ANOTHER DOG

Lynne's brother Matt turned 50 when we were on holiday in Hobart.

Needless to say, Lynne said (very endearingly): 'Darling, I've forgotten my brother's birthday. Can quickly rustle up a dog?'

Just what I wanted to hear when I was engrossed in my daily task of working out which beach to spend the day on.

Fortunately technology came to the rescue and Carol emailed a photo of Frankie for me to do a portrait from. (For anyone who's interested here's the genealogy: Carol is Matt's wife - Frankie is Matt's dog.)

Then Australiapost and the Royal Mail came to the rescue and got the painting of Frankie to Mat on time.

SOME RAMBLINGS ON DRAWING

This is a pencil portrait of Gilbert Chini, the village electrician and TV expert.
I drew him again because he has such an interesting face. It was done on a cold wintery day in what should be spring in Southwest France. And I really enjoyed the exercise, probably because it was a way of escaping from the deplorable weather, and rediscovering drawing.

Here's what some great artists have said about drawing:

An artist draws with his brains and not with his hand (Michelangelo),

Paul Klee said that drawing is taking a dot for  a walk.

The pleasure Van Gogh got is expressed in his thought that 'I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing.'

I also found one recently attributed to Salvador Dali that encapsulates my ideas on abstract art. 'Those who do not want to imitate anything produce nothing.'

Now go and get a pencil and paper and start drawing.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN FRANCE

Here's a recommendation for anyone traveling in France. Buy a copy of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, available in English as The Most Beautiful Villages in France. Make sure you and always have it with you. If you don't, you could miss out on several gems in country piled high with precious stones as far as tourist attractions are concerned. We have an old copy which was printed in association with The Readers Digest. Most of you will remember The RD, which is still one of America's largest selling monthly publications, and, at one time it was almost the only thing to read while waiting for the doctor or the dentist. Some of you may remember it's reputation for hounding subscribers to the grave - quite often literally beyond the grave. (New subscription material would arrive for many months long after the addressee was dead).
The point of this rather garbled introduction is that, when traveling in France, these beautiful sites are sometimes the best option when looking for overnight accommodation. So you need to know where they are.
The two above are Larresingle (in the Gers) and Vianne (in the Lot-et-Garonne). Both are nearby, but if you are ever nearby, don't stay in either of them. Rather come to us at La Petite Galerie in Mezin. And we'll take you there and show you around. We could even go there to paint if you like.