while working or not working

my days are now more so spent with a brush and paint than a map and camera; and come this three week marker, I would say it's appropriately so. nevertheless, this is a time of equal welcome, as sitting in my room painting blades of grass and other details is not a far cry from those seemingly recent days of pattern on paper. to be sure, in making the switch from sandy's pieces to my current own, my mind finds little difference in process and thus it is only left with the use of imagery. then, I'm thinking back to a time of bugs and organs, gears and people... am I slowly making the turn?

scattered amongst this studio time, or writing time, or reading time, or researching time; there is still the occasional brief visit to new bretagne outskirts. come rennes, a return trip for more thorough investigation of my original landing location, I see an extension of airport-type shopping backed by the standard findings of a college town. virgin megastores, miles of shoes, and yes, even a mcdonalds are spewed along this historic french architecture; while cobblestone workings and aging stucco that exuded such a delicate beauty in so many of those prior towns are now tagged by (albeit interesting) forms of graffiti. yet, as this is the capital city of the region, the commercial drawl and otherwise modern facade is, i think, to be somewhat expected...
then, behold an internet cafe, and my jaded tone instantly gives way to a more grateful shift in attitude. after weeks of severance from this once daily convenience, I am now humbled even more by the use of its thoroughly french keyboard. once again in a full swing tone of the bretagne region, typing here takes twice as long, and still I remain ever thankful. on top of that and later still, the discovery of la rue de les thrift stores provides a much needed and two week long sought after pair of 1euro glasses. so now I return home with aided sight.

today, i will be transferring a drawing onto another 4 x 4 panel. 97 little people later, i am again reminded of sitting in the UCF studio with neither sleep or food and quite certainly toying with my own sanity. at least here I am more rested, better fed, and (just) possibly of sounder mind.. still, I miss those days.

finishing the drawing with time to spare and using that to work ahead, the next morning is spent in a travel to cancale. my excitement is all too vehement as this will be my first chance to witness the renown bretagne coastline. arriving on the steep incline of a winding 2 lane road; passing small cottages, weathered store fronts, and the occasional industrial style building; we then *gasp* passing over bridges drawn across sea-filled crevices of tumbling boulders and jagged rock.
yet, this must be only a teasing sight as our first stop this morning is the village bound and village wide garage sale to pick out some toys for leon and the new baby. here I keep myself entertained with an eclectic assortment of characters accentuated by their street side blankets displaying an equally varied and cheaply priced bauble. 1 euro for a truck, 2 for a tractor, and arms full of toys later, we're off to see the sea.
arriving at the town's port, I am delighted to find a waveless ocean of a clear, churn-less blue pressed along a store-lined wall and the occasional spot of sand. speckled with an array of brightly colored boats, their arms reaching for the sea, I joke with leon that these are the tractors of the ocean... but he is apparently not amused. much to his dismay, his mom suggests we move on to an even better spot; where despite a claim that the next sight of la pointe du grouin will be of uncompromising beauty, few words can truly express the breathtaking capacity of this most stunning ruggedness. I leave you then only to be witness of its pictures, and a reminder that a sight like this can override even the most crabby of 3 year olds.