Marché de Noël

December 4, 2017 by RMW 22 Comments

Last weekend I participated in le Marché de Noël, a holiday boutique in aid of Ecole Claire Fontaine, a French art and language school in Venice for two to seven year olds. A French friend from the Culver City Art Group invited me. I figured it was a way to put my photos out into the world, so why not?

I displayed some of my earlier work in the form of 20″ x 16″ (51 cm x 41 cm) canvas prints I had made up when there was a promotional sale some years ago. At the time I was so excited about getting back into photography I went a little crazy. But I still love those photos, even though now I see all the mistakes, and they adorn my walls. It was nice to see them out of the house and in a different setting. I didn’t sell any but I did get some very positive feedback.

I sold quite a few of my photo greeting cards which more than covered all the expenses of making them and other expenses for the day. I met some interesting people who tried to speak French to me. Unfortunately all those DVDs fell on deaf ears. Well, I can speak and understand French “un peu” in a controlled situation when I know the context, like walking into a store and asking how much is that scarf? But when somebody walks up to me and starts speaking, I get flustered and intimidated. So I had to keep saying, sorry I don’t understand you!

I liked this photo of me standing next to the red arrow. It means to me that I have to keep moving forward with my photography and not get discouraged.

It was this time of year five years ago that I bought my Canon T3i, a very basic DSLR. At the time I questioned whether this was a good decision. I thought I was too old to start up a new hobby. Every photographer in the universe was way ahead of me. I almost gave up before I started. But then I told myself that in five years I would be five years further along the path. And here I am, indeed, five years on and not doing too badly!

I was really happy that several friends showed up at this event to chat. E and her sister walked all the way from Santa Monica. S took several buses from Westwood. L fought beach traffic and spent 2o minutes looking for a parking space. So I appreciate the effort they made.

The photo below is of a gentlemen who set up his art next to me. He is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, so of course I told him that is where my mother was from. Along with Spanish he also speaks fluent French and English. How do people do that?

He told me he clips photos of people out of magazines that interest him in some way and paints them. I really loved the portrait in the center of the man with turban and beard. The beard was like flowing water. He told me the story of each one. He said he knew he wouldn’t sell anything. He just wanted people to see his paintings. Really, when you are an artist that is what it’s about.

The “ecole” was a lovely setting to be in for the day. I’m glad I decided to be there. Life is good!