Lollies for Dali, an homage

14 x 11 inches, acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel               

 painting #299, 2024 - black floater frame 

While window shopping in Halifax a decade ago, I entered the Freak Lunchbox candy store on Barrington Street. I was aware of the existence of Chupa Chups lollipops, but I think that it was the first time that I actually saw some in person. The sight of them gave me a visceral response, so I bought two. Upon my return home, I did a Google search about this candy on a stick. Chupa Chups is a Spanish brand of lollipops and confectionary founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat.    

In 1969, Salvador Dali was approached to reinvent their logo. He would set the Chupa Chups name inside a daisy shape flower and suggested that the logo be place on top of the lolly instead of its' side. It would soon become one of those iconic commercial logos and help propulse the brand. 

Click to view this entertaining bio of Dali

Upon learning this, I knew I had to paint these while paying an homage to Salvador Dali. I would soon acquire a coffee table book entitled Dali Pop-Ups by Courtney Watson McCarthy. The book features the Persistance of Memory on its cover which seemed fitting to anchor a composition. Since these lollipops were hard to find in New Brunswick, I ordered a dozen from an on-line vendor. When they arrived, they were much smaller than I had anticipating, so I decided to put this painting on hold for the time being. Almost a decade would go by.

While standing inline at a self checkout at Walmart this past summer, I spotted a few open boxes of XXL Chupa Chups in the now so-call candy aisle. These were the size that I had envisioned for a painting, so I bought six. In keeping with the narrative, I changed Ball to Dali on the vintage mason jar. It was quite the challenge to paint.     

                                          _________________

My love affair of visiting art galleries and museums across North America and Europe began soon after I began painting in 1987. Among the firsts, was the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (BAG) in Fredericton, the designated art museum of the province of New Brunswick. It was here that I was introduced to the art of surrealist painter/artist Salvador Dali. The gallery owns no less than five of his paintings, among them is one of his masterworks, Santiago El Grande painted in 1957.

This painting was first exhibited as the centerpiece inside the Spanish Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Once the fair closed, the massive painting was acquired by Lady Dunn (Marcia Anastasia Christoforides), wife of the late James Dunn. It was gifted to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery when it opened in 1959. The Dunn's had established a relationship with Dali since that late 1940's, having commissioned three portraits paintings that also hang in the Beaverbrook.

Santiago El Grande, oil on canvas, 1957

Beaverbrook Art Gallery, November 2022.

After many visits to the BAG, it's quite possibly the painting that I've spent the most time admiring inside an art museum during my lifetime.  I was finally able to connect the dots and fully grasp the scope of the imagery with its symbolism and metaphors during the process of preparing my 800 km hike on the Camino de Santiago back in 2009 (Way of Saint James). 

Santiago El Grande translates to Saint James the Great, who's the patron saint of Spain. Legends has it that the apostle James the Great made a miraculous apparition at the Battle of Clavijo during the Reconquista, helping the Christians conquer the Muslim Moors during middle ages. In art, Saint James is often depicted on a white horse while holding a sword and given the name of Moor-slayer. In this Salvador Dali's painting, the sword has been replaced by a crucifix made of light beams with Jesus looking towards heaven. His hands are not nailed to the cross but are facing upwards while forming the shape of cups. Symbolically holding all of the sins of the world.  

Video description of Salvador Dali's paintings

at the BAG, narrated by John Leroux, art historian and 

currently manager of the collections and exhibitions at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.

In 2005, we visited the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. It houses a comprehensive collection of more that 2400 works of all kinds, spanning the entire artistic career of Dali. The collection was acquired over a 40 year period by art patron and friends of Dali, Ohio couple Reynolds and Eleanor Reese Morse. The museum is the home to more masterpieces of Dalí than any other museum in the world, including eight large-scale paintings. In 2011, the collection was moved into a new modern day storm secure complex. 

Self in from of the old Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla. - 2005

My son Jean-Luc, age 10, napping on a melting clock bench at the Salvador 

Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, Fla. 2005.

