Pastry Meditation...

Religieuse Violette, watercolor, 9" x 11"
I thought I was posting on the lovely, orderly way Parisian patissiers...
Line up their creations...

Like soldiers standing to attention in perfect rows.
Then I had one of those Eureka! moments. Is it possible my obsession with French pastry has everything to do with a desperate need for order and nothing to do with chocolate or whipped cream?

These perfect disks lined up with such precision...

Labeled and priced, measured centimeters apart, are the exact opposite of my chaotic studio...

I fight a losing battle with entropy daily,

Yet the vision of glossy tartes...

Is like a Zen meditation...

Do I start an ashram in Paris and spread the joie?

Should I go to pastry school?Would you like a peek at my studio 2011 to see if there's been any improvement?

Do tell PBers.
BONJOUR PASTRY MEDIATATION!

Bonjour Pate Sucree!

Les Tarelettes aux Fraise, watercolor, 9" x 11"

I've had a rude awakening of late...
For years (at least 5) I've been walking around Paris, admiring, shooting, leche-vitrine and eating altogether way too many pastries...
Only to discovery I know ZIP about pastry making! Ouch And to add insult to injury...
I've been leaving the crusts on way too many tartes...
Like this Fauchon tarte au citron. SHAME on moi!

How did I make this alarming discovery? By browsing Japanese pastry books. It became crystal clear I don't know beans about pate sucree and pate brissee. What's more I will NEVER know if I don't eat the $#@! crust! How can one claim to KNOW pastry intimately if one does not eat the total affair?

I'm ready to give up Japanese pastry books and head for French books or English. Your suggestions are most welcome.Better yet should I head over to the French Culinary Institute for a crash course in the anatomy of a tartelette?

BEAR, comme habitude, is way ahead of the game. He's studying more and eating less. Watch this video from L'atelier des Chefs to become better informed about what we put into our mouths. Pastry is serious business! It's not just about flannering around gazing into glorious patisseries vitrines! Mais non!

BONJOUR PATE SUCREE!

Pastry Sketch Crawl Returns!

Yesterday was major. I got my walking papers to venture back into the Big Apple (with a cane but I'm now allowed to climb up the stairs alternate steps instead of one-step-at-a-time!)

YAHOO
A chance to return to the Pastry Sketch Crawl begun in late January...
With some reservations bien sur...

NO sitting for hours on end (that upended me into a sciatica episode)...

Back to tres chic Cafe Petrossian.

Though Lord knows why I picked out exactly the SAME tarte as last fateful visit...

I must have a deep hidden attraction to strawberries...

If not to pate brisee crust. I only stayed a half hour and sketched a bit. No point tempting the Gods of Sciatica again.

I returned home to paint in bed...

This seems to be a lucky painting spot for me along with Nom de la Rose teas...

Au Nom de la Rose Teas, watercolor on Etsy, 9" x 11"

~

I could not resist a quick look in Bergdorf Goodman's windows...

At some 'tartie' shoes I may never venture out in again (not that I did in the past...ahem) Farewell M. Louboutin :(

Mais BONJOUR PASTRY SKETCH CRAWL Encore!!!

Tarte Attack!

Round #1 - the tarte wins. Lecon learned. Do not speak ill of local tartes if you value your health.

So how did a tarte put me in the back of this vehicle yesterday? Granted I am now permanently in love with FDNY EMTs! New York's finest are the greatest and the cutest! Firstly I haven't been to the pool for months. Secondly I sit A LOT, but I get up frequently. Evidently not frequently enough. Lastly my two encounters with drawing New York tartes onsite on Sunday and Monday did me in. I was so focused, so nervous, so fraught I sat drawing for 2+ hours straight and forgot to get up at all = not good for sciatica. Tense as a cat grappling with these damn tartes, my brush was my weapon. Another lecon learned. YOU MUST RELAX! On Tuesday an old sciatica nerve injury complained.. Photo by Sarmdmemt On Wednesday I started doing exercises on YouTube = bad idea when you're in pain. Wait until the pain goes away for before exercising! On Thursday I woke up in worse pain and my left leg caved like a strand of over-cooked spagetti. I had to crawl around the apartment. Time to call 911. A friend suggested I bring books and sketchpad to the ER... How right she was!

It's been a long time since I've sketched onsite except for said tartes, but this was fun and a distraction from the long wait (3-4 hours). The final diagnosis - bed rest, rehab, pain killers and a cane.

C'est la vie. I've been checking in with a few of artist friends who sketch onsite ALL THE TIME. Rick Tulka draws everyday at Cafe Le Select in Paris and has no back pains to speak of...

My cousin-in-law, William Ternay is never without his sketchbook. Bill said to me:

"You must bring to this new experience "Beginner's Mind" Give yourself permission to be uncomfortable, make errors and go with the old flow! . Easier said than done".

Time to go back to Drawing With The Right Side of The Brain - all about loosening up and getting with the flow whether you draw regularly or even draw at all!

Two drawings by a fourth-grader - before & after! This book used to be my drawing bible and I just reordered it. I need to relax and enjoy the process of drawing -

"Don't worry, Be Happy"

Tartes, I'm not done with you yet, even though you knocked me out first round, I'll be back soon and in a better frame of mind.

BONJOUR TARTES!!

Do The French Do It Better

More snow today. No NYC yellow cabs to brighten the view. I was thinking how the French own the tarte - this Pain Quotidien tarte is lacking je ne sait quoi when Next to the French version of a framboise tarte.

A NY tarte from Financier Pastries - looks pretty Frenchie...

Parisian Secco's tartelettes.

The French love their REDS.

Count the RED in this picture.

So why not a touch of RED on these chocolat minis?

Dalloyau does lovely RED tartes.

Gerard Mulot Berry sketch #1

Gerard Mulot Berry Sketch #2

A no-name Parisien corner patisserie makes them every day of the week. They get lots of practice. THANKS for all your kind comments and support for my new adventure - the Pastry Sketch Crawl

Bon Appetit!