I cheated on this one. It’s not actually one of our book club books, but I’m going to recommend that it become one – because if you take love, art, World War II and the south of France and put them together in novel form, it’s an almost guaranteed win for me.

In Lisette’s List, Susan Vreeland transports us to the years between 1937 and 1948 – from the onset of war, to an increasingly distressed French countryside, to the war’s aftermath, to Paris, to the rebuilding of hearts and souls and cultural treasures – and in the process, composes what amounts to a kind of lavish love letter both to art and to Provence. Known for her art-based novels (A Girl in Hyacinth Blue, The Passion of Artemisia, and The Forest Lover among my personal favorites), perhaps affection was her intent; if so, she succeeded.

With imagined conversations involving Pissarro, Cezanne and Chagall, and main character Lisette’s passion to “learn what makes a painting great”, with the tragedies of war and the luxurious, natural beauty of southeastern France, Lisette’s List paints a feast of color, tones and textures, lovingly framed by a well woven story that’s beautifully blended with a rich cast of characters. Added bonus: you might never look at a painting quite the same way.

The post Friday Night Book Club: A Love Letter to Art appeared first on saxtonstudio blog.

Prayers for Paris – and all the world. For the madness to end. For good over evil, for light over dark, love over fear. For peace and compassion to dwell in the hearts of humanity.

Life is precious. Terror needs to stop.

The post Prayers for Paris appeared first on saxtonstudio blog.

– –

Oh la joie ~ Paris! So many things to love … the Champs-Élysées, the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Musee d’Orsay, the Louvre, the Seine. Opera houses, fashion, culinary finesse. Art, and more art. And of course, chocolate croissants at a sidewalk cafe … beau, oui ?

(see our growing, ongoing Plethora of P’s here)

The post A Plethora of P’s / #65: Paris appeared first on saxtonstudio blog.