Over the years, I had a chance to see, The Persistance of Memory up-close on several occasions. Housed in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City, although smallish, it's considered by many to be his most famous painting. I've also had the good fortune to view countless others during my travels and was pleasantly surprise to even discover a few at Musei Vaticani in Vatican City.  

While vacationing in Torremolinos, Spain this spring, we rented a condo-apartment for one week. Less than a km away, along the sea-side promenade are two sculptures of Salvador Dali and his wife Gala who stayed here during the spring of 1930.   

Sculpture of painter Salvador Dali and his muse Gala, 

whom between April and May 1930 resided in the Santa Clara Guesthouse, 

where Dali created the painting "The Invisible Man". 

Avant-garde poets Manuel Altolaguirre and Emilio Prados are the two other figures

who were part of the Generation of '27.

This painting is currently on view at the Fog Forest Gallery in a group exhibition entitled, "Winter Songs" - Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, 2024. (painting will be removed from exhibition if sold). Check website for gallery hours.

To acquire this painting please contact: 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

https://fogforestgallery.ca/

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD

Platform 9 ¾, the Portal to Hogwarts

 

12 x 12 inches, acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel               

 painting #298, 2024 - black floater frame 

I first discovered the Harry Potter books through the Rosie O'Donnell Show in the late 1990's. Rosie was a fanatic from the get go and promoted not only the books, but its author J.K. Rowling (Joanne Rowling), the film series that followed and its stars. I started buying the books at Costco not long after, and anticipating each new releases which totalled seven in the series. Each new book became an event with people lining outside book stores for hours if not days before its release. I read the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone during the month of November/December 2000. 

A great author has a way of keeping the reader engaged. J.K. Rowling's creative story telling, imagination and the whole fantasy world she created just sparked my imagination and painted every scene in my head with details and wonderment. When the films started coming out, I was awestruck by how they were able to recreate that whole world on celluloid. 

Much like the books series that broke sale records, the blockbuster motion pictures were equally on par as a cultural phenomenon. Not to mention all of the derived commercial products associated with this franchise that are still being produced for their legions of fans. The seven books has been translated in over 80 languages and sold in excess of 520 millions copies. On a 1,2 billion dollar budget, the movie franchise comprising of eight films has made a whopping 7,7 billion dollars at the box office. The films which stared then newcomers Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) were surrounded by a stellar cast of the most celebrated British actors including Maggie Smith, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Imelda Stanton, John Hurt, Kenneth Branagh and many more.

Platform 9¾, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (movie scene) 

I ended reading five of the seven books. The only reason why I didn't read the last two was because I had changed jobs and devoted less time for reading. Not because they weren't captivating.  

When the first film was released, it became the highest-grossing film of 2001 and the second-highest-grossing film of all-time after The Titanic. My son Jean-Luc's childhood revolved around LEGOS. When he was six years old, he asked Santa for the Hogwarts Castle for Christmas. Harry Potter Lego sets started coming out during the release of the first film. He had seen it at Costco so when he found it under the tree on Christmas morning, he was as surprised as I was. We spend that whole morning setting it up. Jean-Luc has a very creative imagination, so it wasn't long until he dismantled it and elaborated other versions combining other Lego sets from his collection. 

Jean-Luc with his re-invented Hogwarts Castle, 2002 (age 6 or 7)

In 2010, when Jean-Luc was 15 years old, we visited London and did a few day trips in England. He is still to this day a big supporter of Chelsea Football Club. While we weren't lucky enough to get tickets to see them play a soccer game, we did go on a tour of Stamford Bridge, the stadium where they play. However, we were fortunate to attend a match when Manchester City was visiting West Ham F.C. 

During one of our day trips, we visited the campus of Oxford University. Christ Church College provided the location for many Harry Potter scenes. The staircase below was used to film the famous entrance scene where Professor McGonagall meets Harry, Ron and Hermione. 

Oxford University, May 2010

The staircase then leads up to the Tudor Great Dining Hall which served as inspiration for the great Hogwarts Dining Hall. The hallways of Christ Church were also used to film the scene in which Hermione shows Harry the Quidditch trophy his late father had won.

