Day 5 of the 30 in 30 - "The Tower from the Seine"

Paris, France is the 3rd most visited city in the world according to some of the lists I came across.  I've visited it vicariously through paintings several times and I still enjoy painting the Tower.  It is an interesting structure and there are so many good views of it. I found this one accidentally when I plopped the little street view guy down in the middle of the Seine.  I was pretty excited to find that I could include the river and a bit of the tour boat in the composition.  Just love this one!

The Tower from the Seine, oil, 4"x18"

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Day 22 - "Passing the Tower"

I mentioned the other day that I sometimes get inspiration from the Morguefile, an online free file sharing website.  Well, I also love to use Google street view to wander the globe and see places that I otherwise may never get to see.  This inspires me so often and I have painted many pictures from scenes I have found in street view... Prague, Ireland, Idaho and Paris are just a few of the most beautiful areas of the world, at least on street view anyway.  So, this scene  which I found while 'wandering' around Paris, inspired me because, one, this view of the tower is just impeccably perfect, and two, the young man on the bike in the foreground presented a nice mystery.... What exactly is his story?  It made me wonder "where is he was going?"  Maybe university?  A quiet cafe to meet a secret rendezvous? Maybe he's a delivery guy delivering important documents.  Maybe he's on his way to visit grandma.  Who knows?   Anyway, I liked the mystery this scene presented and I also loved the composition when I cropped it to fit one of my narrow panel left-overs.

Passing the Tower, oil, 4"x18"
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Chateau Coq Gallic

This is the 2nd in my series of vintage poster paintings. I want to do a few more of these and see what people think about them. I know I sure enjoy painting them!  Anyway, this one is titled "Chateau Coq Gallic".  I started out knowing I wanted to do a rooster poster/painting after I completed the Bulldog and for some reason unknown to me, I knew I wanted the text to be French in some way. As I was designing it and thinking about what I wanted to be the title, I found out that coincidentally, the Rooster, and specifically, the Coq Gallic is the un-official symbol of France! (click here to read more about this.)  What a happy coincidence.  Love when things like this happen!  So, I named it Chateau Coq Gallic, which translates the Castle of the Gallic Rooster.  So, this is what I came up with.. I included pictures of it framed and un-framed.  It is currently hanging  in Art Plus Gallery in W. Reading, PA.  Enjoy!

Chateau Coq Gallic, oil on canvas, 16" x 20", $275
to Purchase, please contact Art Plus Gallery at
610-375-9122

Day 19 - Lady in Blue

Good Evening... Short and sweet tonight. Today's painting is of a young metropolitan woman walking confidently through the streets of Paris, France.  Found this little scene using street view again.   Love that.  Was intrigued by this nameless woman who seems like she is off to somewhere important.  Hope her day turned out good, whenever that may have been!

Lady in Blue, oil on panel, 6"x6"
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Day 18 - Je Suis Charlie

So, I decided to paint a scene in Paris, France today... and well, it obviously turned out to be the Eiffel Tower... Found a very beautiful shot and composition to my liking using street view again...  I have never painted the Eiffel Tower before, and was enjoying it quite a bit.  As it happens, my mind will wander when I paint.  It occurred to me as I was painting this, that I should pay my own tribute to the people who were killed about a week ago at the satirical French publication, Charlie Hebdo.  While I don't necessarily agree with the type of cartooning and commentary that the paper often prints, I am 100% a supporter of freedom of speech.  I myself am not into extremist political commentary, making fun of others religions and the like.... but freedom of speech is sacred to me and without it our country would not be what it is.  So, yes, I am Charlie, Je Suis Charlie, is the title of this one... Let freedom ring, let freedom of speech and expression live strong and may the terrorists who are trying destroy this freedom be stopped.  With that said, hope you enjoy this painting, my tribute to those who died in Paris... my thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends.

This painting is available to bid on at my Daily Paintworks webpage.  To place a bid, and to see other paintings I have for sale or auction, please click here.

Je Suis Charlie, oil on panel, 6"x6"
to place a bid, please click here