Sitting in a coffee or tea shop or its patio is a part of the culture of Europe. One may read the paper, magazine, watch people or chat hours away with your friends. It's considered middle class entertainment, it doesn't matter which day of the week. In the US many college and university students have taken on this habit, to sit with their laptop and a cup of coffee when they are studying, but in Europe it's not only confined to certain subcultures or age - it's across the board.
Even though I/we have lived in the US for more than 20 years, we still like to do this on our days off. For me it's a calming thing. After this ritual, I know that certain things will still be constant, the world is not coming to an end - not today at least! Everything (well, almost everything) is going to be okay!
Window Reflections, 7 x 9 inch, Watercolor, St.Germain
The focus of this little scribble/doodle in watercolor is not the shop perse, but what is reflected by the windows. This is where I started after the sketch. A combination of two shots I took of what the windows reflect. Since this watercolor is also 7 x 9 inch,the reflections were a painstaking job without much room for error, but it was worth it!
The next phase was painting the table, chair and book cases inside. Then ventured over to the outside wall of the building and the greenery nearby. I painted some shadow on the ground, so that it doesn't look like the shop is floating in the air:)
Last but not least the light blue frames of the windows and the eaves. I really like this angle of the shop, because it shows that these eaves are contributing to the beauty of this building style.
Do you have a favorite coffee or tea shop, or is it all the same to you?
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28 comments:
Do people still take the time to hang around the coffee shops? The pace of life today is so rushed it seems that no one takes the time to stop and smell the roses (coffee).
Great reflections in your painting Jeannette. I always love them.
Thanks Joan!
When I'm in this coffee shop there are always people sitting and chatting, so apparently some people still take the time for that:)
I would love to sit in a place like this and have a cup! All we have here is Starbucks and I don't like them. Your painting is lovely!
I really, really like your painting of that coffee shop window, it represents a piece of culture.
Carol,
Thank you! I like the coffee of Starbucks, but most of them (there's almost one on every corner here) have such a rushed atmosphere, and not enough chairs and tables.
This coffee shop is actually a bookstore, so to have the 2 combined is heaven (for me!)
Jen,
Thank you -can tell you're an artist- that is the concept behind this watercolor!
Often it is the most simple things that make life enjoyable.
Matthew,
Since you're living on a boat most of the time (you do, don't you? If I have the wrong impression, please tell me!), I guess you've learned that well!
I like your painting much more than the photo. It has a welcoming feel, both the inside and out.
I haven't hug out at a coffee shop since college. Starbucks is just too pricey and lacks the atmosphere of your little book shop.
Gaelyn,
Thank you for your kind comment!
Since you are traveling a lot, it would be maybe difficult to find one you would instantly like...
Yeah, Starbucks is pricey, that's why I always get a smaller size LOL also since "they" are going back and forth whether coffee is good for one or not!
My town is full of coffee shops. Even though they're chain stores and none are unique, they are always packed with people. In winter, I often stop between calls and do my work from them, or I'll take my knitting and just sit and watch.
To answer your question, they'll never be the same now that I've had an opportunity to ponder your reflections. That's a very beautiful painting.
Hmmm...interesting watercolour! It must be difficult to do fine details with watercolour! I don't think anyone dares to sit outside a coffee shop anymore in South Africa unless it is in a shopping mall - what a pity! I'm always intrigued by your trees - they're so pretty!
We had a wonderful old, worn, comfortable coffee shop on the Chesapeake Bay when we live in Maryland and we spent some happy hours there watching people and chatting. We've lived here ten years and still haven't found that special place, but we keep looking.
Thanks for stopping by our blog and especially for leaving a comment.
Rudee,
Yes, that's the perfect place to take your knitting! For a few months I had the luxury to do so on a Sunday afternoon:)
thank you, Rudee-wow you know how to give a compliment and make someone feel good:)
Shreddy,
Hope you don't mind my ignorant question, but why do people not dare to sit outside a coffee shop anymore in S.A.?
Thanks for the trees, I doodled hundreds of trees in my teens (when I was bored in school - I know I was not the example of a good student - LOL) - but anyway, my point is: practice makes perfect:)
Sue,
Yes, keep looking for that coffee shop!
Went to your blog again, because I didn't recognize your blog-profile and saw that you live in Springfield, MO - that's where I lived for 2 years to be my BA in Psychology at Evangel College, and hubby went to seminary there - wonderful memories of that time!
The watercolour is lovely! Sitting outside in the sunshine is something we also like!
jeannette,
Your post and the comments touch on something I have been tossing around for awhile.
We live in track housing, and hang paintings on our wall of French villas.
We shop at a mall, that uses photos of European villages in their ads.
We go to Starbucks yet think of European style coffee houses.
It is nice to be able to sidestep all that suburban fraud and truly live the images.
Reader Wil,
Yes, Wil, every day if it was possible:) Maybe it's a Dutch thing! The only difference is that here we always look for shade, because hubby is fair skinned, and the sun mostly shines (onbarmhartig - no other word describes it so well).
Matthew,
You are a thinker! I appreciate your honesty:) In the beginning of living in the US the pretense was kind of disturbing to me.
May be I'm more okay with it now, because I've found enough friends who are like minded, so I can keep it more away from me.
As for your earlier question:
Yes, I am on a boat through the end of October/early November. Every couple of weeks, I have a place (house) I can go for a few days. Which is what I am doing right now!
I love how your painted window blends what is indoors with the outside. Now that my hubby's retired, I rarely go to cafes anymore. My daughter and her girlfriends who are teachers often meet at Starbucks to sit, sip coffee, talk and grade papers.
Matthew,
It's so interesting the different life styles people on the blog have, because of their work! Hope it suits you, or does it get boring sometimes? I always have more questions Matthew, so you can add this to when you comment next time on on of my posts LOL
Diane,
So why don't you go with your hubby to a coffee shop - or is he not interested in it? If not, maybe you need to make a friend with whom you can do it:)
Bytheway, from your writings I had guessed you were much younger:)
Well, the crime here is quite scary~! Hmmm...practise does make perfect (just like maths sums ^o^)
Are you really a bit Asian? Or were you just kidding...
Sreddy,
What kind of crime do you mean, Sreddy? Ugh, math is an entirely different matter than painting (to me)! Or, do you like math?
No kidding, I am half Dutch, half Indonesian. And I was born in the latter country (Indonesia used to be a colony of Holland), but I was in kindergarden when my parents moved to Holl. because Indon. became independent, so my outlook on life is European. I know it confuses people!
I love your painting of the coffee shop window and its reflections. I enjoy drinking morning coffee in a cafe or coffee shop more than say eating lunch or an evening meal out. I find it soothing and relaxing to sit hugging a warm coffee in my hands and watching the world go by - if the coffee shop is within a bookshop or museum I'm in seventh heaven:)
Thank you, they have nowadays more bookshops with a cafe. I remember that in Holl. they were kind of stingy with their books in the bookshop - you couldn't leaf through it unless you planned to buy it. Here, I guess they make enough profit off the coffee for some books to get (undoubtedly) some stains or worse on it.
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