girl at large

home sweet home (for two weeks anyway)

my sister Margaret was freed from her own personal "Survivor" experience of living in Chile for one year today...she landed in the good ol' US of A and says "I'm so excited I could spit." welcome back sis.

happiness in la poste

another package (large and lumpy!) from Ryan today! two more books, and oh am i hungry for more reads...one, a paperback copy of a favorite (i borrowed from him almost five years ago, never had my own copy)... The Secret History. i'm also reading The Little Friend, by the same author, Donna Tartt. very good stuff, juicy without being banal.

and funny postcards, including a classis mid-80's Duran Duran image...where did he find that? and drawings, and poetry...what goodies! hmm...what to send him from the Cote d'Azur? one of those classic men's swimsuits? you know the ones..giant Jackie O super chic sunglasses? postcards from the Grand Prix? really bad British tabloid newspapers? must put some serious thought to this...good project.

mom, the drama queen

1) mom plays up her sailing injury (for those who can't spot it, look for the mosquito-bite/zit on temple, near hairline, use zoom as needed). 2)while she moaned, i worked on Haut de Cagnes 1, acrylic on paper, 18" x 26" 3) lesson learned, mom and bert familiarize themselves with new high-tech lifejackets 4) Bert: "They say you should wear it around, get used to it inflated" um, while drinking wine? 5) mom inspects her lifejacket, note presence of cigarette..um, mom? i don't know if you quite have the idea...

maybe i should get a scooter, or is that asking for euro-death?

my attempt to go up to the studio in La Colle sur Loup was thwarted this morning by the french national pasttime...the buses are en greve..again.

culture exhange

ran into my french teacher Sihame today, we had a coffee and a nice chat. she's forever curious about american culture (she watches all the wrong american movies and takes them literally). our conversations never fail to have an exchange similiar to this one:
-"ees it true dat everyone in ze u.s. 'as ze compooter in ze 'ous?"
-"pas de tout, mais tout les gens, particularment les jeunes a les ordinateurs dans les maisons, oui."
remember when she believed the one about american airline companies spraying newly arrived europeans with disinfectant at the international terminal at JFK? she amuses me. and i rather enjoy dispelling her misconceptions, even better when done in very bad french. she forgives me that. she does not, however, forgive my explanation of "personal space".

ok, this is why you wear a lifejacket

mom came home tonight from a day of sailing....through the door, announcing...."You're making dinner, Bert is on his way after he's done hosing the blood off the boat, I've been injured!" how's that for a greeting?!

turns out she got smacked by the boom, after or right before (?) one of the forestays for the mast seemingly snapped (turned out a turnbuckle just undid itself) and they thought the mast would topple over, so then she let all the 'power' out (which i think means letting the sails go slack?) so it wouldn't pull on the mast as they were under sail, hard on the starboard side when all or one of these things happened...and then also somewhere in the garbled story i've heard there may or may not have been a shark (or large turtle) in the water at the same time. are you confused? i am.

they say there was blood everywhere...the sponge (?), the rag Bert managed to find, her clothes and shoes, the cockpit of the boat. as mention before, Bert hosed it off. the actual injury (right temple) looks precisely like a mosquito bite.

Ruby licked her legs from toe to knee...grooming the injured in her pack.

like i said before, remove all the romanticism and sailing sounds much like a Chinese torture manual. the shoes are cute though.

Euro-problems

i said awhile back (October 2002 archives) that i knew moving (again) wouldn't solve my problems, that they always come with you..they'd just become "Euro-problems". well, i was right. its not the end of the world, but i'm feeling frustrated tonight. i know i can do this art thing, and i'm loving every minute of it....but...as you know, the first school didn't work out and the second is just a day and a half every other week..not enough. i'm searching out some other options later this week, in Cannes for example...i really need to get out of the house more...i'm using the little balcony as a studio of sorts, but it is feeling cramped as well. i'm dying for my own studio space..but how to get/pay for it? i can't get a job here yet (still trying to figure out the visa thing, which is a serious bitch, but i do have a new option, more on that later)..and even if i could, that would seriously cut into the time i need to develope my work. the work isn't really ready to sell seriously yet, so there is no money from that (aside from Aunt Anna's recent purchase of LTM1..thanks Annzie!)...its a giant hamster wheel going 'round and 'round..to nowhere!

