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A Summer in France - Part 2 of 6

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A Summer in France - Part 2 of 6

One of the fascinating aspects of traveling to another country are the people you meet. The galley staff included a young man I met who lived in the apartment above the galley and was responsible for maintenance etc. Over coffee I found out that he was a British Expat and a former boyfriend of Elton John, his circle of friends included many of Rock n Roll's superstars along with the American artist David Hockney and my villa's landlord, Nall. His stories of big money and the lifestyle it buys still fascinates me today.
Along with others, I met a fellow Canadian artist named Jim from Montreal, a college roommate of Pierre Elliot Trudeau who had been living in France for quite a few years, well connected locally and still to Canada. He explained how the Russians at the turn of the century invested heavily in the region's real estate and many of these old large estates where run as artist retreats to beat French taxes, as was the one I was staying at. The soaring land values made these targets of real estate tycoons who left no stone upturned to get their hands on them, including but not limited to clandestinely greasing the steps in hopes of causing a severe enough fall to put any reluctant elderly owners permanently into a hospital.
Such where many of the evenings spent at the local Bistros until the wine finally blurred the mind enough to seek some sleep.
Another unique French tradition was the many artists who would set up their easels daily near the gallery creating copies of famous paintings in hopes of selling these copies to tourists.

My focus was not only to sell my work through the Galley but also to gather enough reference material to take home to paint later. To this end we continued to scour the country side more and more. Each day I would target one of the many surrounding villages and spend a few leisure hours walking the medieval streets.
Few citizens had the luxury of owning a lot of land and therefore live in many smaller apartments in the village centers but their love for the outdoors is immediately apparent by the many beautiful decorated flowered windows. Those lucky enough have balconies often grow virtual gardens which to any artist are a visual delights.

One of my favorite villages is Mougins, my first view was a geranium filled window cradling a bird cage in the center of an old stone wall. Street after street offered these charming vignettes that any artist would love to paint, they give insight to our human condition. While windows can get you smiling, doors are every bit as interesting for they either welcome us or warn us emotionally to keep out.

We lived roughly between the larger cities of Nice and Cannes and often took turns visiting each. Nice has a significant harbor where all manner of international vessels including cruise ships dock. it also has a long stony beach overseen by the equally long Blvd 'd Angle ( English Blvd named after an English man who long ago helped fund this beautiful promenade). Today it is filled with locals and tourists alike who stroll or sit on the many benches overlooking the Mediterranean while in areas underneath restaurants flourish and offer umbrella shade lounges on their section of private beach. The center of this public space is anchored by the stately Negresco hotel complete with a uniformed doorman. The old quarter of Nice offers many fantastic stores and restaurants for the hungry where you can watch all manner of buskers while enjoying your meal.
While doing just that, I noticed a couple of windows visually connected with a profusion of vines. The one appeared to have had knitted wool curtains with an inscription the read "Chalet Manuela" in the plastered wall below. Later while strolling along further I chanced by a short alleyway whose building colors of red /orange and white stood out against the Mediterranean blue sky which I just had to paint.
Traveling further east one comes upon Villefranche-Sur-Mer, complete with a Canadian university facility and a natural harbor sprouting a massive water fountain in its center. The coast at this point meanders somewhat dotted with more villages like St-Jean-Cape-Faret, Beaulieu-s-Mer, Ez and finally Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo along with it's district Monaco, is by all standards the city to live in if you are part of the 1%. This principality is a virtual country within a country and boasts a number of annual world class international events, like auto racing's Monte Carlo Grand Prix.

Driving to Monaco presents one with a choice of roads, there are actually three "Corniche" roads, the lower (basse), middle (moyenne), and upper (Grande), that run from Nice to Menton, the last French town before the Italian border, all run in a zigzag manner along the steep cliffs of the Mediterranean north shore and often featured in James Bond's 007 hair razing car chases, it was on one of these sharp turns that Princess Grace Kelly lost her life.

We arrived during the Grand Prix time trials when they shut the roads until after lunch so the racers can practice driving the course which afterwards I
drove to feel what the race might be like.
I had been approached by a British publisher to discuss doing some Auto Racing art and was to meet them in Monaco. After introduction formalities I was taken to the very exclusive Automobile Club DE Monaco by a gentleman who owned the main art gallery in part of the Hotel 'd Paris across from the famous Monte Carlo Casino also of James 007 Bond fame. The club was full of motor racing's famous faces I though I recognized like Graham Hill and James Stewart.

During our conversation I discovered that this gentleman had worked for England's venerable Sotheby's Auction House and during an appraisal trip to Hamilton, Ontario Canada, had bought the said paintings to resell himself directly, thereby quitting Sotheby's with enough money to start his
prestigious Monaco Galley. It's really a small world!

The race was scheduled two days later so we strolled the pit and staging area while watching the many bleachers being erected for the race. My favorite place to watch these time trials was the open air restaurant across from the Casino and the Hotel 'd Paris as the racers drove around the traffic circle there.
It was interesting sight was watch all the super yachts jockeying for positions along the harbor's main straightaway across from the Olympic size pool. My wife and daughters meanwhile found more interesting things to do by visiting the imposing multistory Jacques Cousteau Marine Museum perched high along the Mote Carlo's shoreline.

Race day is best watched on TV for you can see the entire course rather than just the cars directly in front of you.
Another interesting thing is to go the Prince's palace and watch the Guards do their thing when changing. We arrived just as a bus load of school kids got there on a field trip excitingly yelling things in French. Further down from the Palace is the church where Prince Rainier of Monaco married Grace Kelly and later sadly buried her.

Overall I found little to paint in Monte Carlo, I felt the city is too structured and conservative, lacking the neat little visual jewels one can find in many of the smaller places. So we continued our journey.

Michael Swanson is a Canadian Artist who enjoys traveling to capture some of the world's great places. You can subscribe to these blogs at upper left of screen.