Does your life fly by? Mine sure does! How does time go by so fast? I just returned from another amazing trip to Europe, and now summer is quickly approaching. It's my favorite time of year. You know how they say the older you get, the faster time goes by? It's the truth! I'm only 53 now, I can't imagine what it will be like when I'm 70 or 80. It makes me realize that every moment is precious, and will never come again. When I'm painting, time stands still. I am entranced in the moment and all of my thoughts and senses are given to my work in front of me. It's a magical gift. I often tell people who don't paint, that they should try it, just for this reason. I am so fortunate to have been gifted this passion. My art has gotten through many trying times and will always be there for me.
I painted this Poppy painting around 2012 but It's still a favorite. My love of the impressionists and my passion shows in this piece. I try to convey that with each piece and although my work has evolved over the years, it's still in me. When I was about 16, I did a Renoir copy of his "Dance in the Country". I wish I still had it. It wasn't a total copy of course, and I used pastels back then; but it symbolized my love for beauty, romance, history, fashion...everything I loved. Out of all the art I could choose this was the piece that resonated with me the most. I feel a closeness to Renoir's work. So imagine how ecstatic I was to find myself in Renoir's home! We didn't research very much before our trip, just stumbled upon what cam in our path. Anita, a long time blogger friend, recommended St Paul de Vence (an amazing village that I have to post about later) Since we were in that area I noticed Musee Renoir, so we drove up to it and happily paid 6 Euros to get a glimpse of where Renoir lived and painted until he died. It was amazing. Walking the property that he painted, I was overwhelmed with inspiration. The olive trees are gorgeous! I felt as though he was there among them.
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| me with Renoir's Painting |
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| the gorgeous olive groves |
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| another bather of Renoir's |
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| My painting (revised and sold) |
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| My painting (sold) |
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| My painting (sold) |
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| My painting from a challenge on Dailypaintworks (sold) |
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| Renoir's Home |
My love for Renoir's art is forever and I feel closer to it than ever. I can't forget my love for Van Gogh and Monet, and more recently loving John Singer Sargent. Those are just a few, and I admire so many living artists! But for now, I'm trying to focus on when I started my art journey and why. So going back to when I was 16, in my art class helps. I could go back even further. I have memories of being about 5 or so, drawing on computer paper with my sister. My dad was an engineer and would bring home stacks of computer paper for use to draw on. Our world came alive with those blank pages and we would spend hours drawing and cutting out paper dolls. Fashion was one of my first passions. It shows up often in my art.
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by Jennifer Beaudet Zondervan
sold |
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by Jennifer Beaudet Zondervan
sold |
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by Jennifer Beaudet Zondervan
sold |
Now off to paint my passions!
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by Jennifer Beaudet Zondervan
sold |
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by Jennifer Beaudet Zondervan
sold |
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by Jennifer Beaudet Zondervan
sold |
So many paintings, so little time!
