My Friend Sue

#158B Sue's Tea Cup

Last week a surprise package arrived full of little teacups from my friend Sue.

I met Sue on Flickr. She would be the first one to leave comments on my watercolors and they were such persceptive comments.

"I love that tin and the "sugar scoop" ...so painterly. And the peony and glass are beautifully accomplished with just a few sweeps of paint."

"...love the swirls on the left, and those cherries are excellent--I particularly like the one with lavendar/bluish tinges on the right..."

"...What a wonderful marriage of colors."

Bluebird watercolor by Suzanne Smith

It turns out that Sue not only takes fantastic photos of birds, which flock to her doorstep with wild abandon, but she paints them beautifully! Sue has a collection of flower vases up the whazoo and takes divine photos of them.Flower Vase watercolor by Suzanne Smith

And then she paints them too! Did I mention Sue's garden..well Sue lives in North Carolina but she definitely has a green thumb!
Sue started a blog recently and you HAVE to visit puleeeeze! A Brush with Color -It's a daily delight full of her photos, paintings and great quotations like:

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.”(Claude Monet)

And:

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can."(Danny Kaye)

What a wonderful life I’ve had. I only wish I’d realized it sooner!” (Colette)
God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.”(P D James)

 Sue's delightful work can be seen on Zazzle . Sue nudged me to go on Zazzle too... When I was showing off my messy studio I begged Sue to show hers... She sent me this photo and self-effacing note, This is all I have for a studio.

Sue has even painted her studio! This would be a near impossible task for me I fear...Sue has just done a book on Blurb and is gently nudging me to do one...

Please take a look. It's lovely!

Sue doesn't know I'm doing this post...she might decide to sue me. I hope not :)
BONJOUR Sue!

PS all photos and watercolors are by Suzanne Smith(c) (except for Yellow Bird..)

Rement Book

 French Treats , original watercolor, 9" x 11"

Sometimes you're willing to make a "Faustian Bargain" (i.e. a deal with the devil) to get a prized book.

You'd even consider giving up your left elbow for said prized object of your desire. When I first laid eyes on Pierre Herme's Mini Dessert Collection, I've become an ardent collector of miniatures.

I finally got my paws on the MUCH sought after mini Croquembouche and I can't wait to paint it!

This is just a mini portion of my ever growing collection.

 The book all Re-ment Addicts dream of.

THIS is our Holy Grail. We dream about THIS book. It came out in 2005 and is in Japanese - all 130 pages of it.
It's called Re-ment Book by the way.

It's basically a soft bound catalog of all the miniature sets Re-ment brought out since they started producing these fabulously detailed wonders. Did I mention Re-ment is in Japan. The minis are made in China.

All sets are 'blind-boxed' so you never know what's inside. In Japan you walk into your local grocery store for stacks of Re-ment boxes. Each set like the French Treats Set in the watercolor is a 'limited edition'. After a bit, Rement breaks the molds, making the set a collectors item and more valuable. There's a hot biz on Ebay for these minis.

 You can go to Rement Queen, pay a set price and know exactly what's in your box and be assured of getting it quickly. Most ebay dealers are in China.
Now you know another of my obsessions, along with shooting ice cream cones and...I forget all the obessions I have. Anyone read Japanese here?
BONJOUR RE-MENT!  

Quelle Wreck 2

#156B Paintbox 2, original watercolor, 9" x 11"

Time for another visit to my chaotic studio.

This is my paintbox - not at all like the pristine box in the watercolor above. But then the model posing is teeny, tiny from Rement Queen...ahemSo I'm back in "Get Organized" class for a 2nd go round, hoping for some major improvements...ahem *Note frog peering behind my laptop - a gift from Cousin Bill and a reminder to reread EAT THAT FROG! so I can make more progress this time. We've been requested to take some studio shots..to show what our office looks like. Shhhh Do not tell! I am not showing these. Just you get to see them. One improvement from last studio visit is this pile of notebooks, inspired by Janice. Now if I could just take them down occasionally and update them, life could be wonderful. This improvement I came up with by myself... All my watercolors are now filed chronologically by month and year and so much easier to find, then when they were in a mixed-up pile on the shelf. YAY! Course the rest of the desk needs serious work Darlings. Well that's why we're back in class don't ya know...ahem And it may take a few more re-dos to get some order in this place. And the other desktop has had some improvements, even if not visible to the naked eye. Do any of you watch SUPERNANNY? Supernanny comes into your home and organizes your brain and your family (i.e.kids) with games and structure and to-do lists etc. If you misbehave you go to the "Naughty Chair".Well worth watching for those who live in chaos. Time for a little sit down in my naughty chair don't you think?

BONNE JOURNEE!

BHV

#155B Paintbox still life, original watercolor, 9" x 11"

When you consider looking for art supplies in Paris, your first thought is where are the art shops?

It just so happens that BHV, the big Paris home supply department store, now has a FAB art department...on the first floor too. It used to be quite meager.

NO MORE!
Remember how I raved about Rick's old fashioned lace curtains...you can get them here too. Just bring your measurements puleeeze!
Their book department is terrific too and greets you as you enter from the rue des archives door.
Tassles, ribbons, every decorative treatment under the sun plus how-to-do-it demos and classes are offered (in French) at BHV.
A vast selection of traditional door handles and other accessories are so tempting to bring back to the US...
This stick-on wall mural for example...
A Frenchie looking breakfast tray too....
7 floors to wander through, as good as a visit to the Louvre almost..
AND they have JAM!!!
AND MACARONS! Well OK macaron candles...ahem
BONNE JOURNEE!

Tarte Tatin Collection

#154B Basket of Pommes, original watercolor,  9" x 11"

There seem to be a lot of apples at PB lately...ahemMaybe because I got these cute little Re-ment suckers in the mail from Hong Kong yesterday...Along with collecting pictures of ice cream cones in Paris, I collect pictures (and only pictures for those of you who think I weigh in at 500 lbs.) of Tarte Tatins...Tarte Tatin was the first Parisian dessert I fell in love with... You never forget that?It's true I haven't had it much since though..
Going into a sugar coma isn't much fun, but it is the most gloriously glossy dessert in existance just about, and still fun to gaze at...
Did you know Tarte Tatin has to be made with firm dessert apples, typically made with Golden Delicious apples according to Wiki...nothing mushy will do. Does anyone make a proper Tarte Tatin besides the French? Well Aussies Test Crash Kitchen have a video on their site and they make it look awfully easy...Isn't this patient French Cocker Spaniel Tarte tatin colored? What about Tarte Tatin Chocolate bars for a nice change?

BONNE JOURNEE!