July-ish

    Here's another illustration with all my new characters from last month.

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Babar!

     Now's a good time for some Babar. This month I went to see the Babar exhibit at the Musee Arts Decoratifs. Above all I was fascinated to learn the back story of the creators. The original storyline came about pretty simply with a mother telling her children a story at bedtime. She told of an elephant whose mother was killed by a hunter so he had to escape the jungle. He finds himself in the big city.

    Her children adored the story and took it to their father Jean, who, lo and behold, was an artist. And guess what- Jean's father happened to be a publisher. Eh viola! Babar was born.

    But this isn't where the story ends. Jean goes on to make 6 books, but as fate would have it he dies suddenly of tuberculosis at age 37. Yikes. While the books are slowly gaining recognition, Jean's son, Laurent, is gearing up to take the helm... heading to art school, and briefly sidetracking as a painter before fully embracing his father's legacy. Mind you this is the same son who first heard his mother tell him the story at bedtime, which I find so inspiring and full circle. With Laurent's bolder styled artwork the popularity of Babar grew exponentially and 30 more books were created under the son's hand. And of course all the perks that Babar ever dreamed of came his way: film, television, merchandise... the works.

   If you buy a Babar book I promise you this elephant will capture your fascination and you will fall in love. I can heartily recommend Babar the King, Babar's Castle, and Babar and the Professor.

    Seeing the original sketches is always special for me. Babar's sketches are loose and rough. Nothing like Beatrix Potter's sketches (which I visited in April), which are much more carefully detailed. Both sketches are beautiful and both are skilled- it's just so fascinating to see the difference.
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Babar competing for France in the high dive

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     Of all the months so far July in Paris has been truly unforgettable. The rains have stopped and it's light past 11 o'clock most nights. The Tour de France took my breath away. I hope the sight of those bright jerseys streaking across the Champs Elysees never leaves my memory. And if you're wondering about this month's banner, they've laid down sand along the seine so you can sunbathe right in downtown Paris. Aren't those blue umbrellas pretty?

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Tour de France painting the Champs Elysees red, blue, and of course, yellow.