FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The week started again with rain, a real unhealthy weather and lots of people sick with a cold.

We had our Scrabble at Nicole's and the game was so difficult, that we had to stop berfore it ended because it was getting late for our cake and coffee and we started to have enough.



Outside as often late afternoon it had stopped to rain and the sunset was rather beautiful.



We enjoyed a delicious cake and little Isis who loves company was sitting on the floor

Our local Newspaper had published a picture of all couples who had celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary at the City Hall together with our mayor and and her assistant. 



And here we are standing in the middle. Usually I use our Newspaper for my pouring painting under the canvas, but this one I kept and put it together with the official photo they had taken fr

Together with Myriam and an other friend we were invited to the Vernissage of the Waterloo artists exhibition. All artists living in Waterloo and who wanted to participate had to present one painting. The theme was "Dance"



We hadn't participated because it was not really something for us, but others from our group had and as we represent our painting class we had to go there. There were so many people, the mayor with her youngest daughter and other members of the city. There was a buffet with wine and chips and little snacks which were quickly gone with such a lot of people.

I couldn't take a lot of pictures there were always people standing in front of them. Finally we thought to come back in the middle of the week in the afternoon, where we could see the paintings.
We had just seen the once from our group members.



These were a few paintings I could take a picture, but honestly they were not my cup of tea and I don't think that I will return and see all of them. What I have seen was enough for me.

Unfortunately due to our very humid weather I started asthma attacks and have to stay mostly inside and don't move too much otherwise I get breathless. I never had this so often then this year, because it was rather very seldom that I had it and just this year I don't go to Egypt as I did for the last 10 years and there  the climate helped me. Maybe I will go in February. Don't know yet.

We were not a lot of painters this week, 5 were missing which left a big hole in our group. They all had a cold or weren't feeling well.

What helps me in this dull grey month of November are colors ! Therefore I started a new pouring painting, and in my enthusiasm I had prepared far too much colors for one canvas.  Fortunately I had two with me and did them both. Now the strange thing is, that with one pot of different colors I got two completely different paintings !



Here they are side by side, just drying. It's always a surprise when the colors get on the canvas and it will change again when they are dry !



This one I had done the week before and it is now hanging in our entrance hall.

After class we went to "our" all you can eat Chinese and when we came out we were full ! It tastes so good ! I couldn't eat anything for supper just had an apple.

I only hope the weather will change because next week we want to do an excursion by Bus to the Christmas market in Düsseldorf (Germany) it would be a pity if it rains !

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

MY WEEKEND OF OCTOBER 25

What a busy weekend !

We finished the preparations for our exhibition and when everything was ready



a photographer from the newspaper "L'Avenir" (The future) came and took pictures.



and the article was published the next day !



Now the room was ready for the vernissage



The buffet looked very appetizing, and had a lot of success. Nothing was left !



People started to arrive. Mr. G. met our son's math's teacher, whom I hadn't seen since for more than 30 years  ! Micheline (our teacher) and I posed for a picture.

The vernissage was a full success, there were so many people and also some aldermen from the Waterloo city. At 8 pm I left, I was exhausted it had been a very long day !



Saturday and Sunday the exhibition was open from 11 am til 5pm. We were the guards, in the middle sits our administrator who will celebrate her 80th birthday on Thursday ! On the right the aldermen for culture showed up for once, all the other years he was there probably as a ghost, because we never saw him and he pretended that he had been there ! Politicians have to lie, otherwise they wouldn't be politicians ! Most of the people wrote a little note in our "golden book" appreciating our work.

There were again a lot of visitors



The people chatted and some of them hadn't seen each other in years. This masterpiece of a cat should demonstrate "anger", but everybody thought it was a Halloween cat.



Finally on Sunday the exhibition was over, I was the guard for the last time together with our teacher on my left and Christiane on my right. Ilona came with her mother who is still fit like a fish in the water despite her 90 years !

All in all it had been a very nice exhibition, but now I need some rest !

MY WEEKEND OF OCTOBER 19

A quiet busy weekend ! The day before our yearly painting exhibition, Annie a classmate and I prepared the tables with flower baskets and arrangements. I had bought little figurines which would match the paintings and make the tables more cheerful.



Ready to be put on the tables, we posed with our decoration stuff.



We were quiet satisfied with the result. This took us the whole afternoon.

The next day we had our vernissage.



When you entered the room, this was the view.



People started to arrive. Mr. G. had a drink, Ilona showed her mother some paintings. We sat all together to chat until somebody asked one of us for explanations.



I took pictures of the artist with their paintings. Here is the vintage group aged from 70 to 79 nearly 80.

I didn't stay until the end, I left at 3 pm, because I had to prepare my suitcase for my trip to France. I also was quiet tired from all the explanations I had given and watching over the crowd walking around, that nobody touched the paintings or ran the easels over.

Finally my suitcase was ready and had the right weight, it's funny for me to pack summer clothes while here we have the heating on.

On Sunday morning at 6.30 am Mr. G drove me to the airport and I left a rainy Waterloo to arrive 1 1/2 h later in Marseille where Claudie and her husband picked me up.



After lunch we went to the seafront and now I am sitting under Palm trees. What a change ! It was a little windy but  nice walk along the sea and have a beer in a café at the beach.

VERNISSAGE

If you want to decorate your blog for Halloween, I have free Headers for you here. I amused myself !




Yesterday was the Vernissage of our Exposition in Waterloo. That always sounds very good to a painter even if he is only a lesure painter.

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Before the crowd arrived the room finally ready, looked like this. I couldn't chase the photographer, because he was the official one from the Waterloo local Newspaper ! He must have had the same ideas as me because later too he always was in my way !


Of course as a souvenir I had to take a picture of my hanging paintings.


The men for once worked, Champagne opening is a strictly male business. The present females had to prepare the cookies and little appetizers.



Then arrived the VIPs. The man hidden behind me is the major. I asked somebody to take a picture of the politicians and other VIPs with me but he got it wrong and took a picture of me with them. And with his economical thinking he only took one picture not to use up the film. Digital camera what's that ?


Our teacher talking to some people


We even had very intellectual dogs who as you can see were very impressed by all the paintings.



Our oldest member 84 years old received her daughter, granddaughter and her great grandchildren, who are not on the picture because they were running and playing around. 4 generations, that's something. The family was very proud of her.



Somebody brought a jardiniere and had put it empty on a table. Although it was a very expensive one in christal Saint Lambert, it had to be decorated. Fortunately I found in the garden these mushrooms and a few green branches and made this flower arrangement. Sometimes with very few things you can do something nice.

The whole day people arrived, we had to explain, chatted a lot, laughed a lot and when I finally got home at 5 pm I was half dead ! My feet burnt, my back ached and my head throbbed from all the laughter and chatting noise.

And today it continues !