Jardins, Jardin aux Tuileries, June letter, La Grand Jatte

Only in Paris' parks will you find the iconic, olive green metal chairs. Instant recognition. The annual JARDINS, JARDIN is taking place in the Tuileries this weekend. Garden events take place all over France in June. More giant flower pots 🪴 

There are the usual plant venders. But also stunning, ingenious garden ideas to get you thinking anew.

I wouldn't have minded taking home some organic herbs plants for my roof.

Sculpture Cloé Leray of Fontainebleau makes joyous metal garden delights. A big step up from your usual garden elves.

Supermarché Franprix has a relaxation area - sit in the shade, read garden books and munch on their tiny cocktail tomatoes and perfectly ripe apricots.

These strawberry pots on display are sitting atop other pots

In this curious conservatory structure. Walls of variety grasses are hot too at the expo.

Another 'stand' made only of giant clay pots. Spectacular!

A 3-story construction of just plants with a terrasse included. I should have climbed up.

Delicious free tastes of sugar-free smoothies. Get the green apple, kiwi, spinach concoction.

You can not have a garden in France without some kind of Champagne glass holder, even if it is a mere pitchfork stuck on a planter. It simply isn't done darlings.

Still under the influence of Georgianna Lane's Paris In Bloom, I'm drawing a map of her favorite Paris parks. But what to do for June's PB letter? While researching Pissarro, this wonderful Seurat (his post-Impressionist contemporary) popped up - 'La Grande Jatte. I knew I'd found my June letter art.

A really fun way to discover what makes a great painting great is turn it into a coloring book image. Then build it back to the original color by color. I started with the largest area first - yellow.

The minimal touches of very bright red draw your eye around the picture. So far so good.

After adding the bluish purples I wondered if I should stop there.

The mass of velvety green was OK but I started getting nervous. Who did I think I was messing around with Serat's masterpiece?!

I bit the bullet and plunged on. Hope you like it.

Coming back from the Jardins Jardin expo I spotted these Parisians lunching on the iconic green chairs in the garden. A modern-day Seurat if ever there was one non? Consider a visit.

❤️

I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. Sign up to receive these whimsical treasures in the mail.

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Sunday in the Park with...

Max eats macarons, watercolor

After seeing the extraordinary exhibit at MOMA of Georges Seurat's drawings there was no question. I had to see the new revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Sunday in the Park With George". We were lucky to snag seats on the last row of Studio 54, but seeing in that small theater was no problem

At the exhibit there were 4 handheld sketchbooks. You could turn the pages and get an idea of how Seurat saw things and then captured them on paper. Quite a number of dogs fill those pages. You can turn the pages online if you visit here.

     Beagles prefer macarons, watercolor,

Painting a piece of cake is much easier than painting a dog. I love the way Seurat captured the dog's livliness and animation with such simplicity. I admire even more so his skills after my attempts.

 He made study after study of the individual elements for his masterpiece, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, before he brought them together in perfect harmony.

 In the final painting they are all so well integrated, like pieces of a puzzle locked together in a moment of afternoon sun.

 The dogs add animation and wit to the grand gesture of the painting.

 Photo by Sara Kulwich for the New York Times
British director Sam Buntrock (formerly an animater) uses 21st-century technology to convey 19th-century Pointillist Seurat's vision. These two blank canvases are animated with drawings of scampering dogs that jump and leap and come alive as they do inherently in the painting.

 The finished Seurat work - which you understand much better after seeing the play.

 Photo by Sara Kulwich for the New York Times
The grand finale of the play bursts forth with light, warmth and energy. A painting brought to life!

 There's a grand finale at Studio PB, since my new hounds of Baskerville have arrived.