Saturday morning...

Spring is coming, it's Saturday morning... enjoy !

What to take on an artistic trip ?...

I am taking my tour with a fifth wheel I will get in Dallas (and yes, I will tell you the long work I did to choose and give you a few ideas if you suddenly feel like taking an artistic trip too ! Stay tuned !)

So I will have plenty of space for working, sleeping, and even storage.

However I have to make tough choices right now, for I cannot load my fifth and hit the road : I come from France, I take a regular passenger flight to get to Dallas... And we all know what's happening to the size of luggage a you are allowed to take with you on international flights !

So I am confronted with this huge dilemma : what to take with my three suitcases (yes, I know, I am going to pay for this at the check in desk. Please pray for me for the AA staff is not exactly the Most friendly crew I have met during my previous flights ) .

What to take that will be all I will have for the next two or three months, at least !

And even worse : what to take knowing I am - not a fashionista, as we say in France, meaning I live pretty well with denims and nice shirts - not a shoe addict , meaning I will allow myself three paris probably (and yes, I will buy a great pair of western boots as soon as I arrive, I have already been checking the models and dreaming) - not a material girl anymore , meaning that I use totally dematerialized music, books, movies

But I am

An artist...

And an artist who just LOVES her paints, pens, watercolors, papers, ink pens, oil, acrylics etc...

What a tough mission, to choose what I will take for this trip, knowing that some of the best makers are in Europe and I certainly plan to buy material in the Us, but I also have a few long habit I want to keep...

Well I have worked the problem thoroughly, and here is, for all the world traveling artists, the solutions I have found for my organization

For watercolor, a large plastic box from Dalier and Romney that will travel easily and is not too heavy

And also the great, great Letraset Aquapens that I discovered recently and that are just marvelous for the efficiency of use and ease to take everywhere

I won t take my acrylic paints which are in fragile and heavy tubes (is it the same word in English as it is in French, Tube ? Not sure, you are welcomed to comment and improve my English !) 

So I take a whole set of Derwent Inktense color pencils. They look like pencils, are to be sharpened like pencils, can be even used as pencils... But when you add some water on what you have colored, you get an incredible, rich, luminous color. I am still discovering this tool, but they are definitely coming with me on this tour.

For oil painting, I wait for my arrival in the US to buy a good brand of the brand new oil paints ... that are water based and don t need chemical for drying or cleaning. Thank God for human progress in this strategic field ! I have had some bad allergy with classical oil paints and cannot wait to test this new tool without risking a trip to the ER for sudden loss of air...

And to carry all my stuff, I have found a great tool by Derwent too - and yes, I bought it there , in old Europe, for they are English and it s less expensive here... And it s soooo much fun to prepare your bags and tools for the trip ! I love the preparation and the dreaming before a new adventure !

It s a bag (in a couci couça color, if I may this little reproach , couci couca being not overly enthusiastic in French ) with sort of sheets where you can arrange your pens, ink pens etc... And those sheets are held by rings that can be open... You can rearrange the sheets, or easily take just one with you for a trekking in your backpack, and the bag swallows an incredible amount of tools while being handy with its strip and handle.

So, yes, I must admit this terrible truth : about a whole suitcase will be filled with my artist thing. Not much place left for fashion and gadgets ! But it s a real choice. I am leaving behind so many nicknacks I never really used... Back to a simpler and richer life, tout simplement !

And how will I do to live in my fifth wheel with just my artist things and some personal,stuff ? Well, I am preparing since more than 6 month and impressive (in its shortness) and well thought buying list on Amazon. That will be the subject of one of my next posts : what do you take on a RV when you want to have the best - meaning only what is really useful and of good quality.

I have spent a long time reading RV forums and blogs to list what is useful, and much time then searching for the different possibilities I could find - and Amazon's reviews have been precious for this work.

At my arrival in Dallas, when I get my Fifth Wheel, I will get my amazon order... Take a few days to test everything ... And then publish my list with my reviews. It will help those of you who don t want to spend entire nights on their IPad comparing bear whistles (yes, I swear, I spent a long time on this item) or portable solar panels !

Hope my little organization work will benefit to some of you, don t hesitate to post your question or comment, I look forward exchanging views and ideas with you ! 

As enthusiastic as a yearling...

I am preparing my stuff for my new adventure. It s not that easy. I have two suitcases to pack what I will use for the 3 or 4 next months, and it want to make good use of this opportunity : get rid of the non essential and have only what I need... And what makes life beautiful. Almost an entire suitcase is devoted to my art supplies.That s as important to me as fresh air or light and god it s so heavy ! Paper, pens, water colors... 

I just wish I could make all this stuff fly by itself and meet me there.

But no, I will have to carry my suitcases for my trip there, till I get my truck and my fifth wheel and have a chance to put everything in place, ready for my trip.

I will get some stuff to draw and paint in the US, of course. And it s part of the adventure to discover new medium and materials.

But I want to take along my old companions of travel that I cannot abandon... Like old friends, my watercolor box, my backpack are coming with me. Familiar, and a bit like fetishes.

It's funny : I am almost fifty, and I see some of my friends who are already thinking of retirement and slowing down.

And I feel so different from them. Packing my things, dreaming of my stops on the roads, preparing my new life : I am as eager as a foal !

Counting days ...

I am sooo ready to hit the road, I can't wait to arrive in the US. I am starting to plan my trip ... No calendar, in fact, but some places I want to visit. I feel like a horse impatiently waiting to leave his stable and go for a long trail... Yes, tonight, I feel like a mustang !

Welcome to Sylvie Manso's Artist Tour - 2014 !

Welcome to Sylvie Manso Artist's Blog !

I am a French artist, painter, sculptor and writer.

I had the chance, in the 80's, to spend sometime in California as a student in San Diego. During this semester spent in UCSD, I took several trip around the west (Las Vegas, Colorado, Flagstaff). And I totally fell in love with the US at that time.

I have always promised myself I would come back one day in the West and take a long tour, free as a bird, to paint, draw, write, and meet people.

This time has come !

I arrive in Dallas in March to get my fifth wheel and my truck,
I put on board my two dogs, my cat and my parrot.
I take my pains, papers and sun glasses

And we all HIT THE ROAD for the 2104 Sylvie Manso Artist's Tour ,
Which I named

"Remember how beautiful your country is"

For I will take time to discover what you may have forgotten : the extraordinary beauty of the landscape, the animals, and  the people of the West. And this blog will be the story and the gallery to this artistic trip.

I am soooo impatient to start my (kind of) crazy adventure. Come back in March, you will meet the Manso team and start the trip with us !

"Remember how beautiful your country is"