St. Saturnin les Apt - Two 'Plein-Air' Views and their Progressive Stages

Last September I painted this scene, but from the other direction. Because the scene combined landscape 'elements' I like (interesting tree shapes, bushes, a road, a small building, and sky) I decided to paint it again when back there in June, but looking the other way down the lane. Below are the stages, from drawing to finished painting. 

Stage 1 - drawing the scene - liking the level of detail and loose scribbly lines.

Stage 2 - scrubbing in the dark values, not worrying about losing lines and details; liking the notan-like composition 

Stage 3 - adding more colour and middle values; liking the white bits still visible

Stage 4 - have added a lot more green, mixed and straight from the tube, starting to work on refining areas. 

Stage 5 - more colour, more refinement, more painting. 

Finished:  St. Sat Back Street 

14" x 16" - acrylic on canvas paper 

I am happy with the finished painting, but I have to say that I liked some of the earlier stages more. There is something about their 'incompleteness' that suggests spontaneity, or maybe just the potential for artful decision-making. Something to keep in mind while painting in the future, both plein-air and in the studio!!!

I did have a little more time that morning and because I felt the need to not be so careful or controlled, I started another painting of the same view. I think you can see or feel the sense of energy I had in the initial drawing below. 

Then I kept painting.....and then it was lunch! Yeah.

Finished.

Provence, encore

The Luberon Valley

My bags are almost packed and I am mostly ready to go, to Provence, to Arts in Provence in the hamlet known as Les Bassacs, to paint for the next two weeks.  This will be my third time there in four years, and in this case familiarity breeds anticipation and happiness, to see, and paint that landscape (or at least give it my best shot) once again.

Last year I chose to work with watercolour and gouache which meant that I did not have to schlep heavy acrylic tubes of paint etc. and an easel around, and that made life much simpler. This year, however, I will take both watercolour and acrylics and hope that with some equipment changes – a wheeled tote bag and new easel that has an attachable tray surface -  previous difficulties will be resolved.

....et voila...this is my new Swiss Gear Bag on wheels, which can also convert to a back pack, and will be my flight carry on bag too. I know that I am going to really like this bag -it’s not too big, not too heavy, but roomy enough for all the stuff that has to go into it once I am out en plein air.

......and this is my light weight collapsible tripod easel, now improved with the addition of a tray that attaches below the painting surface and a small plastic box that attaches behind it. Though each object is not large, each will provide some necessary storage/surface on which to place paint tubes and other items that one seems to need or use while painting. My default table in the past, was the ground but the constant bending to retrieve things was not good for my back so this has to be an improvement – don’t you think?  

......on y va!

Poppy Field - Variations on a Theme

Poppies, called “coquelicots” in French, bloom in Provence, in May. They seem to grow everywhere - singly and in small clumps along the roads, and in masses, appearing as great swaths of red in near and distant fields. In an earlier post I mentioned a wonderful view of such a poppy field on the grounds of the Chateau de Bourgane, where we spent an afternoon painting. 

Poppy Field I - watercolour

This image became one that I returned to during my week, when not plein air painting elsewhere. My work in the studio started with a traditional monochromatic painting based on an earlier drawing. 

Then it became the basis for experimentation and abstraction, simplifying shapes, adding surface detail and pattern, playing with perspective and expressive colour. 

Poppy Field II - watercolour

Poppy Field III - gouache

Poppy Field IV - gouache

Poppy Field V - watercolor & gouache

I found working this way - with one basic image/theme, very satisfying creatively. Each one led to the next in a logical way. If I had not run out of time in that physical and mental space - I wonder how many paintings I would have done. Perhaps I will look for another view or image this summer and see what happens.

Painting in Joucas

Joucas is a pretty little village in the Luberon Vallery (Provence). I painted there two years ago, and did a landscape scene looking up to the village through the vineyard....

It was fun to return in May, and settle quickly on a painting site.....

Joucas

I sat at the left side of this narrow street, that looks up to the local church, with my painting paraphernalia at my feet, and worked on a water colour painting. I really liked the long 'sweep' up towards the church door, and wanted to accentuate that, and of course change the colours that I saw...

