Rain, rain, go away

                                      

These last couple of days we have had the revenge of the warm seas which were heated to record temperatures this long, toasty summer.
The redress took the form of a violent  storm which started on Saturday  and is still spitting along now.  Its a storm that has killed at least three people and sent the sea careening onto the Promenade des Anglais, a freaky sight which we see more frequently each year.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/06/uk-france-weather-idUSLNE7A500320111106

     According to the Nice Matin , the Best of Nice Blog and Reuters, it was quite a destructive force. 

http://www.bestofniceblog.com/2011/11/08/storms-floods-wreak-havoc-on-the-cote-dazur/


Marineworld in Antibes was one of the worst affected.  The park suffered many losses of property and animals as rain built up and leaked into the tanks destroying the balance of the aquariums and putting their 4000 species in danger.     Farmers, hotels and residences have stories of loss and wreckage.  The famous fire fighters of France,called " Pompiers" were put to the test and in many cases were literally "pumpers" as in the case of Marineworld.

For ourselves we are fine but it is always so hard to accept that we are not and can never be  prepared. 


During big storms, I tremble that the hill behind will fall from water saturation  because our house, remodeled by the former owner,  is placed perilously close to a cliff-like hill.   We just had one small "chute de terre" this time which will comprise of a couple of bags full of rocks.   The force of this storm was too much for our clean rain gutters however, the water jumping over and coming through the eaves and across the downspouts.  I haven't seen this kind of deluge since Milan where umbrellas were useless and the streets cleared within minutes as everyone took shelter.  


When we have one of these downpours I am reminded of my Oklahoma "farm girl"  mother saying " It's raining pitchforks and bull yearlings".... and  I understand also, a little about the quality of surrender which she tried to teach me. 
It's what I would really like to cultivate, an ability to surrender and stay flexible.
In Surrender 101, if there were such a class, they would teach us that from the point of view of a plant, a storm like this is a bonanza!   


Indeed, all the irises I transplanted last week have already grown a few centimeters.     If I were a plant I would be saying, "finally some decent weather!"

Creative Vortex

Aaaaay.  I have just spent the better part of the day taking a look at the new templates offered for blogger.com.   Some of them are kinda cool and I made the mistake of trying one.


With the Mac, if you don't like something you have created, on say a photo, you just hit "return to original" .  THis doesn't seem to exist with my blog site.  After I tried a new template,  "they" warned me that if I wanted to revert back that I should have saved the old template.   Well, yeah. thanks.  


In addition, with the new templates,  Blogspot is no longer offering the fonts that I  had previously used .  I loved that font I had for the title before.  It wasn't too pretentious, too artsy or too formal. 


Of course, I could have  crunched even more time in today's creative black hole if I had wanted to go on-line to the chat rooms to see how to revert to my former template.  


But sometimes it's just better to start over.  Better for one's nervous system, that is.


This sign that I photographed in Biarritz a while ago translates roughly as " Forbidden to play the idiot", scratched out by someone from " Forbidden to play on the balcony".  


I think sometimes that I should be forbidden to play on the balcony as I don't have much interest in learning all the rules.  But for now , no one is kicking me out of the game.  I'm still in.

The G20 talks come to the cote D'Azur

 It is the French holiday of Toussaint and we are enjoying a week of fine Autumn weather  (70 degrees F or 21 C).   I got three "trick or treaters" last night for Halloween, three tiny children with dabs of lipstick and make-up on their faces and over-sized clothes.  I was so caught off guard that I had to hand out centimes instead of candy.  I promised them that I would be prepared next year.

 The big news though is that the G20 heads of state are in the area for meetings in Cannes this week .  And following them are the protestors who are aiming for the center of Nice.

 Aside from Obama arriving in Air Force One and 3 other jets full of his entourage of 800, (yes 800 people for Obama), aside from all of the congestion at the airport with all of the 25 heads of state arriving with their people, there are expected to be at least 20 busloads of anti- G20 protesters .  Some estimate that 15,000 protestors will descend on the town.   This crowd is expected to be sprinkled with the ubiquitous "anarchists" who mostly want to destroy and have caused trouble here in the past. 

  It is really fascinating to read about all of this in our local rag, the Nice Matin and has been all eloquently reported in English in the Best of Nice Blog written by my pal Gail.  

Here is her link again:   http://www.bestofniceblog.com/2011/11/01/anti-g20-protests-in-nice/

She has three posts on the subject so far.  Especially shocking to me is the party of 800 people arriving  with Obama alone.  I can understand the need for protection for this beleaguered president, but who and what are all these people?  

And then there is the description of the car that Obama will be traveling in:   Here is how GAil reports it :

The police escorts from the airport to Cannes for the 25 entourages (the G-20 actually has 25 members) will cause major freeway tie-ups on Wednesday, but one cortege to watch for is Obama’s, who will be transported in Cadillac One, also known as ‘The Beast’, the armor-plated sci-fi limo that thinks it’s a tank, and goes with him everywhere.  This specially designed mobile command center is sealed against bio-chemical attacks, has night laser vision, tiny tear gas launchers below the bumpers, special tires that can roll at high speed even if blasted away, an iron-plated gas tank surrounded by foam to prevent an explosion even with a direct hit, pump-action shot guns in the doors, fire fighting equipment, an oxygen supply and bottles of the President’s blood in case he needs an emergency transfusion.

