I woke up with John Denver's tune, "I'm leaving on a jet plane..." It seems like a good omen and I have always liked the song. Years ago, when I once strummed on the guitar, I even attempted to sing & play it!
Why do overseas trips make you feel like you are going to be gone for months? I guess travel is anxiety producing, plus the excitement of the unknown at the other end. And then there are all of those airports, planes, customs, etc. We cannot wait to get there. It sounds like it will be a beautiful time to visit and I hear that the food in the Lot region is marvelous and affordable. Hope to be able to keep you posted.
Keep it light. That is my motto when preparing to paint on location and particularly for painting in France. Most plein air painters use a collapsible wooden easel - that easel style has been used for over 100yrs. - whereas I prefer plastic because it is lighter. In the photo, I have included my backpack (which can also be converted to roll on wheels), a light weight easel & attachable tray for the pastels, sketch book, fixative, water, laytex gloves and the necessary hat. Along with small boxes of pastels, several miscellaneous items (rag, tape, clamps, sunscreen) are inside of the backpack.
It has been several months since I have painted on site, therefore, in preparation for our trip to France, I thought I best to do a couple of trial runs. Here is a quick pastel painting I did just a mile from my home. A storm was going to arrive that afternoon and I was nearly blown off the field as I was finishing this study. Yes, the sky was blue at that time, but the wind was picking up from the north. (Later that night 4" of snow arrived.)
During the past 6-8 weeks as I have been reading about southwestern France (known as the Quercy Region & northwest of Toulouse) and studying up on my French, I have been trying to decide which painting medium to use while I am there. Should I use oils or watercolors? Finally, I settled on pastels, which is the medium I have used most often while painting en plein air. Packing for our 2-week excursion has also been full of decisions. I would rather forget about the clothes and just bring art materials!