I have been taking every possible opportunity to paint and draw my new home here in Paris France. I built a shallow wooden box off the back of my bicycle to hold my painting pallet and a small canvas. I have a canvas shoulder bag that I use to carry my oil paints and brushes. I’m at Notre-Dame Cathedral along the Seine in just 5 min after leaving my apartment. Every day I’m waking up into what feels like a dream too good to be true. It’s now been a full year since my arrival to France and I feel like I’m just now getting some solid footing under my creative practice. The mixture of history and architectural splendor that surrounding me here is nothing short of intoxicating. For this transplant from the heartland of the USA Paris has blown open a whole new world of creative potentialities. Making paintings on location has become an excellent way to become more deeply rooted in my new home.

Creating art on location becomes a powerful act of love in a world where many people are struggling with compounded fears for their future. It is a relief to see an artist taking the time to make a little piece of beauty in a public space on a cold overcast winter day. It’s charming, it’s old fashioned, and it’s fun to watch a city view come to life on a little 20 x 20 cm stretched linen canvas before your very eyes. It seems like a magic trick because it actually is magical.