WATER (liquid) -& CLOUDS (water in ethereal forms) & Grapes. (written May 14, 2024)


   Water ---  a favorite subject for me to attempt to watercolor.
Above, patterns of a swift-flowing springtime Seine, near l'Île Saint-Louis.  (this looks like something I painted detailing waves in the Comal River)


  
A lock between the Canal Saint-Martin and the Seine.



Looking downstream toward Notre Dame near sunset.









Evening congregating on the banks





 Play of bridge shadows, dusk



Paris has the most delightful puff - pom clouds some times!



And some dramatic contrasts in lighting as well.




Water elements that delight me here...probably even more than the considerable human achievements in view.

I am tonight in Reims...the capital of the Champagne region and of the crowning of French Kings of old.  Today I visited two small production wineries, Veuve Maitre-Geoffroy and Michel Fagot, and learned about what makes champagne champagne..and tasted a few as well.   Apparently Louis Vuitton now owns Dom Pérignon, Veuve-Cliquot and others--but the wines we tasted will not likely ever be available in North America... so special.  I got out to see a panorama from the pinot noir 
vines of Veuve-Cliquot...  The view from the top had a bit of a resemblance from what you imght see in my hometown on a trail on Mount Pisgah, with a branch of the Willamette River down below.  The cool misty-rainy day reminded me of Oregon weather, too.  A little homesick, maybe!  But then my sister Mardi called me on a video call while I was about to get back to my lodging (the Hilton in size and comfort compared to Paris digs), and I felt more connected.



A closeup of the tiny new pinot noir grapes.  In 4 to 6 years or more, molecules within these will be in a bubbly bottle tickling someone's palate


!

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