Holiday Lights

Thought I'd share some of the holiday ligts from Paris. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to see that Christmas is not as retail hyped there as it seems to be here. While there were lovely light displays here and there, the season was far more low key than here. We seem to be much more "in your face" about it.
That said....here's some pretty lights....including one video...because I LOVED the way these lights "moved".

Latin Quarter

Artists Square at Montmartre



Boat on the River Seine


Like bubbly champagne glasses!! 

Colorful Inspiration

 Paris offered much in the way of beautiful colors!! The most colorful of these were their cookies...macarons!!

Aside from being yummy.....they were a feast for the eyes! Beautiful just to look at.

One other bit of unexpected color I discovered was Santa....wearing beautiful "blue & gold".

A Monumental Event

I returned home just last night from a most amazing trip...to Paris!!!
This came about mainly due to my husbands job. The company was to send him as a reward for his work...and I was, happily, given the trip to join him as well. He's a yacht broker and the main boat he sells is built there in France. So, he got to tour the companies factories as well as attend the huge Paris boat show.
In the week long schedule we were given they made sure to allow for plenty of free sightseeing time....which we took full advantage of!! We got to see more than I ever imagined in that week, even with having two of the days in France spent out on the coast.

One of the biggest highlights was getting to see the Eiffel Tower! Let me tell you...it is more amazing in person than you can even imagine. I was totally awestruck by this breathtaking vision!

Once every hour, on the hour, the tower sparkles in a showstopping light show. This took place just as we arrived. So...as the first thing I want to share with you from my pics on this trip, it's the video I shot as the light show began. A moment I won't soon forget.

Never gets old!!

Nope....I have to admit it. Every time I see my work in print in another ad for the Cloth Paper Scissors new Emag...I get a bit giddy. I know..I know...it's not the first time I've been in print....

and with any luck...not the last. But let me tell you....it's always a pure delight every time I see it.
As any artist who has tried to get their work known can tell you....marketing is almost a full time job in itself. While I may work many many hours on my pieces...I work just as many hours getting myself out there. So, it's just wonderful every time you get to see how much progress has been made.
Cloth Paper Scissors has been amazing to me in that regard. These ads have been running in all their print magazines and I can't tell you how many of their email newsletters have had one piece or another of my work and sometimes refer to them directly. CPS....Thank You!!!

Vintage inspiration

I was recently asked if I would again contribute a piece of art to the Fall River Historical Society for their annual fundraiser. Since I had very much enjoyed doing one for them last year, I had no problem saying yes again.

While we do not have to do a piece that has anything to do with historic sites around the city...I do feel that when I can, this is an added bonus. Last year I created a 5"x7" Torn Paper Painting of one of the historic lighthouses. This year it was the carousel that caught my attention.

This beautiful Lincoln Park Carousel at The Battleship Cove was built in 1920. It used to be in an amusement park that I often went to while growing up, so it holds many memories for me. It now sits on the waterfront in a building made just for it.

Our required size for this years piece is an 8"x8". Here is my horse. While at the carousel taking photos of the horses to work from I also took a video of the entire carousel. See if you can spot the horse of my inspiration!