Saint Jean Babtistes Church, Workshops in France Travelogue by Robin Weiss

Saint Jean Babtistes Church  12x9 oil on linen  $700

My last blog post was September 5th ...The day Ann and I left on our epic journey to Europe 2019. That was one month ago. In my following posts I am going to attempt to condense this adventure into easy to read parts with tips on how to travel in Europe with painting gear....at least how I did it..There are many resources out there to help you with this and I read a lot before going. I'll be listing many of those as we go along.

 The first leg of our trip was a week in Paris before taking the train to Avignon where I would be attending a workshop with Daniel Gerhartz at Chateau Gadagne (pronounced Ga-dan-ya) , in Provence with the fun loving crew at Workshops in France..More on that leg of the trip later....=]

Paris was our time together in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! To make this part of the trip really special and to learn as much as we could about the places we would visit, Ann thought we should take the Rick Steves "Paris in seven days" tour. That turned out to be a great idea! We loved the tour and learned so much about how to get around in the city and the history of all the areas and places we visited. Rick Steves has an office in Edmonds WA. not far from where we live. They have agents there who will meet with you to map out your entire trip and they are really knowledgeable about it! So that is a great place to start if you are planning your own trip overseas. (click on the highlighted text for links to these sites)

I started several months ahead preparing for this trip. Knew I would need a smaller travel easel that would be more packable and weigh less. I normally use a Coulter style easel that I made myself to suit my needs. For this trip I would need something a little smaller. You can do this too but it does require wood working tools and some wood working experience. The idea was to have gear that I am used to working with to make painting in Europe as comfortable as possible. I took everything with me that I always take when painting on location except for this smaller folding pallet. I would pack my painting gear in my old Kelty  Redwing 50 and then stuff clothes in all the extra spaces....which was not a lot of extra space!!  This pack would be checked. I would also have a smaller carry on backpack with another set of clothes and my sketch book with a small watercolor set. If  something unforeseen happened and my checked bag was lost....it does happen!, I would have an extra change of clothes and something to create art with!!

If you are interested in detailed plans of how I built this pochade box with dimensions, materials, tools needed and step by step instructions send me an email at robinweiss@earthlink.net. It will cost $10 by paypal. If I get enough interest I will put a paypal button on my website.

If you are interested in the sketchbook I brought with me to Europe, you can also email robinweiss@earthlink.net.  I have been making these sketchbooks for a while now and they are also sold at the local arts supply store, Artists Edge in Poulsbo for $15 and $18. These sketchbooks are made with 60lb coverstock leaves. They have a smooth surface that is sturdy enough to hold up to water media with out much bleed through.

This was a sketch I did of the "Hamlet" in the gardens of
Versailles, France.

Our Rick Steves guide took us through the Chateau de Versailles explaining the history of the artifacts, buildings and grounds.

The art work and architecture was amazing! Versailles, a short train ride from Paris, is a must see if you are touring Paris and surrounding areas.

There will be more tips on travel gear and packing in following posts so stay tuned and if you are new to "In Plein Air" please take the time to subscribe. You will get my latest posts in your email and you can also leave comments and questions that I will do my best to answer.

Thanks and happy art travels! =]