Paul

This morning the rain soaked streets were shiny and the sun appeared just in time for a sunrise watercolor session in Place de la Concorde. Afterward we hiked up to the Eifel Tower, then caught the Metro to the Isle de Cite for a sketch session at Notre Dame. Busy day!

I took my group on the Paris tour of art museums today. Lots of walking, overload of art , but we stopped for a few hours to paint in front of Napoleon's Carousel before tackling the Louvre. My group is awesome, open minded and carefree. I love traveling with these folks!

The light at Mont St Michel depends entirely on the weather. This trip we got all versions of light, mostly the wet kind, but occasionally the sun shone through and we made the most of the time we had.

For the past three days I put this fantastic group through rigorous exercises in sketching Mont St Michel in watercolor. We had a great subject to work with and got a variety of weather conditions to render in. It rained a bit, but gave us atmosphere and dramatic light. I was so pleased with the…

Only the brave or foolish venture out in the quicksand at low tide without an experienced guide to lead the way. You really wouldn't want to be caught out there when the tide comes roaring back in. It is a beautiful sight to watch the pilgrims hike out for a better view

The rain might deter some from making the walk to the Mont, but I am always in search of a stormy sky to add a bit of drama to the landscape. We held class inside this morning as it drizzled, but later went out and braved the elements for even better views.

Never the most cooperative subjects to paint are the local sheep that feed on the saltgrass around Mont St Michel. They tend to wander in and out of the view as we work. We did a bit of shepherding today to get them to pose for us, and as thanks, we skipped the Rack of…

In every light the silhouette of Mont St Michel is captivating, but with a dramatic sunset it is so breathtaking you can hardly look away. Rising up from the quicksand of the surrounding bay, this rock and the ancient city upon it are the inspiration that brought us here.