The French know how to live. It must make life easier when everywhere you look is beauty. Today I actually took a photograph of the inside of a garbage bin! I did so because otherwise nobody would believe me when I said how clean it was! Spotless. My house, even after a thorough cleaning, has never been as clean as this bin.
Everything in France and in Spain was pristine. No ugly billboards, no trash along the highway, no graffiti, at least none that I’ve seen thus far.
I’ve only just started drawing and painting. It’s been very distracting because there is SO much to see and do. We ran around Spain like maniacs and now, settled into the French countryside for the next month, we’re trying to slow down. It’s hard though because there are so many museums, chateaus, gardens, pastry shops, open air markets not to mention the extraordinary scenery. I’m actually curious to see how it impacts on my work. I’m trying to soak up as much as I possible can. As an artist and as a human being, I think travel is one of the most important things we can do. You can’t know the world or, in turn, really know yourself unless see and understand the planet you inhabit. Seeing it via the news or hearing/reading stories isn’t enough. You have to go out and experience for yourself. It changes you. And, in my experience, always for the better.