of the buildings

I've noticed something through drawing. I never connect the lines. The lines are left  unfinished and n-e-v-e-r quite touch their next point.  I wonder what a psychologist would say about that.  Hmm. Where's the sofa?  It's not a conscious thing where I intentionally leave them unfinished.  It's definitely subconscious.  Does that mean I have unfinished business?  Or that my life is incomplete?  Or that I'm waiting for something or that there's more to do with my life?  Or am I lazy and undisciplined? How about ...it could just be my my astigmatism!   I mean...it's not just an occasional line or two....it's all of the lines!  So, I've tried to make sure now that I "connect" the dots now, finish my lines and I've gone back and tried to complete them all.  

 ALORS! (well..)

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go.  (A little bit of Peter, Paul and Mary)
In the last 6 weeks, my vocabulary has consisted of primarily one to three word sentences. Bonjour!  Merci!  Ca va bien? Très bien. Au revoir. Oui.  Non. Je suis en peintre. Je ne comprend pas. Vous ne comprenez anglais?  Un peu. C'est bon. C'est beau! Très jolie! Voila! Pardon. No problem.  Reservation. L'addition. Un billet. Expresso noisette, s'il vous plait. aperitif, pour manger, quelque chose a boire, vin blanc, vin rouge, vin rose, mojito! 

Oh yes!  Don't forget  "Ou est le bus pour Les Baux?" and "il est chaud."

My diet has consisted of (In order of importance)
Expresso
Bread, loaves of ...(which includes pastries and pizza)
Wine, bottles of...
Cheese - goat, ewe (brocciu), parmesan
Tomatoes - heirloom and grape
Olives - tons
Hummus
an occasional zuccini
white fish
shrimp

I've had no meat in 8 weeks accept
one goose leg (that was in Hungary)
one lamb (not the whole thing)
one filleted chicken breast
very little refined sugar  (that was a "creme glacee".  I had to do it.)
nothing processed or fried  (not that I don't crave a french fry right now!)

My jar of Nutella is empty now. (It was a small European jar.)  

Traveling Alone - a traveling art blog by North Carolina Painter, Sue Scoggins

So, traveling alone is an art that must be learned.  I know that sounds strange in that I'm in one of the most beautiful places in the world, Provence, France. The worst thing to do is stay home alone. Today, I spent the most wonderful day drawing sketchbook art with new friends.  One "doll babe" was 19, traveling alone.  After getting acquainted I found out that she is majoring in bio-physics.  When she continues, she will be working on her PHD and going into.....ALZHEIMER RESEARCH!

Who would have thought?  In a drawing class..meeting such a focused young woman ...traveling alone from Brazil!  Such an inspiration she is!!!  She gave me such a sweet tap on the shoulder as I told her that I lost my husband to Alzheimer's disease 3 months ago.  She lost her grandmother.  I couldn't thank her enough for taking up the charge!

Today's art venture was beyond fun as we experimented with pens, stamps, watercolor, etc.  I found out that there are a lot of us traveling singles out there.  Mostly, our fun was because we couldn't stop talking.   We began painting on the grounds of Cezanne's garden, Jas de Bouffan .  Had a picnic there.  Then moved to an art courtyard, Hotel de Gallifet, which had been a historic residence that has been turned into an artist's haven for drawing, sipping coffee, and having a salad or the likes.  The 4 of us, plus our instructor, sat around the table sipping coffee and making art all afternoon.