Linda Mitchell

This was the final painting I completed while Micki Flatmo and I were in Paris. I wrote a story for the Northcoast Journal about our trip, just before our big Paris show at the Cody-Pettit Gallery in March '07.

'Cafe with Blue Doors' oil on board $425.

This cafe is in the vicinity of Napolean's Tomb. While I was painting it, a sweet old Frenchman came up and spoke to me. "Je ne parle pas français" I said. He pointed to my painting, doffed his hat and said "Bravo, Madame." It made my day.

It was a very pleasant place to paint. It was relatively quiet and very few people stopped to watch us work – it was a business district, so people walked briskly by in business suits, with briefcases or laptops, barely noticing us. It was refreshing, especially after a couple of days of working on the Alexander III Bridge.

"Houseboats on the Seine" oil on panel

I painted this standing next to the Seine, between Alexander III Bridge and the Place de la Concorde. A handsome Frenchman approached me while I was painting and said something in French. I said, in French, that I couldn't speak French. "Je ne parle pas français." He looked at me like I was a Martian. "What exactly are you attempting to say?" he asked in English. Prior to that, I thought I had the phrase down pat.

About halfway through my painting, another artist parked himself right behind me (maybe three or four feet away) and started doing a watercolor. I tried to ask him to move back a little but he gave me that same blank, non-comprehending look the Frenchman had given me. Language, alas.

This was the first painting I did of the Louvre while in Paris.

This was my second Louvre painting and the first piece I painted in Paris that I was completely satisfied with.

Micki and I discovered this stand of trees near the entrance (or exit) to the Luxemborg Gardens. We'd been wandering around the gardens for awhile, searching for something to inspire us and had decided to call it a day and head back to the apartment. On our way out of the gardens, we were both struck by this lovely grouping of black-trunked trees.

The Medici Fountain in the Luxemborg Gardens was built in the 16th century by Marie Medici as a reminder of her native Italy. It's a wonderful, mystical spot.

This one was painted from inside the Louis XVI Park, just two blocks from the apartment where Micki and I stayed while we were in Paris. The park is lovely, small and overgrown with lovers on all the benches. Apparently Marie Antoinette's bones were once housed in the small church on the site.

'Night Cafe, Paris' oil on canvas 12" x 24" $900.