As you can see at some point I decided to darken the sky in the painting, and introduced some gouache and pencil crayon lines into the mix. Now home, I am thinking about a larger acrylic version of this subject. The challenge (well one of many actually) will be to capture the spontaneity of the water colour medium but using acrylics on canvas. That will mean working with more fluid paint, and stopping earlier than I often do.  I will add this to the 'paintings to work on' list, as I give it more thought. 

..

Painting, Poppies and Provence

I have recently returned from France, painting in Provence, and have to say that I had a fabulous time. No big surprise! I had hoped to post what I was doing while there, but unfortunately I encountered technical difficulties uploading pictures. So that allowed me some time to reflect on the experience and painting there, and that is what I can now share.

This was my second time to Les Bassacs taking a course at Arts in Provence, and so I had a better I idea of what to expect. As primarily a ‘studio painter’ I found plein air painting to be quite challenging two years ago. Returning to some of the same village locations meant that I knew what view I would paint (so didn’t waste time being indecisive and wandering around), and using water colour, gouache, and paper were more manageable than acrylics and canvas. The other difference was the instructor, Terry Thompson and the focus of the course which was  ‘abstracting the landscape’ (something that continually intrigues).  Days divided themselves into painting on location, and then working in the studio, either completing work, or doing a series of studies abstracting our morning imagery through colour.

Our first outing was to the grounds of the nearby Chateau de Bourgane, open to the public on Sundays. I was delighted to go there again, and quickly decided to paint a view looking across the grounds towards the hills…..one which I have tried before without any luck. Here is the view I first saw and the painting I started in situ, and worked on later that evening, adding gouache and pastel……

Before leaving the grounds that afternoon I walked further and saw the magnificent field of poppies in front of the house - and this view became the subject of numerous paintings done in the studio later in the week - stay tuned!

post Provence

Arts in Provence (yellow house at left) in Les Bassacs

I am now back home after my wonderful two-week painting trip to Provence. I stayed in a hamlet (really just a collection of buildings off the D2 road near St. Saturnin les Apt) called Les Bassacs, in a charming 12^th century renovated house called Arts in Provence -run by a delightful ex-pat English couple David Atkinson and Liz Evans. Each morning  David drove us to a different village or nearby location to paint, then he would pick us up and after a delicious lunch at the house, we would continue our morning’s work in the studio or go to another place to paint, or just relax until dinner. Our three course dinner each evening, not to mention the local wines of the Luberon, were fabulous as was the company of my fellow painters.

Over the next few days I will post a little about where we painted, the challenges of painting en plein air, some photos and some of the paintings I did. To start – here are some photos of where I stayed. 

The view to the west, looking over the pool and towards Rousillon, and the Luberon.

The back of the house, with doors into the dining room and the studio window above.

Preparing to Paint in Provence

In less than three weeks I will be packing (or maybe cramming) my paints, canvases, some clothes and an easel in a suitcase and heading off to France, to paint in Provence. Having been an art history major (as well as a studio art student) at university many long years ago it was necessaire to see what I had studied and I have had the good fortune over the last 30 years to have travelled widely in France and seen  much of the art and architecture I once studied and continue to admire, particularly now as a painter.

I have been fantasizing about doing this sort of thing for years - and finally found what I hope will be the perfect course and place in which to paint the landscape that inspired among others, Van Gogh,  Cezanne and Matisse. The course is organized by the Art League of Alexandria (Virginia) and the instructor is the painter Susan Abbott. The group will stay at Arts in Provence, in a tiny place called Les Bassacs, a short drive from Apt and close to Rousillon and Gorde - all in the Luberon area of the Vaucluse, a departement in Provence.

In addition to preparing for the trip and the daily demands of living, I am trying to get some painting time in too, so I will be primed and ready to paint en plein air, once there. The results are some small landscapes based on photos I have taken in the past.  The one below is reminiscent of Georgian Bay cottage country. I don't usually worry too much about 'local colour' when painting nature, but I tried to be  a little more restrained in this one and am pleased with the result.

Trees, Water, Rocks and Sky  

10"x 10" - acrylic on canvas - sold