Jacqueline’s Blog
Student’s Watercolor Journals from Provence, France
Liz’s Journal: Scenes from Les Beaux, inspired by Yves Brayer, French artist |
Phillis’s Journal: Inspired by local costumes |
Scenes from around our Hotel |
Robin’s Journal: Vaison la Romaine |
The reds of Roussillon |
Roussillon |
Beautiful red poppies |
More beautiful red poppies |
A Windy Day to Paint in Roussillon
The famous Mistral winds of Provence has followed us to the east as we explore and paint plein air in the little town of Roussillon. Roussillon is known for its colorful buildings of reds, ocres, and yellows mined from the nearby rocks. It is also designated as on of France’s Plus Beaux Village de France! The Mistral has pushed away all the rain and the clouds so that we have a beautiful, sparkling day to paint, if you can stand the gusty wind. Several of us walk to the outskirts of town to paint the village while others paint in the cute, colorful streets of the village.
I learn that the bell tower of a lot of the hilltop villages are open to allow the mistral to pass through. |
Colorful red buildings are found throughout the town. |
We explore. |
Great view of the town |
Barbara and Liz find a sunny spot to paint. |
JoAnn shows her beautiful painting in progress. |
Ice cream shops are plentiful! |
I buy this little ceramic chicken made from the nearby colorful clay. |
I visit my favorite store that sells pure pigment in little jars. |
More colors of pigment. |
Would you like to learn the joys of keeping a watercolor journal? We are now taking reservations for painting in Umbria, Italy, May 10-17, 2019, Painting in Provence with Frenchescape.com
Painting en Plein Air – Vaison-la-Romaine
The weather may or may not cooperate! This year France is experiencing a very cool spring. So we drove to Vaison-la-Romaine prepared for wind and rain. We were pleasantly surprised to have snippets of sunshine and not too much wind. We were also warmly greeted by the owners of the extremely charming bed and breakfast, Les Tuilles d’Elise, who were so generous to let us paint in their gardens. They have a magnificent view of the old hilltop village.
We also got a tour of the B&B. Each room was as charming as the rest! |
Ringo greeted us and was very curious to see what we were painting |
Charming room in the B&B |
This blue door was a great painting subject too! |
Market Day in St. Remy de Provence
We return to our hotel to paint the color-filled sights we have seen today in the market and during our stay here.
Olives at the St. Remy Market |
Little Baby Olive Trees |
Sunny Day in Provence!
It is hard to believe that after such a rainy couple days that we could have an incredible gorgeous day! Maybe we are just so happy to see the sun that it seems like heaven on earth. And how lucky we are to find out that St. Remy de Provence is having a colorful festival today with people dressed in their traditional dress. The six regions of Provence are represented, spanning an area from Spain to Italy. It is hard for us to find the time to paint in our journals but here we are during our happy hour
Rain, Rain, Go Away….
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Posing with a statue of Van Gogh |
Beautiful Scene in the cloister gardens |
Blue Iris Blooming |
Marie takes advantage of some sunshine to do a drawing |
Painting in the courtyard |
Greetings from France
We gather up one of my students at the train station and all took the same train down to Avignon. After filling our little car with groceries for the upcoming workshop we headed down to St. Remy de Provence passing fields of red poppies blooming! Even though it is raining, we take a evening stroll through one of my favorite towns in France. The streets are deserted from the rain but the lighting is beautiful. This is Sally’s first time to Europe and it is so wonderful to hear her exclamations of joy about the charm and loveliness that we are surrounded by. Her awe and delight reaffirms my love of Provence. We peek in the shop windows, drooling over the colorful stacks of tablecloths and napkins from the region.
They have obviously been having lots of rain here as the rivers are high. It has been raining hard since we got here. The rain has brought more flowers this year than in the past and will give us colorful scenes to paint. We may have to make up the shadows on our paintings if the sun is not out but that is part of fun of being artist!
Preparing for the Journey is Half the Fun!
I also took my little watercolor journal apart, as I love to do, and added pages of painted black gesso and Strathmore drawing pages. I have a Bind-it-all that I use to make the correct sizes for the hole punches.
Up and Running
People comment to me about how bright and colorful my paintings are. Once I started using the color wheel to make a color plan my paintings became more vibrant. I am offering an online color workshop to help you along with your color quest. The workshop is called The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color. It is offered through Artful Gathering Online Retreat. It is fun how Zinnia has set this retreat up. My workshop starts on July 16 and continues on until August 26, 2013. During that time you have access to my classroom where we can chat, post photos, answer questions and make new friends. You will be able to work on your color paintings at your own speed.