Ok, I’ve just started one of the two courses on painting/mixed media for this period: Studying under the Masters – at Jeanne Oliver on-line studio.

Week one Master: Matisse.

I’m no expert, forgive me, just an observer, but these are some of the facts about his life in the books:

• Started his career as a painter in his late 20s;
• The first try for the École de Beux-Art, was an epic fail; that’s when he went to study des Art décoratif – french for Interior Design – which explains a lot;
• Margarite was the name of his daughter out of the wedlock; (shocked)
• His wife Amélie worked outside the house, while he dedicated himself to his paintings; that would make him a lazy ass.
• His children were often left at the grandparents’ care, which makes him a sort of absent father;
•  When hard times hit, he thought about giving up painting altogether;

A  pretty ordinary human being, with a tremendous talent that made beautiful and good art for us to enjoy. I guess art saved him too.

This is a piece of a documentary I once watched on Netflix about his last big project assisted by Sister Jacques-Marie for the Chapelle du Rosaire.