The Good Life

Today was such a good day, I went with Claude to one of his favorite fishing spots on the Loire, Chateau de Sully, and I brought along my kit. Claude packed a picnic, and he's a serious eater so I knew it was going to be good: Small yellow melon, perfectly ripe, bread, of course, pate du lapin, mousse de canard, two nice slices of roast porc and of course some loire valley red wine. It was perfection, and this is where we sat, no joke, it's real: Cinderella's castle.

I had a good start on this before being called away to the picnic, but was able to finish after lunch, a glass of wine in my belly. It was definitely a departure from my usual day out with barely a crust of bread to gnaw on...hmmm...I may need to rethink that routine...

Later in the day I painted this view in Checy

I feel oddly satisfied with this effort, and in general I feel this was a very good day, and am finally beginning to paint with a little more...je ne sais quoi...happiness!!! I'm excited to go back to this same spot and paint several more. I love the jumble of buildings, my drawing was off by quite a bit here, but doesn't bother me much. Just leaves a feeling that there's much more to do right here in Checy, no need to wander far. The colors were a struggle to get "just so", and again, having not quite hit the mark, am ready to go again.