Back in 2020 when we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything, I wasn’t getting out to paint much. So, I wrote a series of blog posts expanding on the Christmas letters I had written and illustrated since 1990.
In 2000 our activities had included a two-month
Grand Tour of Europe ̶ resulting in a longish Christmas letter that year.
Here is a thumbnail illustration of that letter
A couple of months ago, I decided to write a
two-part version of that Grand Tour on Medium, an online publication that
actually pays writers and illustrators for stories.
The second part was a little short of paintings, so I added Chateau Hautefort to
the mix.
Here's my description of our day there:
In the second week of June, we were in the Périgord region of France, where we toured the Chateau Hautefort. The estate was a real treat — acres of Cedars of Lebanon and geometric and filigree-sculptured boxwood. We probably should have stayed outside in that wonderful garden. But it was threatening rain most of the time we were there, so in we went. The inside was mainly spiral staircases and furniture they didn’t encourage you to sit on. But you do get a nice look at the geometry of the gardens from the tops of the turrets.