forgive my rant, it's probably just PMS.

life/figure drawing night

click on an image to see larger version in new window
10-minute figure studies No.11 through No.15
charcoal/sepia pencil/graphite on paper (approx. 12" x 24" to 20" x 28")

child-minder losses little girl in POC (Pile of Crap), british tele to make series, "Help! My Messy House ate my Child!"

that boy knows my brain

i just received a loving package from my dear friend Ryan (pictured above in my Savannah digs, at Christmas time, in post-jogging-after-hard-night-drinking stupor with the i'll-nap-anywhere-warm Ruby)....three brilliant books, the first of which i devoured this morning, the second of which i'm mid-way through and the third i will save for later. needless to say, the local english language bookstore is lacking somewhat in selection. thanks much Rydog. kisses...your girls miss you.

Soul Wigs

my sister Margaret and her husband Ryan are moving to London next month, but heading home (from Chile) to the states for family visits (and much packing) first, including a trip to visit in-laws in North Carolina and Georgia. they'll be stopping for a night or two in Savannah...i've passed along my 'real Savannah' tips for cheap boozing and greasy chicken as well as must-do photo ops such as a Broughton Street classic...Soul Wigs.

instructions

for those new to my new blog format and for those who find they are link-impaired, a few viewing tips:
>if you find an entry topic interesting and want to read others in the same category, click on the link (teenie weenie blue type, curser should change to teenie weenie hand) of the category name (ie: domestic bliss, GAL's best friend, etc) at the bottom of that entry. you'll be taken to all other entries in the same category.
>if you'd like to see all 'studio' entries for instance, which contain links (look for blue words in entry copy) to my drawings and paintings, find one studio entry (should be one every other day or so) and click on the word 'studio' at the bottom (little blue type)
>note, to make it easier to find images, i'll be putting up more as thumbnails (see ruby and sweater entry below) ..small images that when clicked on become..magically...bigger!
>if you have something to say (publicly), click on 'comments' (again, small blue type at bottom of each entry) and post a public comment. read others comments here as well.
>if you have something to say (privately), click on "katemikkelsen" (once more, small blue type at bottom of each entry) and send me a direct email.

any questions, email me as instructed above (or to katemikkelsen@aol.com) and i'll gladly send you a postcard instead.

ruby naps with randomly-tossed sweater

crush

i love this guy. i mean really loooooove him. why is it always photographers?

tele

i think mom and i watch too much late night british tele....last night, flipping through the six or so satelite channels that do come in, we saw a man and woman playing table tennis...in a most unusual way. let's just say that she was doing all the serving and was not standing behind the white line..in fact, not standing at all....

i don't know what was more shocking/amusing..that sight, or mom lingering over that channel!

believe it or not, i don't miss Mountain Dew

i miss some strange things from home...mostly personal hygiene products i cannot find in french drugstores/pharmacys such as Pretty Hands and Feet rough skin remover...relieved to find it online; nothing else works like it, very important in flip flop weather. of course, shipping overseas changes the usual price of $5.99 to something like $15 a bottle, but i can use the money i save now that i can buy my usual supply of Nutella (check out the Kobe Bryant bobble head doll, if only i'd saved all those labels!) at local prices.

still raining

its still rainy and grey today, but not a terrible thing...a nice change really (i know, from the gorgeous sun, cry me a river)...but Bert and Mom haven't been able to sail LTM except that once since she's been seaworthy! so, more time tweaking and spending dough on tools and supplies...Bert is currently enamored with a new tool set. seems strange to me to be getting a fancy-schmancy tool set AFTER all the repair work is done!

