What's your favorite flavor?

That's parfum in french. In Paris it's gotta be chocolat du mendiant from Berthillon for me, but no chocolate for Hudson or any other dog!

Read Paris: A lion, dog, duck, cats, and ...?

Butte aux Cailles, Paris

A drizzly sunday stroll in the hilly Butte aux Cailles neighborhood in Paris 13e. 

canal st martin

Vin Chaud

Joyeux Noël = Merry Christmas
 Bonne Annee = Happy New Year 

Joyeux Hannakuh =  Happy Hannakkuh

Heat up red wine with cinamon sticks, cloves, orange slices, honey to taste.

The Writing Process Blog Tour Q&A, Part 1

Kate Sullivan, author/illustrator of On Linden Square, invited me to join the Blog Tour. Pourquoi pas?  I'm always interested in how others work. 

What am I currently working on? 
I'm finishing a sequel to Paris-Chien: adventures of an ex-pat dog. Hudson goes on vacation to the south of France and tries to fit in by doing the same things the provençal working dogs do. He fails, but ultimately finds his own unique voice.


How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Most picture books are illustrated after the text is finished. I start with images to tell a story. The words come later. Each painting could stand on its own. The storytelling is elliptical and impressionistic. Readers apply the connective tissue.

Why do I write what I write?
I write about my personal experiences and the dog is a vehicle to communicate my curiosity and the excitement I feel when I see new places.

How does my storytelling process work?
When I have an idea, I play with it and see what umages come to mind. Then I make notes and start storyboarding. I sketch from photos and from life--on buses, in cafes, parcs and airports. At home I'll sketch off the TV. I scan sketches into photoshop, move and tweak to create a composition, then print onto hot press paper and start painting with gouache. Sometimes I'll sketch directly on the paper. I've discovered that the looser the sketch, the better the painting. I like imperfection.

I scan the final painting and might tweak color or clean up in photoshop. As the story takes shape I make new images and retire others until the text and the pictures work together to maximum effect. On my first book my process was very much trial and error, with emphasis on the error. On the sequel, I have developed a more defined process. When it does come together, it's pretty exciting! 

Right now I'm traveling and away from my studio, but in mid-july I will post some images showing the process from sketch to painting. Check back or subscribe to be notified of new post.

I am passing the blog baton to my multi-talented friend Jil Picariello, author of Jessica Lost, who writes about cooking and reading at bibliocook.blogspot.com 

And K.G. Campbell, author/illustrator of Lester's Dreadful Sweaters and his latest The Mermaid and the Shoe, which just received a fab review from Betsy Bird of NYPL on her Fuse #8 blog! Keith also illustrated Flora and Ulysses, the winner of this year's Newbery Medal, written by Kate DiCamillo. Can't wait to read Keith's responses next week! Here is the link, http://kgcampbell.com/newsblog/

At Brentano's, Paris with my girlfriends Eloise, Charlotte and Marie Antoinette

First off leash dog park in Paris

The first off leash dog park in Paris will open on November 25th at Square Jacques-Antoine, in Place Denfert-Rochereau, 14th arrondisement, Paris. (photo grace à Spencer le Border)

mybeautifulparis.com

Visit Shakespeare and Company

http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/index.php

and pick up a copy of Paris-Chien: adventures of an ex-pat dog.

Albert Kahn Museum and Gardens

One of my favorite places to visit in Paris. A new exhibit, In Search of Albert Kahn, opens June 18.

"From 1909 to 1931, he commissioned photographers and film cameramen to record life in over 50 countries. The images were held in the Archive of the Planet, a collection of 180,000 metres of b/w film and more than 72,000 autochrome plates, the first industrial process for true colour photography, of which the museum now has the largest collection in the world."