Oxford University, May 2010

Fast forward 2019, when Jean-Luc was 24, he and I hiked the Portuguese Way on the Camino from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Our 10 day walking trek covered 240 km. Before departing, we visited Porto for two days. JK Rowling lived in Porto from 1991-1993, where she wrote the first three chapters of the first Harry Potter book. The famous Livraria Lello's bookstore's interior is rumored to have inspired the book shop Flourish and Blotts in Daigon Alley for the serial. 

My son Jean-Luc, Porto, July 2019.

Signed by JK Rowling, Livraria Lello bookstore, Porto, July 2019.

Back in 2001, Jean-Luc was collecting Harry Potter trading cards which was part of a card game. I would later incorporate some of these in a painting entitled "Trading Cards".

Trading Cards, 16 x 12", acrylic, painting #64, 2004

This current painting, "Platform 9¾, the Portal to Hogwarts" has been on the backburner for more than 10 years. I initially did of a photo study session back in 2013, but somehow felt the time wasn't right to paint it until now. 

Last month, Jean-Luc, now 29 got married to his sweetheart Jessica. Even the rain could not dampen that day. They exchanged vows in a small garden wedding on her father's property. Many of their close friends had small roles in making it the most memorable wedding that I've attended. I even pitched in by making the wedding cake and cupcakes. This painting seemed like a perfect wedding gift for them both. Jessica is also a fan of the Harry Potter series and is currently reading the books. Jean-Luc recently mentioned that they've watched the films numerous times on DVD since they've been together. I'm happy that this painting will remain in the family since Harry Potter is linked to my son since childhood and continues to follow him in his adult life with his wife. 

Jean-Luc and Jessica's Wedding, Sept. 2024

I had acquired the Harry Potter glasses more than a decade ago as a prop for the composition. All seven books do appear in my painting. These were published by Bloomsbury/ Raincoast in Canada, sharing the same artwork on their book covers as the UK editions. In the US, the books were published by Scholastic with completely different artwork.  

The art cover for the first book for Bloomsbury was a pencil/watercolour by illustrator Thomas Taylor showing Harry boarding the Hogwarts Express. The following books in the series featured more fantasy styled artwork created by Cliff Wright (books 2 & 3), Giles Greenfield (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and Jason Cockroft (last three books).

Illustrations and studies for Harry Potter by Giles Greenfield.

I completed this painting on September 27. Later that same day, I was sadden to  learned that Maggie Smith, who played the role of Professor Minerva McGonagall in film series had died at the age of 89. Of course she is also known for her scene stealing, multi-award winning role of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in the British period drama Downton Abbey.   

-Private Collection 

Anne with an E, an homage to Lucy Maud Montgomery on her 150th Birthday

         14 x 11 inches, acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel               

 painting #297, 2024 - black floater frame 

This painting is an homage to Lucy Maud Montgomery on her sesquicentennial. This is my fourth painting inspired by the Anne of Green Gables novel. Other paintings can be view on this link or by clicking Lucy Maud Montgomery found in the right column under Labels. 

Heritage Minutes

The famous House of Green Gables that served as the setting for the Cuthbert's in the novel was built during the 1830's by the MacNeil family who were related to the author. In 1909, a year after the first Anne of Green Gables book was published, the house was sold to Myrtle and Ernest Webb. Myrtle was a cousin of Lucy.  In 1936, the house was sold to the Government of Canada when it became vacant, later to be turned into a National Historic Site. 

I've visited the house several times, but not in recent years. Two years ago, just before Prince Edward Island was hit by hurricane Fiona, my wife and I spent three days in Cavendish to cycle on the bike paths of the National Park. We then visited the house that now boasted a beautiful interpretive center (2019). I had brought a bottle of Raspberry Cordial with me, and did a few photos on site. Unfortunately, none of the pictures I took were major enough to paint from. Not long after, I found this book published by Paper Mill Press at Homesense, which seemed perfect to anchor a composition.

Anne of Green Gables, the Musical was performed annually from its opening in 1965 until 2019. The musical had to be cancelled for the first time in 54 years during the Covid-19 pandemic. In March 2014, it was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest running annual musical theatre production in the world.