LTM view with completed mast and boom. Bert looking very 'boatie'.

seeing clearly

it will be a few days before this one is done, but i like to take shots of work in progress in case i need to see later where i went wrong...
Haut de Cagnes 1 (acrylic, 20" x 28").

speaking of seeing, here i am heading out for girls night Saturday, sans lunettes. (yes, Ryan, i cut off all my hair again..sorry)

stuck inside

its a rainy day, after a stormy night so i'm working inside today...lots of piles of stuff to paint around here! including, the Coat Tree (watercolor and oil pastel 10" x 10").

big news

yesterday was a big day around here....Mom and Bert got La Tishie Mae under sail and out to sea for the first time! (mom was positively wrecked when she got back late afternoon...that sailing stuff is hard work!) and i finally got contacts again...i've forgotten how nice it is to see without a big set of frames around the edges of everything...

our little girls

mom watches Maria's little girl Gracie from time to time, she and Ruby get on like a house on fire...Gracie gets lunch all over her face, Ruby likes to like little faces clean (when moms back is turned!), Gracie tosses things on to the floor, Ruby thinks they are her toys....not a problem, except when the 'toy' is the babys nook!

man, was i spoiled that week

i received my CD from Maison des Arts today...Mitch, the tutor, takes digital photos throughout the course week and then compiles a CD for each student, a nice touch, especially for the holiday makers, like the two hysterical British ladies of a certain age (in their 70s!) Jill and Faye that i shared my week with. here is a pic of that dizzying double mirror self-portrait set up (portrait remains incomplete, but i will return to it next week i think). and here, Mom, Bert and Maria join me on Saturday night for wine and reviews on the studio terrace.

i'm returning to MDA for one full day and one evening (figure drawing) session this next week and very much looking forward to it, i think you can see in the pics what a lovely place it is. oh, and the supply room (not shown)...that lovely, organized, complete supply room!!...i don't need a man...i need a studio!

its all the same

no matter where you go...across town, across the country, across an ocean...sorry to say it, bu† its all the same...single folks under 40 getting drunk hoping to meet someone whose presence will bring them out of the depths of the complete and total boredom that is binge drinking.

and for the 40+ set, No, those were not the good ol' days.

disclaimer for previous harsh entry

turns out i'm not a good listener. no patience for whiny bullshit. i highly recommend that everyone has a run-in with the big C by age 30, it puts some perspective on things right off.

by the way, its coming up on my six month clear date....girls, have you had your SMEAR yet this year? if not, do it for me. thanks.

get over it

ok folks...there comes a time in ones life that you realize that everyone (EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE) has/had undesirable childhood/parent/partner relationship issues....GET OVER IT...hopefully by a certain age (lets just say 28-30) you can see that A) people in Calcutta have it far worse B) you can't choose your relatives for a reason C) parents are human beings D) the choices are yours to make E) blaming everyone else for your problems GETS YOU NOWHERE

as you can read, i'm a tad frustrated at the moment...i hate whiners. JUST GO AHEAD AND FIX IT ALREADY AND STOP BOTHERING ME ABOUT IT YOU BIG BABY. FOR GOD SAKE YOU ARE A GROWN WOMAN. ok, there, i feel better now.

awww, wokatdat...

Ruby buried a treat in R's (Napoleons mum) garden during our play-date yesterday, something i've never seen her do before...holding in her mouth, she dug a little hole, dropped it in and covered it back up using her nose...sounds silly, but it was the cutest damn thing.

i'm so pathetically in love with my little doggie woggie. couldn't you just shoot me?

my new friend

mom cleaned the kitchen today...used bleach and everything. very impressive.

the pile of newspapers, magazines, tissues, empty cigarette packs, full cigarette packs, books, random keys, chewing gum and chewing gum wrappers, coins from at least three countries (mostly useless pennies or their equivalent), pens and mechanical pencils, eye glass cases, receipts, plastic bags, calculator, mail, envelopes, playing cards, lighters, matches, baseball hats, scarves, empty wine bottles, full wine bottles, notepads, rubber bands, paperclips, markers, jelly jars, suntan lotion, tennis shoes, loafers, pepper, business cards and bungie cords on the dining room table has remained intact. whew! i've named it POC (short for Pile of Crap) and i've grown to love it. it listens to me when i'm feeling blue.

