There’s so much I want to share with you about my latest miniature, “Eiffel Blossoms”.

About how I nearly fell off the open-air sightseeing bus to take photos of this scene because when I stood up, I was directly in the path of several large tree branches.

About how I love the composition of the piece with its many contrasts – steel versus wood, man-made wonder versus natural wonder, straight lines versus wild lines, hardness versus softness. And how it all works together!

About the trip itself with my pal, Carrie – how we laughed and ate our way around Paris.

And finally about how this piece nearly didn’t get made at all. I drew half of this miniature in January 2016. It was to be the first piece in a 100-piece series called Mini Vacations. As I was drawing, doubt started to creep in. How would I paint this and show the depth and detail? I had no idea. I tossed around some ideas in my head, thought of reaching out to a teacher, but in the end, I got scared and put it away in one of my studio credenza drawers. I would come across it from time to time, but a big banner of “No Way” would stream across my brain when I’d see it.

Until this month. When I looked at it a few weeks ago, I could clearly see what needed to be done to finish it and it wasn’t all that difficult – in fact, I had already used some of these techniques years earlier on other pieces.

It’s funny how this lovely little scene of spring renewal had turned into some mythic paper monster in my head for years. Some well-worn tale that I kept telling myself about how I couldn’t do it or wasn’t skilled enough. How many more of these old stories are kicking around that need to be shown the door?! Hmmm…

So when I see this painting, I think of ALL of those elements. So much in a little piece of watercolour paper!

Maybe this scene means something to you, too?

Eiffel Blossoms – 2.5″ x 3.5″ ink and watercolour; sold