Paris

"It is a good thing to go to Paris for a few days if you have had a lot of trouble, and that is my advice to everyone except Parisians."

(Muriel Spark)

"And trade is art, and art is philosophy,

In Paris."

(Elizabeth Barratt Browning)

Paris

"But Paris was a very old city and we were young and nothing was simple there, not even poverty, nor sudden money, nor the moonlight, nor right and wrong nor the breathing of someone who lay beside you in the moonlight."

(Ernest Hemingway)

"I guess it goes to show that you never know where life will take you. You search for answers. You wonder what it all means. You stumble and soar. And, if you are lucky. you make it to Paris for a while."

(Amy Thomas)

Winchester

"To confer the gift of drawing, we must create an eye that sees, a hand that obeys, a soul that feels; and in this task, the whole life must cooperate. In this sense, life itself is the only preparation for drawing. Once we have lived, our inner spark of vision does the rest."

(Maria Montessori)

"For me drawing is a question of death and life. Every day I draw, I write, I do something."

(Marjane Satrapi)

Richmond

"Trees do not preach learning and precepts. They preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life."

(Herman Hess)

"Until you dig a hole, plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking."

(Wangari Maathai)

The River Wey

"You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh."

(John Singer Sargent)

"If you can draw well, tracing won't hurt; if you can't draw well, tracing won't help."

(Bradley Schmehl)

Florence

"Be generous with your smile and try not to frown.

And you will see my children; your smile will never let you down."

(Benny Bellamacina)

"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship."

(Louisa May Alcott)

Merry Christmas

Thank you all for checking out the Fine line and the studio blog and for all your kind comments. I hope you have a great Christmas and that 2019 brings all the good things that you wish for.

Canada

"There's a land - oh, it beckons and beckons,

and I want to go back - and I will."

(Robert W Service)

"Let us build a tomorrow, build a nation strong and free; and the lord who dwells above us, he will bless our destiny."

(P J Peters)