Day 28 of 30

Paris Transport

8 x 8

Acrylic

There always seems to be at least one bicycle parked outside every cafe in Paris, even in the rain.

Day 25 of 30

Bikes and Umbrellas

8 x 8

Acrylic

France has so embraced the bicycle that you will find them everywhere including window boxes, this one funny enough with an umbrella for protection.

Day 19 of 30

Yellow Boat study

8 x 8

Acrylic

Another boat from Collioure, largely unfinished as I put a two hour max on the project to keep it fresh and spontaneous.  I may work on some of these at a later date. 

Day 18 of 30

Cafe study

8 x 8

Acrylic

This is a scene in the old town area of Nice where the streets are narrow and full of shops and cafes.  I could spend days wandering through the passages checking out all the wonderful food and products.

Day 17 of 30

Boats at Collioure

8 x 8

Acrylic

The colors of the Mediterranean are so intense and saturated, fun to paint but hard to get that kind of light translated using pigment and paper.  Next time maybe darker with the darks.

Day 14 of 30

Gordes

8 x 8

Acrylic

We decided one day to go explore the famous hilltop village of Gordes and not only did we pick the most spectacular approach giving us the most amazing views but we also lucked out on getting a parking spot right up in the village.  I was almost in a frenzy with my camera collecting many resource photos.  This view shows just the beginning of the layers of buildings climbing up the mountain side. 

Day 12 of 30

Lafare Vineyards

8 x 8

Acrylic

Another scene in beautiful Provence but this could also be in the Okanagan, British Columbia.  How lucky I am to be able to visit one and live in the other.

Day 6 of 30

Above Lafare

8 x 8

Acrylic

Just beyond those hills is the village of Gigondas home of some very famous and delicious wines.  We climbed high above Lafare for some of the best views in the Provence region of France, a painting in every direction.

Day 2 of 30

Fig Study

8 x 8

Acrylic

Today's project involved again a process of determining values and choosing color temperatures, very basic methods and yet so elusive sometimes.  My subject was the fig tree outside the door to our room at the incredible Le Grand Jardin in Lafare, France where we spent much of July. 

French Countryside

La Cote-St-Andre SOLD

9 x 12

acrylic on canvas

Here we are back in France again and what a joy it has been to take walks in the countryside, slowly taking in the views and seeing a possible painting every where I look.  This is a scene on a climb above the little village we are staying in.  La Cote-St-Andre is gorgeous, full of beautiful architecture and quaint shops but the best thing is the Michelin rated restaurant at our Hotel France.  The chef has been preparing the most incredible dinners all week and the best part is they are gluten free.

French villages

Village Water Tap

18 x 14 

oil on canvas

Rained out on our plein air outing but managed to come close to finishing this French scene today in the comfort of home.  Though I'd rather be out since it should be warm and summery I do have a huge backup of French and Italian resource photos from our cycling trips.  This village tap was a common and welcome sight on our travels through the Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites enabling us to keep our bottles full.