Tuna Birthday!

You don't plan on spending your birthday doing hand-to-hand combat with a tuna sandwich. But life is full of little surprises. And when the challange is to paint a tuna sandwich. And you have a deadline, the tuna sandwich takes precedence over champagne et macarons. I'm always saying I never eat birthday cake...
 Last weekend I took myself off to Soho to do chocolate cake research for the same illustration project.

First I went to very 'Frenchie' Ceci Cela patisserie.

And got this layered affair to practice on.

I did manage to get a sketch out of it before I was compelled to eat it. It was melting under the table lamp. What else could I do? Next I headed to Francois Payard's new patisserie.

Tres mignon.

Payard's little Sacher cake didn't even make it to the sketch page.

But it did help immerse me in essence of chocolatie cake research. Just what a pastry artist needs...

The tuna sandwich will not be eaten. It has dried up under the lights. But there is nothing like having real props to work from. The new Ladybug kitchen timer is from the Soho Pylones by the way.

BONJOUR TUNA BIRTHDAY!

Bastille Day

If you were wearing a striped shirt yesterday, dressed in blue, wore a beret, carried a quilted bag... And dragging around a small dog around, you were appropriately dressed for Bastille Day in New York. Then you were allowed to eat all the tarte framboise to your heart's content... Or tarte citron... Patisserie Payard was calling the dress code, so stripes rule... President was handing out free fromage tastes...L.A. Burdict had practically free, very intense cold chocolat for a mere $2 created especially for the day... Galeries Lafayette had free Paris maps for all... Not free, but I should have bought it -a Girl's Guide to Paris sac... Really yesterday's fair should have been called Macaron Day in my opinion...Macaron Cafe had lots of flavors and colors...

Pink Ribbons

Nancy Van Blaricom said...I love ❤️ your paintings with pink in them. No one uses it as well as you. Lovely.
Hmm...I'm toying with redoing my pinkie macaron avatar as a watercolor, so your vote is requested. 

Please vote for A - B - C - D or none of the above or stick with the old photo

Here are somepinkflowers for you while you're voting.
Do you dream 

Of pink ribbons.(on Etsy)

Speaking of pink ribbons.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Do get out your pink ribbons 🎀 
And do all the other essential things we should do this month.
Pink ribbons are everywhere - even on this mini Charlotte gateaux!Payard Patisserie has a lovely pink gateau for you to snack on while voting. Don't wait for November 4th please.

B I G M E R C I!!! I went with A at least for now

BONNE WEEK-END

Taking Tea with...Maitress

Maitresse,Lauren Elkin says I "visually trope". I figuratively jump from subject to subject finding connections. Friends say I'm "scatter brained". The French call it Sauté du coq à l'âne. 

Lauren is a writer, critic, blogger, scholar, the author of, Flâneuse, Women Who Walk the City.

I love the details at Payard Patisserie. Look down and see tea cups ☕️ on the floor. Look up and see molded croissants in the ceiling.

I was early and a ordered Mint tea and waited...enfin Maitress arrived

We laid our cards on the table. Our MOO Cards! Hers are all Venice. Mine are all macarons

Maitresse/Lauren drank Earl Grey. She's in New York from Paris for just a few days.
Payard Macarons and Cherries, original watercolor, 9" x 12"

I love the yellow striped boxes and ribbons and cards at Payard

*** Please REMEMBER the Menu For HopeIII We have just till tonight midnight to help.