Chateau de Bourgane Gardens

Chateau de Bourgane Gardens  SOLD
16" x 16" - acrylic on canvas

This small chateau was near where I stayed at Les Bassacs in Provence. The formal gardens and grounds are open to the public on weekends - so that's where we went one rainy Sunday afternoon, last month. I took lots of photographs and this is the first painting from that series. I loved the sculptural quality of the boxwood hedges. Hopefully I didn't get too carried away with colour - well - maybe a bit.

Sur la Route

Sur la Route
12" x 12" - water colour

After my time in Les Bassacs (in Provence),  I spent a few days near Nimes, visiting with my friend Josiane.  I snapped photos from the car window as we drove around the area - including views like this.

Cicada Serenade

Cicada Serenade
10" x 10" - acrylic on canvas  SOLD

One very hot afternoon in July,  I painted behind the house at Les Bassacs, under a tree full of cicadas – which is apparently the symbol of Provence. The buzzing noise they made was deafening – but they did not stop me from enjoying the view. Back home, I painted the scene again and this time listened to some 'cool' jazz.

Olive Trees and Lavender

Olive Trees and Lavender  - SOLD
18" x 24" - acrylic on canvas

During my time in Provence we painted near the small village of Lioux. One of the painting sessions took place late in the day and I took several photographs of olive trees with the sun and the lavender field behind them. This painting is based on those photos and my memory of how the light sparkled behind the trees.

Mediterranean Pines at Bonnieux

Pine Tree at Bonnieux 'bleu'
11 " x 8" - water colour
SOLD

Pine Tree at Bonnieux 'rouge'
12" x 9" - water colour
SOLD

Both paintings are based on some fabulous trees at Bonnieux – a perched village in Provence – where I spent a morning painting, earlier this summer. I loved the negative spaces created by the fluid, curving tree branches. I enjoyed working in water colour for a change - a medium that lent itself to creating the shapes of the foliage and playful colour.

Painting Joucas

Joucas Village
14" x 18" - acrylic on canvas

Joucas is one of those tiny perfect perched villages in Provence – and we painted there one overcast morning in July. Most of my painting colleagues painted the landscape view from the village – I chose the view looking up at the village from the road below. The biggest challenge were the grape vines – they appeared as a wall of green in front of me – but I was pleased with the way they turned out and I particularly like the trunks – they remind me of Van Gogh.