from Rue de L'Orient

from Rue de L’Orient
Bruxelles, Belgium
21 September 1997
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

This was the first and last thing I saw on the way in and out of Europe my first two tours (although I'm sure the crane was not up the whole time). In fact, I first arrived in the dark so this was my first view of Europe from Monique and Arnaud's apartment on the Rue de L'Orient. I painted this just before taking the train up to Eindhoven for the beginning of my 1997 tour.

I am so fortunate to have such dear and generous friends in Brussels who always met me at the airport, provided a warm bed and bath after landing and before take-off, and an open, family welcome on each visit. Visiting with them each year (and then with their new addition, Ignaz) became such a regular part of my life for a while, that I sorely missed them when I quit the touring. They loved and accepted me through jet lag, head colds, awkward disorientation and crankiness.

The life of an independent traveling musician is largely strung together between the ports of these sorts of households along the road. Monique and I were friends long before I ever started to tour and when I went over to Europe, we had the opportunity to reconnect after many years, her husband and I became acquainted (he's a darling) and I was able to meet their new baby and see him grow into a young boy.

The people who open their homes to musicians do a great service by making certain kinds of live musical performance viable in a world where such activity is becoming increasingly rare and difficult. I'll take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the many, many lovely people who hosted me throughout the U.S. and Europe during my touring years. It was a privilege to be invited into the private domains of strangers and make acquaintances in p.j.s over breakfast and to learn a bit about their lives.

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.