#88: Waiter's Disapproval turns to Waiter's Delight through Art

In Paris, the City of Light, thanks to my friends' predilection for coffee, we spent a fair amount of time sitting in cafe's, watching the people go by, enjoying a rest from all the activity. I don't drink coffee, and I tend to push myself quite a lot and to forget to rest, so sitting in a cafe was different for me! Not bad at all - just different!

After going to a fabulous market near the Bastille our second day in the city, it was definitely time to take a load off our feet, so we went to a crowded cafe nearby. Karen and Gerlinde ordered coffee.  I asked for water. The waiter told me that wouldn't work - I needed to consume something.  I shrugged and figured he just wouldn't bring me anything. I'd sit and enjoy the company. 

A few minutes later, he did bring me water and was fairly nice about it, though he didn't put it down with a flourish.

I took out my sketchpad, watercolors, and brushes, and began to paint the scene in front of me. To my delight, Karen and Gerlinde did the same.  It felt like a dream come true - sitting in a cafe in Paris, sketching the scene before me.  I was tickled to bits!

The cafe had red chairs, red tables, red cups, and we had coincidentally bought red anenomes at the market to put in our apartment to brighten it up. I really enjoyed painting the bright red elements.

The waiter returned about 30 minutes later and saw I was using the water he'd brought to wash my brush out with. Suddenly he was totally delighted! He grinned and mimicked posing and asked me to paint his picture, "The Waiter"! I'd worried he might be pissed I was misusing their glass, so it made me really happy that he was thrilled and played along so well.  It made me think of the days when Paris was the center of the art world and starving artists paid their bills at the cafes and restaurants by drawing pictures on napkins and placemats for the propietors who quasi-supported them. It was very fun being a part of that for a brief fantasy-rich moment!

#88, Waiter's Delight
Watercolor
6"x9"

Paris, City of Light, near sunset.

Sainte Chappele, my favorite building in Paris, in the evening as night falls,
as we prepare to listen to a concert of Baroque setting in the most
beautiful setting imaginable.