Painting at Luxembourg Gardens

 I decided this visit I would try and paint on location.  While I don't often paint en plein air, I get together with some good friends throughout the summer back home and try my hand at landscape.  Its an amazing sensory experience, hearing people chatting, children playing, and all of the great sounds of nature spilling over into the work.  As a studio painter I am overly aware of these stimuli working outside and understand the seduction impressionistic painters must have had working in some of these same locations.  I couldn't help think of Sargent's painting "Luxembourg Gardens at Twilight".

I remember seeing this painting in high school when I was first exposed to a lot of his work.  I was so taken with his fluidity and poetry, and the miraculous economy that was employed to capture the 'impression'.  Sargent always seemed to make more sense to me than the other impressionists.  The work had the hallmark identifiers: that it was carefully observed, yet painted quickly, but was happily devoid of the stereotypical palette and mark-making.  I've always enjoyed how daring Sargent was in his approach, a seemingly ruthlessness that kept the viewer on the edge of his seat as the dance between abstraction and surface, and subject matter.

After a light breakfast, we arrived and walked through. Here are some pics I shot on our way in.

We chose a spot, near the wading where Sargent had painted "twilight".  A few days before I left, Mary Beth suggested I purchase a Pochade 8" x 10" cigar box and so I ordered one and had it shipped overnight.  I was surprised how light it weighs and the ease of set up.  We spent the morning chasing the light.

Day One

After checking into our rooms and getting the laptop wired, we took off heading around St. Germain des Pres.  Passed by tons of street vendors selling all sorts of really cool things including some amazing scarves.  My colleagues and I decided to go to a chain called Paul, which was really amazing.
This pic is from Rue de Buci and is about two blocks from the infamous Deux Magots.

Inside we found a nice offering of paninis and salads. Here's a pic of the salmon salad.

After lunch we headed to the Luxumbourg Gardens. This info is from the site:

http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=39

The Gardens came about as a result of Henri IV's assassination in 1610. His wife, Marie de Medicis, could not continue living in the Louvre with his memory. She had the Palais du Luxembourg and the surrounding gardens built to replicate her childhood home, Florence’s Palazzo Pitti. The Luxembourg Gardens were completed in 1625, but did not reach their present dimensions until 1790. The park has been open to the public since the 17th century. The construction of nearby streets and avenues during the Second Empire reduced its size, but not its general appearance. 

Having been to the Palazzo Pitti many times during my stays in Florence I can say how remarkable the likeness is to Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti Palace. Huge sycamore trees and statuary lined wide pathways that direct you through this huge space.

At this point of the day I needed a coffee and decided to rest a bit.  There a pavilion inside the Gardens and in it, a swing band was playing Miller and Goodman before breaking into Herbie Hancock's famous "Headhunters" title track and other standards like Davis' Kind of Blue seen here....

After watching the band play several songs I noticed I was getting sleepy sitting on a bench and decided I should move again since espressos were having no effect on me. Surprise.  We walked to the other side of the space and shot some pics of the orange trees outside. 

I'll try and post some more later tonight.

Arrival

I arrived in Paris about an hour ago.  Pretty easy flight with the only objection is a clogged right ear from the descent into the airport.  On our way to our host university our bus driver gave us a nice tour of the major monuments. We are staying at St. John's University in the 7th district- St. Germain des Pres.  Heading out to lunch, then a walk and introductions at the Luxembourg Gardens.  I'll try and post some pics later today.