Oils and Pastels by Margaret Dyer

  Saturday NOTE: we have internet issues here at our new place. I'm trying to blog but am having difficulties. So my posts will most likely be delayed for days. Saturday morning, after the Vernissage, we drove south to Mazan , our home-to-be for several days in Provence. I'm ashamed to say I was surprised to see that the south of France is mountainous. OK, I'm an idiot. I am also surprised to see that the terrain and flora can change so quickly. Oleander blooms in profusion here, almond, walnut and olive groves, vineyards and lavender fields are everywhere. We took the long route, stopping in Baune to picnic. We arrived at our gites Saturday night around 9:00, brought our luggage to our rooms, then went down to the pool where we dangled our feet in the cool water, sipped wine and munched on cheese, cantaloupe and fois gras. Around 11:00 I slipped away from the group, needing some quiet time. As I lay on my bed I could hear a band playing "Free Bird" blocks away;...

  Everything happens so durned fast around here. I had no time to write about Paris, so I hoped pictures would do the job instead. Today was our last day of studio work. We spent the morning in the studio, had another lovely lunch on the patio: roasted peppers and eggplant, wine, cheese, salad, incredible strawberries and creme anglaise. Oy veh. Back to the studio, cranking out the work until 4:00. Cleaned up the studio, assembled our work, pinned it onto a 30x40 piece of foam core, displayed it on and easel, vacuumed the floor, set a table with flowers (thank you, Kate, for the beautiful arrangement) and champagne glasses, wine glasses, munchies, ran to our rooms to take a quick shower, got dressed in our dressiest outfits (I borrowed something from Kippy), blow dried the hair, refreshed the makeup, returned to the studio by 6:00 to greet our guests. The Vernissage had begun. We chatted or gesticulated with the local French neighbors and fri...

I haven't spoken much about the food here. Why? I don't know. It's a big part of this trip. Maybe it's because of our rule of not bringing electronics to the table, and I'm unable to photograph our incredible meals. I'm going to surreptitiously bring   my camera to the patio from now because you've got to see what we eat. I'll sneak a picture when Kippy and Jerome aren't looking. What have you missed other than the morning croissants and chocolate patisseries (which I have learned to avoid)?   Quiche Lorraine, porc a la menthe, mignon de porc au poivre vert, Madame Delahaye's chicken and porc terrine, blinis with salmon, poission de papillote avec fennel and fava beans baked in parchment (yum), apple tart, chocolate mousse, fromage blanc with rhubarb sauce, fresh salads straight from the garden and huge selections of cheeses after every lunch and dinner (one cheese is so soft you have to use a spoon to scoop it onto your p...

It's midnight, Tuesday. We've just left the dinner table after spending the entire day exploring. Early this morning we set out in two vehicles and drove an hour and a half to Yerres, about 12 miles south of Paris, to visit the beautiful home and museum of Gustav Caillabotte. A painter during the time of the Impressionists, he also helped fund Impressionist exhibitions and supported his fellow artists and friends, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro and more. Here are his home and some of his paintings. Afterwards we stopped for pizza and capuccino, then drove about another hour or so through the Fontainebleau Forrest to Moret-sur-Loing, set up our easels on a grassy bank of the river and painted for a few hours in the late afternoon sunshine, in the exact locations where Sisley, Monet and Renoir painted. We took a wrong turn on the way out of town and wound up getting stuck on narrow one-way roads, twisting and turning between centuries old houses, sites more exciting th...