Anne returned to the Charlottetown Festival stage for the 2022 season. However, organizers announced that the show would be produced only in alternating years from then on and would return in 2024, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Montgomery's birth. My wife and I took in the second presentation of the summer season on June 20. We had seen the theatrical production twice, the last time was when our son was quite young. We absolutely loved it. We laughed and even shed a few tears. Kelsey Verzotti as the mellow-dramatic protagonist was a revelation to us. The cast, set decoration and orchestra were equally amazing.

Earlier that day, we visited the Green Gables House again, specifically to do a photo study session for this painting. It was quite possibly the warmest day of the whole summer, with the mercury pushing 34°C and the humidex climbing up pass 40°C. We left Moncton under a blue sky that morning. A heavy downpour came out of nowhere just before arriving to Cavendish. Afterwards, the sky remained partially overcast and grey, so the lighting was not great.  When I opened the soda pop bottle of Raspberry Cordial, with the beverage being cool and the weather being so muggy, the inside of the bottle instantly fogged up. Nonetheless, I did my best to set up a composition under these conditions.

Anne's Room at the Green Gables House

After I got home, I proceeded to do dozens of photos for the sky, bottle, book and apple tree under sunnier conditions. I ended up working from nine photos, using bits and bites of each in order to achieve the imagery for this painting. The book is resting on a bench made from a stone slab that is located across the front lawn of Green Gables House.

In late June, the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled commemorative coins of $1 (loonie) and a silver $20 to celebrate the 150th birthday of L.M. Montgomery. This would also mark the first time an author has appeared on a Canadian coin.

My wife Suzanne at the Lucy Maud Montgomery Park in Cavendish, PEI. - Sept. 2022

The artist responsible for the iconic artwork on the Raspberry Cordial bottle is Ben Stahl. The Chicago born artist / illustrator moved to Prince Edward Island in 1984. He did a series of Anne paintings during the late eighties and early nineties that would make him famous. These were also reproduced on book covers, Canadian postage stamps (2008), posters, decorative plates and coffee mugs. Sadly, Mr. Stahl passed away on June 15, 2024 at the age of 91. Unknowingly doing the photo study in Cavendish five days after his death, this painting is also an homage to him, since it's the imagery on the bottle that inspired the whole painting. Anne's face on my painting is only the size of a dime. It was intricate to paint. My rendition, although not exactly identical, might make her appear more youthful. 

Artwork of Anne by Ben Stahl (1932-2024)

This painting will be on view at the Fog Forest Gallery in a group exhibition entitled, 40 years in the Forest, celebrating the gallery's 40th anniversary - September 6 until October 11. Check gallery website for hours of operation.

Self at the opening reception, Sept. 6, 2024 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

https://fogforestgallery.ca/

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD 

 

The Crown

            12 x 12 inches, acrylic on gessoed mounted aluminium panel               

 painting #296, 2024 - black floater frame

 

The year 2022 marked a milestone and a memoriam for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She ascended the throne on February 6, 1952 at the age of 25 following the death of her father King George VI. On February 6, 2022, she would celebrate her platinum jubilee, marking 70 years as the longest reigning monarch of England and Head of the Commonwealth. She died later that same year on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96. 

As one of the most famous person in the world, Queen Elizabeth II was known for her unwavering sense of duty, responsibility, steadfastness and grace. She always put the needs of her country and her people first. Although she faced occasional republican sentiment and media criticism, most often directed towards members of her family and during certain tragic events; the support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom remained consistently high throughout her lifetime, as did her popularity. 

During her reign, she visited and toured my province of New Brunswick a total of five times. Click HERE for a highlight of her visits. I got to see here briefly in a passing car while visiting Moncton on September 24, 1984.

I've been to England three times. Although I've never visited the inside of Buckingham Palace, my wife Suzanne and I have visited Kensington Palace while Princess Diana was still alive and with our son Jean-Luc, we visited Windsor Castle, where the Queen and Prince Philip spent many of their weekends. 

