I don’t think I’ve really talked about this yet, but I am so freaking excited for “Sketches from the Road.”

Seriously.

I’m actually almost as excited for “Sketches from the Road” as I am for actually being in France.

The thing is, I’m quite a social creature and I’m about to be thrown in with a bunch of strangers speaking a language I can only semi-understand right now. (My French will come back quickly. I hope.) Of course, my roommate is from Michigan, and the teachers are American, but really, they’re still strangers.

I’m going to be a tiny bit lonely.

But then every week, I get to write a letter to a group of people who get excited about the same things I do – art, beauty, food, travel & silliness (trust me, there will be silliness). I get to share all of my experiences with these wonderful people.

My stowaways

So far, I’ve got 87 lovely stowaways coming with me on my trip. It’s like I get to bring all of my friends with me, without actually having to smuggle people across international waters. (I’m a terrible liar anyways.)

I’m actually struggling to get across my extreme level of excitement, so we’re just gonna break this down into categories of awesome.

Category of Awesome #1 – Spring in Paris!

I’m going to France 2 days before my program starts so that 1. I can get over my jetlag and 2. PARIS! IN! SPRING! I’m sure you understand.

It’s going to be so pretty, so Parisian, so photograph worthy. Yes, I will be one of those irritating tourists who just takes pictures of everything with her big SLR camera. I don’t even care. It’s so worth it.

And the Louvre! Oh, the Louvre. Thousands of years of human creation all packed into one 3 mile long building. Happy sigh. I know some people are all like, “Pfft, the Louvre is so disappointing.” But if you think that, you are absolutely not allowed to say that to me. I don’t want to hear it.

I am in love with history and art and big, old, beautiful buildings. So I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be fine.

Category of Awesome #2 – The town I’m living in

The tiny, charming medieval French town that I will be living in for 6 months, in my lovely 19th century apartment with gigantic windows, a fireplace and a double staircase entryway and a garden = me beyond excited.

I mean, just look at these photos!

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To boot, this town is in a conservation area (in the Loire Valley/Bordeaux region for those who are interested) and it is just chock full of natural beauty, wildlife, streams, bike paths, etc.

Plus, in case you missed it above, it’s SPRING! Which means everything is blossoming and growing and getting all excited about summer. And then I’ll be there for the summer too, and (fingers crossed) autumn. This is me, trying to jump up and down while sitting on my couch. It’s not working, but that’s my level of excitement.

And I get to paint and sketch it all! Muahahhahaha!

Even better, this town holds a few festivals over the summer – one for the Solstice, a mussel festival, an escargot festival and even folk dancing and Baroque chamber singing! Small town festivals! Squeee!

Category of Awesome #3 – Fooooood!

I am a foodie at heart. I could never diet because I’d go crazy. Gimme chocolate, great bread, wine and cheese and everything covered in cream. Food for me is a sensual pleasure. I don’t eat badly – I love fresh fruits and vegetables just as much as I love wine and chocolate.

But I am going to be talking about and photographing my food a lot. I want to try everything that I don’t recognize. I want to really experience the food of France and experiment with different flavours. And wine. I intend on drinking lots of different wines.

I’m drooling already.

Category of Awesome #4 – The Art

This is the best part, in my not-biased-at-all opinion.

Every week I’m going to make a video, sharing the art I’m making and what I’m learning. I think it’s going to be incredibly fascinating to document my learning process and see how I progress from where my art is now to where it’s going to be in 6 months. In this kind of intensive environment, with not one but three teachers and only 12 students, I actually can’t even fathom the leaps and bounds my work is going to make.

And to document it all and then be able to go back and see my progress – man, that’s going to be so cool! (That could just be me geeking out on art stuff though.)

There is one final reason why, if you aren’t signed up for Sketches, you should be.

Until I get back in October, it’s the only place I’ll be showing new work. And it’s the only place you’ll be able to see photos of my trip and hear all of the stories. I’ll still be on Twitter and FB, but just for quick updates and perhaps a photo or two. I just won’t have time to do all of the social media hanging out that I normally do – hence the reason behind “Sketches from the Road”.

If you want to be in on the good, juicy awesomeness, then you need to be on the list. You also get to be a patron of the arts, which is pretty bad ass. The Medicis were patrons of the arts, and who doesn’t want to be like the Medicis?

Basically, I think adventures are way more fun when they’re shared with friends. I’d really love it if you signed up. The more the merrier in my opinion!

If you’ve already signed up or bought a painting or print, then welcome aboard! My first email is going out soon.

But if you haven’t signed up yet, then you’ll want to do that now by clicking the button below (it’s only $20 for 6 months):

If you want to send me more than $20, you can use Paypal to send me money to sarah@smlacyart.com.

You can also purchase prints or artwork and you’ll automatically get signed up! (And if you spend or donate more than $50, you get a postcard from me in France!)

And if you know anyone who is also obsessed with art, beauty, travel and food, please pass this along! I’d love to have them join me on this adventure!