I think someone out there has been watching too much James Bond..... 

but seriously,  I pray that the leaders can come together and actually makes some proposals that are implementable and effective ...something to justify the chaos and expense of all this hullabaloo. Otherwise, I am going to go listen to what the protestors have to say.

From the archive...portraits and nudes III

                                                       Pastel on colored Canson paper

 Had enough of looking at that death mask of my last posting every time I opened Safari so I  am emboldened instead to show some more of my stash of drawings.  The trouble is it doesn't seem to want to post and doesn't show up.  I will try it again now. 

                                 
                                                    Charcoal on white Canson

                                                        Pencil/Charcoal on Canson
                               
All of these drawings are on Format Raisin or 50 x65 cm, Canson paper.  Canson comes from  the ancient paper mill that makes these internationally respected papers for fine art.

 Format Raisin (pronounced "forma raisenh ) falls into designation for French paper standardizing of which there is no American or English equivalent.
 I would love to know where the name comes from.   Another size is called "Eagle" or  "Aigle".  But back to drawing.

                                             Charcoal , brush and water, white pastel

  When drawing a model, I find it easier, and beginners are encouraged, to use the whole paper . Format Raisin is the paper size  recommended for the class called Academy ( Nude drawing).  

However, format RAisin ( reminds me of FRench wine)  would not always be my chosen size for presenting these nudes and intimate portraits for presentation as "pieces" .  Because of the style I have used, I have decided to experiment with a more discreet size, something that the viewer has to move up on.

                                                Using the edge of the charcoal stick


   So I am now attempting to reduce these to use on a 15x20 cm copper or zinc plate for intaglio printing.

  With the use of a digital camera and the computer it has not been a problem to reduce the images.    One just needs to keep in mind that everything will be the mirror image when drawing on the plate with a stylus through a waxy varnish.

Scallop Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Anchovy Crumbs

I would like to share this simple but tasty recipe with you but it belongs to the Financial Times.  It is another winner from the column of the chef Rowley Leigh.  If it looks good to you here you can read the whole article at:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/084ccd72-f45d-11e0-bdea-00144feab49a.html#axzz1cNsCNT00

Suffice it to say that you need to find a source of very fresh scallops which we can find here in Nice at the market at Liberation.  There we have four fresh fish stalls and one dedicated to all kinds of Mediterranean shellfish.

Monsieur and his sous chef, Roger were the ones hard at work in the kitchen so I did not see the process, only enjoyed the results.  Spaghetti and cherry tomatoes and scallops don't quite do it alone .  Its the bread crumb and anchovy mixture that really adds flavor to the mild scallops.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, fresh and cooked

My beloved Monsieur is a tomato freak.  I guess that is the modern way of saying that he is obsessed with tomatoes.  He used to eat so many that he developed an allergy to the whole family of "nightshades" which include, potatoes, eggplant , tobacco, tomatoes and peppers.  At least that is my theory on the mysterious allergy that came and went. 

 For about 10 years he couldn't touch the stuff but suddenly he can again.  Now he is making up for those years with great gobs of fresh tomatoes appearing every weekend as he scours his favorite haunts for the best and most flavorful.  

I am pretty sure that this version of his tomato sauce contains several red and yellow varieties that he carefully blanched, seeded, and cored  removing the hard inner white bits.  He is nothing if not thorough.  He believes strongly that this makes a difference in the outcome.   

Maybe he is right although I am less finicky.  Lately we had a guest who is the best amateur cook we know to sample the dish you see here.  Monsieur gave me all the credit for adding the cherry tomatoes on top which was inspired if I do say so and adds the needed sweetness,  but really the dish is his signature "assiette".

  Our friend pronounced it the winner for best tomato sauce she had ever eaten.  Oh, did I say that the secret ingredient is wine syrup, that he adds during the simmering phase.  EE-umm, EE-umm (Yumm, Yumm) as the FRench are wont to say.

More drawings....

I realized from my last post that I often choose to draw the model from the back.  Besides liking the curves of backs and buttocks,  I think backs are easier to draw than faces.   There is also the system of first come first choice of place in the class.  Funnily enough many students choose to face the model as if they can somehow capture more of his/her essence.  

Still it looks like I have a few portraits and full frontals...

    That I have done over the years...

       I even tried to get a resemblance of one of my brothers with watercolors, but it shows more about his energy than his features, actually.

  This is one of my favorites.  It was done after my teacher, Patrice Juige, suggested that I work with my left hand.  I really couldn't help myself from trying to "perfect" lines all the time which is much easier with my right hand ( je suis droitier) .

But this one shows that it is more interesting to keep the scribble quality and not erase.  This picture is worked with both left and right hands....hard to break the habit of "picture perfect".