les bicyclettes

i just adore this group of senior cyclists...they meet every wednesday morning in Place de Gaulle (every town has one) for a serious ride on the busy, winding roads...buses, cars and age be damned.

check out that serious gear.

everyone, eventually, comes to France

i received an interesting email today..seems i'm still on the Savannah Wine Shop e-mailing list and they've forwarded information about a photography seminar in Provence (the propreitors are friends)..run by a SCAD photo professor, Craig Stevens, that i knew as a customer! six degrees....

on that thought, i just read that France is the number one locale for tourists, family vacationers, ex-pats and traveling artists. not a big surprise, but the numbers! ...some 75.5 million visitors last year (compared to 45.5 million to the USA) considering the dramatic size difference, that is really remarkable. no wonder i can't make my way to the marche without elbowing some short-pants wearing, loud-talking Midwesterner! or multi-camera wielding, giggling Far-Easter or sun-burnt, hard-drinking Aussie! wait a minute, i'm one of those 'etrangers' too....i keep forgetting that.

swinging by a halyard

Bert thought mom and i could hoist him up to repair the mast in something called a boseman's chair (?)....with our pathetic upper arm strength, his little hangman joke didn't seem that far off to me...here he's instructing mom, "now Pat,..." (she hates that). in the end, he got more capable (and willing) help from some fellows at the ships services shop.

safely back home, i completed interior with dog SOLD and la bord de la mer.

8409945

this evenings study in oil pastel...a huge palm tree leaf in the wind as night fell...thus, 8:40,9,9:45

in and out the same

so here i am, in gorgeous surroundings, enjoying lucious french food and wine, renting a rather elegant lifestyle...soaking in the culture, finding artistic inspiration, and what do i have to listen to all day today?

mom moaning about how the corn in her lunchtime salad isn't digesting properly...i won't go into the details, i just can't bear it....

Bert says i'm on a roll

neighbors1 orangetree1 orangetree2

on the quai

LTM1, watercolor and oil pastel 18" x 15" SOLD

at least she's in water now

La Tishie Mae is in the water, in her slip...but not yet ready to set sail...Madame Capitaine and Uncle Bert are working on her everyday, though on Sundays, the pace is more relaxed, including copious beer breaks and even time to take Ruby and me on board to see the interior work including gutting the galley.

what'cha been smokin' Bert?

at the little pizza restaurant tonight, Bert returned from la toilette a little freaked out, bemused...it had a fancy hi-tech self-cleaning toilet..the kind with a revolving seat...it also had an automatic revolving hand towel machine and someone was trying to get in, wriggling the door handle....rotating toilet, revolving towels, turning handle...he thought he might be having an acid flashback....

no, i'm not smiling

started work on a self-portrait (the ladies were too tired this afternoon to pose for me) today, first time i've ever seriously attempted painting a face/portrait (wait, maybe i had to do one at SAIC, yes, i think i did though it was charcoal and pencil)...it was hard work, there is much more to do before it is finished, but i can see where it is going...when i'm not seeing double! (the double mirror approach is very effective, but made me dizzy!)

i'm sad to be done with my week session at Maison des Arts, i really enjoyed my time there..will return for two days every other week indefinately and continue to work at home of course. wishing i had more room to stretch out....

excursion

had an excursion to a gorgeous middle-ages village, Haut de Cagnes, today...walked around the old centre ville, enjoyed the view from the chateau and took a minute to do a quick sketch of an interesting arched lane.

re-work, re-work, re-work

i finished up that troublesome acrylic perspective study today and i hate it much less now...gallerie fini

making a splash

at last, pictures of La Tishie Mae going into the water!
going going gone

as Bert says, craning a boat into the water from drydock is a delicate dance; a ballet...with giant rubber bands.

the artists little helper

i'm please with how a few of the ten eight-minute figure sketches (charcoal) turned out, especially after i loosened up..(wine helps) figure1 figure4 figure6 figure9

long day in the studio

long day in the studio today, just got home at 11pm after a two hour figure drawing session in addition to the regular schedule...today's acrylic painting, perspective study:gallerie doorway

dans l'eau

great news! the boat, La Tishie Mae, finally went in the water today! i wasn't there to see it, but mom did get photos i will post tomorrow. the big day finally came, but i think the both of them, mom and bert, are so exhausted from all the work and stress they haven't had a chance to enjoy it yet.