 

  Buckingham Palace, London, May 6, 2010

Windsor Castle, May 3, 2010

One person who has made the monarchy relevant to the masses is none other than screen and playwriter Peter Morgan. He's responsible for writing extensively about Queen Elizabeth II creating no less than three major productions. First, as the screenwriter for the 2006 film, The Queen starring Helen Mirren in the title role. The movie received rave reviews and earned Mirren many accolades including an Academy Award for best actress.

In 2013, Morgan wrote the play, The Audience with Mirren reprising the role of Queen Elizabeth II. The play revolves around weekly meetings between the Queen and her prime ministers. I had a chance to attend a production of that play as it was broadcast live to cinema on June 13, 2013. The broadcast broke the record for most people viewing a live production with nearly 80,000 people watching in the UK and 30,000 people in North America. I remember waiting two hours in the movie theatre on Trinity Drive before the broadcast started as there were technical issues in London that cause a major delay. Still, Helen Mirren gave a tour de force performance. The conversations with the prime ministers are not held in chronological order so with a magical quick changes of costume and wigs, she could be switching from Winston Churchill to John Cameron within a few minutes.

Lastly, Peter Morgan is also the principal script writer for all six seasons of the Crown on Netflix. I watched a few episodes of season 1 when it first came out in 2016. But it was only when I started this painting late last fall that I watched all six seasons. The Crown has been praised by critics for its acting, directing, writing, cinematography, and production value. However, its historical inaccuracies have been criticized, particularly in the latter seasons. Netflix has noted that it's "fictional dramatisation" that was "inspired by real events". Nonetheless, I have to say that I absolutely love it and found all six seasons riveting. 

The concept for this painting arose upon seeing two companion books written by Robert Lacey about the Netflix series. Lacey also served as historical consultant for The Crown. It immediately ignited the possibility of incorporating them in a still life painting with a Crown mason jar. Last fall, during the process of doing a few photo studies for the painting, I realized that they lacked color and impact. A quick visit to my local Chapters bookstore remedied that problem as I was lucky enough to find a small coffee table book entitled, The Platinum Queen published in 2022 by Allen & Unwin. This book is a photo essay that chronicles more than 75 speeches given by the Queen during her reign. 

In 2012, during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary), the Royal Collection would acquire four of Andy Warhol's famous serigraph portraits of Queen Elizabeth II that were exhibited later that fall at Windsor Castle. Click HERE to view the acquired artwork.

During her Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II would get the royal treatment by gracing the cover of the May 2022 issue of Vanity Fair Magazine, with three variations of Warhol's portraits. 

On November 24, 2022, two months after her passing, a serigraph prints entitled, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from Reigning Queen, Royal Edition was sold at auction by Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Toronto for $1,141,250 CDN, double the pre-auction estimated price. Click HERE to view.

For this painting, I not only wanted to pay homage to the Queen but to Andy Warhol as well.  Incorporating a Pop Art portrait in the background would create a myriad of colors inside the canning jar. In order to establish a more cohesive palette, I took the artistic liberty of modify several colours. After painting her face a pale shade of blue, I then proceeded to paint several thin glazes of a peach hue to tone down the blue in order to avoid references to the Blue Man Group. I procrastinated for the longest time in painting the Queen's face that appears on the book. That photograph is attributed to Getty Images. Because of the perspective of the book which physically alters her features, her profile in pencil almost looked like Mr. Burns of the Simpsons. All joking aside, I was able to pull it off. In the original photo, the pearl necklace she is wearing has three strands. I opted for two so it would have more presence. 

I did a quick online search and found that the original photograph Warhol used to create his serigraph prints was taken by Peter Grugeon (1918-1980) at Windsor Castle in April 1975. It was later released in 1977 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee. Reproduction of this particular image was used extensively, appearing on commemorative merchandise as well as banknotes across the Commonwealth. In Canada, it was printed on a 25¢ stamp, which I collected at the time when I was 15 years old. On the original photograph, the dress she's wearing is in a pale shade of pink with pearl embellishment, while on the Canadian stamp it appears more to be in a mauvish tone which was the color I settle on for my painting.

