On the art front:

Haven't had much time to work on my own stuff, unfortunately, since I've been back home in NC - plus I have some portrait commission work to attend to before I can fully immerse in my own painty projects.

However, I did have the opportunity to see some great stuff while away... in addition to the 59 million trips we made to the Louvre, that is. I made a pilgrimage to a Paris-based gallery which is an off-shoot of a Danish gallery which I loved dearly, but which closed its Paris gallery in 2007. Anyway, so I went to the newly christened (as of this past fall, I believe) Galerie Susan Nielsen, conveniently located behind the Musée Picasso in the 3rd arrondissement. They were showing the French artist Patrick Cornillet, which was nice to see not only because his work was breathtakingly beautiful in an oddly bleak way, but also because it means that the Susan Nielsen place is branching out from the largely Scandinavian-only artists roster of Birthe Laursen’s gallery. Yeah!

Also refreshing on the art front was the Oisin Gallery in Dublin, which overall has a really great roster of contemporary artists, predominantly Irish and UK but definitely international. It was a shame that I didn’t get to see any works in person by my favorite artist that they represent, a French painter named Erwann Tirilly, but they had some good work on display from Stephen Forbes and Thomas Halloran, among other artists. Plus I made off with about 97 million brochures from past shows. Heh heh heh.

This painting by French artist Erwann Tirilly, image from Oisin Gallery's website. Image info: Kit III (20" x 20") oil on canvas

And as for here on the home front, I'm happy to report that one of my studiomates down at 311 West Martin Street Galleries and Studios, Shaun Richards, will be exhibiting in the month of June at Flanders Art Gallery. He has some great new pieces prepared, I had a chance to see some in-progress. I'll post the exact info once I have the details...

Does it get more Southern than this?

I am back in the South for sure... check out this gigantic, enormous honking magnolia flower from a tree in Nash Square, downtown Raleigh, diagonally across from my studio. All I need to complete this experience is a big ole mint julep:

Progress.

My message to Emmy must have gotten through: this morning she waited until 5:30am to poke me in the face. Things are improving.

Pokey.

In truth I really did miss the cats, and of course John, while I was away in France/Ireland. However, as much as I missed Emmy’s habit of poking me in the face in the mornings, she really outdid herself today - making up for lost time, I suppose. There was a widdle fuzzy paw prodding at my mouth at 3:30am. The paw was back around 4:30am, accompanied by a raging purr. I love to be loved and all, but I must insist that this love does not smack me in the face until at least 7am.
Ok, Em?

Raleigh = lush.

If one is going to come home off a stellar, divine, awesome, fun, beautiful, instructive, overall amazing time in Paris and Dublin, I’d have to say that arriving in the full bloom of a lush Carolina spring is not a bad way to do it. The weather today was absolutely teriific – and, likely due to the rain we had yesterday, it was actually less humid than usual. Glorious, glorious. The trees in our yard have once again plumped out with foliage to such a degree that one can’t see beyond our balcony, and when walking to work it is difficult to see oncoming cars exiting the I-440 off-ramp, as they are hidden by trees and shrubbery. Hence, it’s beautiful outside, but *slightly* more dangerous.

Awesomeness alert: there are honeysuckles blooming along the walk we take to work. Mmmmmmm, honeysuckles.

Outta Dublin, by a hair.

Some days, you know, they just start off on the wrong foot. If all’s well that ends well, however, then I’m all good and can probably forget the fact that I could have easily missed my flight out of Dublin this morning. However, I cannot ignore the factor of luck and maybe some karmic retribution in my having been saved from a travel-related debacle. Here’s what I like to think: because I showed un-Diane-like kindness in aiding a fellow traveler in navigating the Paris Métro three weeks ago, good travel vibes came to my aid in the form of my German roommate waking me up this morning to let me know my cab was waiting for me. Otherwise, I’d have overslept due to a battery malfunction in my alarm clock, and I’d be stuck in Dublin. A bad thing? Perhaps not… but in any event, it’s good to be back home as scheduled and reunited with my better half and our feline roommates. Ah, home.

Ballycastle.

Today I bid adieu to the Lofft kids and hopped on a bus for a 4 1/2 hour bus ride to the Atlantic coast of Ireland, in County Mayo. Some fellow painter friends are doing a residency program out in the windswept and rugged western side of Ireland, in a wee and charming little town. I was curious, so I thought it would be worth a grand total of 9 hours (round-trip) on a bus to check it out and to pay them a visit. I was not wrong, behold – extremely dramatic landscape ahead:

Alex and Hollis, in front of the sinkhole.

Some lovely sheep, grazing at the buffet:Some cows, doing the same, with Downpatrick Head far in the background.This is the highly dramatic and amazing Downpatrick Head, which looks like it is separating from Ireland and trying to float over towards America...More of the rocky coastline:It was totally, totally worth the trip.