Antibes Juan-les-Pins

Antibes
France
1 December 1996
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US$ 295 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
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This was my last day on the Côte d'Azur and, as you can see, a glorious day it was. I spent the afternoon in Antibes Juan-les-Pins where I ate lunch and wandered aimlessly around the old town. I poked into Heidi's English Bookshop, found the most wonderful lavender oil at a little street market and walked by the Musée Picasso which was, you guessed it, closed. Finally, I settled down on the sea wall where I watched some old men play bocce ball before pulling out my paint kit.

After an enjoyable session, I was very pleased with the results — especially with the way the pigment and water formed a perfect ear for the little dog, and with the yellow color of the walls (one of which is the Picasso Museum) against the blue sky. The old men broke from their game and a few came over to look at my work. They looked, laughed and told me "This is a very famous scene! Hundreds and hundreds of people come here and paint that exact same scene over and over again." I replied, in English, "Yes! But they don't have your friend and his dog in their paintings, do they?" This is my favorite painting of all which makes sense because it came after making one after another almost every day for about two weeks. Practice is the way.

Making these paintings saved me from the despair of loneliness and provided me with activity and purpose when I might otherwise have become terribly lost. The painting was also planting a seed that would help me find my way through this touring singer-songwriter lifestyle. As I read back through my notes from this time, it is clear that I knew from early on that the incessant traveling and lack of stability was extremely unhealthy for me but I was in it up to my neck and had four more recording projects ahead of me.

The next morning, after checking out of the Hôtel Pastoral, Monsieur Noël Dumas walked with me, helping to carry my bags, to the train station. I really should have taken a photo of him and Jasmine, his cat. He was very dear and made me feel perfectly comfortable.

Then it was on to the last leg of my tour, through Chur, Domat/Ems and Thun, Switzerland, then Langenau and Munich, Germany before returning to my darling friends in Brussels who have always generously provided me with comfortable, homey landing and take-off accommodations for my European tours.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.