Tea time in France

It was cool and damp for most of my trip, but I did manage to find the occasional coffee house with a view.  Sketching inevitably amuses the waiters, particularly when caught so absorbed that I was dipping my brush in my tea, instead of my water.  That's a really bad idea as there are some nasty things in watercolour pigments, so I ordered a fresh pot of tea.

I could do the same thing here at home, but when in a different place all I can see are potential compositions.  It's attitude as much as observation and the challenge is to see the familiar with fresh eyes.

Basilica Notre Dame du Port

While attending the Carnet de Voyage book fair in Clement-Ferrand, France I attended mass an 800 year old Basilica.  It was a very serene building and was absolutely full.  One of the interesting things, from my Canadian perspective was the number of children who sat quietly through the whole service, rather than going off to Sunday School.  But then again, this is something I have noticed repeatedly in Europe, the strength of family life and mixing of generations which seems at times, to have fallen apart here in North America.

A major theme in the travel journals I saw at the book fair was the mix of annotations with the drawings and so, I was working at incorporating that into the pages I filled while there.  Luckily, no seemed to notice my eccentric behaviour of painting through the service as I was a little nervous it might be seen as disrespectful.