Canadian Stamp SC 704 - 1977

photo by Peter Grugeon

She is wearing a collection of Royal Jewels: the Vladimir tiara, Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee necklace, Queen Alexandra's wedding earrings and the Family Orders of King George V and King George VI on the Garter sash. The tiara has a fascinating history since it was smuggled out of Russia by a British antiques dealer after the assassination of the Tsar Nicholas II and members of the Romanov family. It was later bought by Elizabeth II's grandmother Queen Mary. It originally belonged to the Grand Duchess Vladimir (1854-1920), the wife of the Tsar's uncle, Grand Duke Alexandrovich of Russia. She was the last Romanov to escape Revolutionary Russia and the first to die while in exile in France. 

Both sporting killer moustaches,

Emperor (Tsar) Nicholas II of Russia with

his doppelganger first cousin , 

George V (grand-father of Queen Elizabeth II)

photo- Wikipedia

Vladimir Tiara

The Crown mason jar in my painting is dated 1947 on the bottom. It was actually made in Canada, but for the narrative I substituted it's origin to England. The jar is only one third fill with water. I often insert a marble in the composition as a form of symbolism when my intention is to play a mind-game with the looker. More recently, in the early 21st century, increasing dissatisfaction with several members the house of Windsor and the Royal Family, especially after the death of Queen Elizabeth II has led to public support for the monarchy reaching historical lows. 

With a reign spanning seven decade, Queen Elizabeth II was the only sovereign that most of us have known during our lifetime. She was as much of an institution as anyone in modern history. I leave you with one of her speeches that is written on the back cover of the book featured in the painting. 

''For more than seventy years, I have been lucky to meet and to know many of the world's great leaders. And I have perhaps come to understand a little about what made them special.

It has sometimes been observed that what leaders do for their people today is government and politics. But what they do for the people of tomorrow - that is statesmanship.

I, for one, hope that this conference will be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have the chance to rise above the politics of the moment, and achieve true statesmanship''. 

-Her Majesty, the Queen. Address to the COP26, urging world leaders to find solution to the climate challenges facing our planet. Nov. 1, 2021.

This painting is currently on view at the Fog Forest Gallery in a group exhibition entitled, "Summer Views" - July 11 to August 30, 2024. (will be removed from exhibition if sold). Check website for gallery hours. 

Fog Forest Gallery

14 Bridge Street, Sackville,

New Brunswick, Canada, E4L 3N5

Phone (506) 536-9000

https://fogforestgallery.ca/

e-mail: janet@fogforstgallery.ca

-SOLD

Confiture de Fraises

7 x 5", acrylic on gessobord 

Painting #295, 2024

I've just returned from a solo trip to France where I spent 24 days. My main goal was to walk again on the Camino de Santiago Trail network. This time, my trek began in Périgueux in the rain, on the Vézelay Way GR-654. It’s a much less traveled path. My first three days were spent on the Bergerac variant. I left the Vézelay Way after 9 stages, and transitioned onto the Puy-en-Velay Way GR-65 during my 10th stage (so I was off the grid from Villeneuve-de-Marsan to Aire-sur-l'Adour). My last six stages took me to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and the finish line. Having previously completed 10 stages in 2017 and 14 stages in 2018, by walking these last six stages, I've completed the Puy-en-Velay Way (752 km). After five treks on the Camino de Santiago network (2009, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2024), I have now accumulated 78 stages in France, Spain and Portugal totaling over 2000 km. I hope that there will be more in my future.

Saint James Gate and the finish line!

Before departing on my Camino, I had an opportunity to visit some friends, Chantal and Thierry who happen to live 5 km from Périgueux in France. The Dordogne region of France is known for its vineyards and the land of 1001 castles. After I was done hiking on the Puy Way, I spent three days in the Basque country in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Bayonne and Biarritz. As luck would have it, the Olympic Flame of the Paris Summer Olympiads would be making its way to Bordeaux during my last day in France. I had the opportunity to take part in the festivities surrounding the Olympic Torch Relay. Having been a torch bearer twice, it meant the world to me to just bask it all in.

This small painting was gifted to my friends who picked me up at the Bordeaux airport, hosted me in their beautiful home for two days and share with me some the local culture, cuisine and wines.

-Private collection - FRANCE