one day on the water though, actually under sail, should change all that right off. i'll keep you posted.

mia

sorry to be missing in action lately, blog-wise....been very occupied painting and drawing some 12 hours a day...and loving it! i have a long way to go to be where i want to be, but i can see the path ahead....and its not that far off afterall (time does go by so much faster these days? why is that? oh, right, growing up...)

now, if i could only find a patron....

oil on paper

todays oil painting, the entrance path, working on color, tone and light...i don't hate it, especially as i haven't used oils in...forever?

you knew it was coming

well, i finally succumed and painted the dog. god forgive me.

good news: the new school is fabulous (its a holiday makers facility, but i'm a day student and the bookings are low, so i'm getting luxury at a bargain...two hour french lunch complete with wine today!) lots of intense work..i've made progress already...working in oils now. very happy.

another bottle

there are so many empties around the house, it is no surprise that i painted yet another bottle.

i'll take that neat please

went to a lovely cocktail party in Cannes yesterday, feeling groggy today due to father-of-the-hostess' drink making technique...when making a gin and tonic, he filled a large tumbler with gin and then just waved the bottle of tonic near it. (credit for that ingenious description must go to one Miss Liz Dickens)

another note: i managed to wear my two inch heels all night without falling over even once!

getting with the times

my sister Margaret has a new site (thanks to my brother Thomas) that is more blog-style and easier for her to use (she was handcoding previously!). i'll have a newly designed one shortly as well, with all the features (comments, trackbacks, etc) that my brother says i just can't live without...stay tuned. (note: address won't change)

summer reading

having finished a few trashy beach-reads last week, decided to stretch the brain muscles this week and am now mid-way through The Great Shame, and the Triumph of the Irish in the English-speaking World. extraordinarily well written and researched, not to mention interesting...Grandma Quinlan will be proud.

hey-der

uncle Bert has some friends in town this week, including a young sister and brother (20 and 24) from Madison...cured my homesickness (see earlier brat-reminiscing) right off!

a pic (sorry for the grainy quality, that's me in the middle, in silver, pre-tan...cheeky Rachel at the bottom left, solid Liz behind Simon and sweet Tina to the right) from the Forum social clubs most recent outing....a girls night at a bar called Morrison's in Cannes...note presence of (male) co-ordinator. fun.

making progress

some of todays 10 minute watercolor studies:
glass study
ihategeraniums
apples
this afternoons gouache:
red laundry

sparkles

i bought myself a pair of hot pink spangly flipflops today to cheer myself up...it worked a little. every girl needs a pair.

bbq

barbeques are fun, but make me homesick for WI bratwurst (is that possible?) ...i've found sausages, but they are so tiny and shrivel like old men on the grill...and the idea of a bun is laughable here...spicy mustard is find-able, but sauerkraut ..i'll probably have to make some myself. Racine Kringle Co. will fedex their goodies anywhere, wonder if someone else can do some brats and cheese curds? ooh...and some Leinie's while i'm at it....

same shit. different place.

same shit. different place.

counter-point

it was painted from life, so you figure it out.

little number update

mom wants me to let you know that her hair usually isn't that sticky-uppy in the back.

rainy day painting

a little number in a New Yorker magazine cartoon-style that i finished earlier this week of mom in her usual evening repose.

another day on the beach

my boobies are sunburnt.

wonky-day recipe

mix liberally, let rest for eight hours before suffering:

-five hours direct sunlight
-insufficient sunblock
-five carafes of Rose
-one salt water dunk
-one large salmon and poached egg salad

repeat Rose (4-6 glasses)
add one full pack cigarettes
sprinkle with additional bummed cigarettes throughout, then add:

-three glasses of indeterminate Red wine
-one bowl of potato salad (eaten over kitchen sink at 1:30am)

garnish with two asprin and cover with sleeping (and slightly stinky) dog