#63 / Sunflowers

#63 / Sunflowers

These cheery flowers are everywhere now adding an extra splash of colour to the Provencal landscape and I feel it is my duty to have a bash at painting them.

I don’t know what it is about Cadmium yellow, but whenever I use it I seem to get the stuff all over me. I have also found it on the car seat and on one of my shirts which was hanging on the washing line.

Vincent Van Gogh springs to mind (rather predictably) whenever I set up a still life or paint a landscape when the subject matter involves sunflowers, cypress trees or fields with crows.

I wonder if any artist after Van Gogh has managed to paint the sunflower without the specter of those famous paintings by the Dutchman hanging over them?

#61 / Butch

 #61 / Butch

Here is one of our cats. The fat one. I say fat… this is not entirely true as he has just come back after having disappeared for TWO weeks. Yesterday we took him to the vet to have him checked over and to have his (overdue) vaccination booster. He has spent the last few days sleeping in this fruit crate, no doubt dreaming of his antics or whatever close shaves he may have gotten into.

#60 / Spectator

#60 / Spectator

Last weekend saw the third annual Feria at Cavaillon. A celebration of the Melon and the Bull… Over three days the town was taken over by an orgy of Melon eating, Abrivados, Courses Camarguaise, and an introduction of a ‘person’ into the Order of Knights of the Melon… which sounds a little Monty Python to me and I’m sure that Michael Palin would have appreciated the absurdity of it if he’d travelled to this corner of the world. Though who am I to scoff at it…

This morning we drove into Cavaillon to get our shopping before the shops closed for the day (it being the 14^th July) He saw a poster of the Feria still on one of the advertising panels. We missed the Abrevado this time - which is his favourite events during the Feria, so he asked hopefully if we would still be able to go along to see another ‘Avocado’…

This event was a ‘Course’ at the Arene in Cavaillon. We arrived in time for the second half and saw three bulls taking on the Rasteurs of the Club Taurin Paul Ricard de Cavaillon. Entrance was free, but I was still stung on the finger by an inquisitive wasp which seemed to have the same fondness for Orangina as my son does. This particularly athletic bull spent most of his moment in the spotlight jumping behind the red painted wooden hoardings meant for protecting the Rasteurs and the crowd and making circuits of the arena.

#59 / Ancien Pont de Mallemort

#59 / Ancien Pont de Mallemort

The bridge which takes us over the Durance to Mallemort runs alongside this older one which is now closed for safety reasons - the planks of wood which form the road are twisted and cracked, so there is are three metre tall concrete walls blocking the way at either side of the river.

When I showed this painting in our village a few years ago, the Mayor kindly visited and told me the story of how he and his friends (in younger years) used to walk along the beams which ran along under the length of the bridge as a dare… reminds me of that scene in Saturday Night Fever…

There is a sign which for years confused me slightly. It reads Interdit de Fumer I always thought it meant that you weren’t allowed to smoke on the bridge which seemed rather unfair and a little over the top. That was until my better half pointed out that Fumer not only means ‘to smoke’, it also means ‘to manure’ (that’s obviously for the horses) so that gives you an idea of the age of the bridge.

#58 Glanum

#58 / Glanum

We've been twenty four hours without proper internet use so this is a day later than I had hoped... 

Glanum is a magical place tucked away in a ravine on the road from St. Rémy de Provence to Les Baux de Provence.

I have tried painting the remains of the Oppidum once before but that was after my son was born and I was a little distracted so I never got around to finishing it. Now I live in the same region as this historical site, I have no excuses. I have to say I struggled rather with this one. The tree behind the columns looks like it has been blasted for years by the mistral and I tried to give that impression. I used lots of palette knife work here but with the heat and the flies buzzing at me, I think I wobbled a few times! 

#56 / Melon de Cavaillon

#56 / Melon de Cavaillon

Cavaillon (my local town) is famous for its melons. There is a chef here called Jean-Jaques Prévôt who is melon mad. He cooks with melon, he serves a MacPrevot with melon, he paints melons, he paints using melons, he exhibits melons, he talks about melons on the television and on the radio. The Pizzeria run by Ludo and Bertrand called L’Aiglon (best Pizza in the Luberon by the way) features a Prevot-inspired melon centric Pizza designed to celebrate the sweet bright orange flesh of this sun soaked fruit.

This time a year ago my default method for checking to see if a melon was ripe, was to sniff the bottom of it. That was until I was told that if I pushed the stork with my thumb a little, it would break off easily if the fruit was ripe.  We bought this melon from the road side shack five minutes drive from us and to check for us, the guy pushed the stork to break it and said c’est bon pour manger ce soir.  

#55 / Stormy Skies over St Cannat

#55 / Stormy Skies over St Cannat

My better half is the lucky one in our relationship – she doesn’t drive. This inevitably means she sees far more of the everyday beauty which surrounds us (which I equally inevitably miss as she points it out to me a kilometer or two further down the road as the engine flies), from a multi-coloured arrangement of used oil tins in the backwoods of a Cycladic island to a double rainbow over the industrial district on the edge of the river Severn. This time we happened to be sitting in a 30-minute tailback, equating to a kilometer and a half in real-time, desperately trying to collect our son from school before the garderie shut up shop and he was left sitting in a car park, and so I was able to share in the simplicity of the colours and composition: the golden fields, the dark sap green forest of the horizon and the blue, blue sky. Apparently, this is what ‘Black Earth’ Russia, and the northern Black Sea coastal region is like, but unfortunately I have yet to get my visa…

#54 / Le Moulin de Bertoire, Lambesc

#54 / Le Moulin de Bertoire, Lambesc

Over the river in the Bouches Du Rhône, is a town called Lambesc. As we had guests with us, we decided it might be nice to go to the festival there and arrived just in time to miss all the food. I asked if anything remained and was told that it had been eaten and that there was nothing left. A few minutes later the President of the committee of events approached me and declared that they had managed to cobble together a pile of cheese, two and a half litres of Rosé, five tartes aux pommes, a baguette and some soft drinks. Chairs were set up, a table was offered and we all sat down with many Mercis and c’est très gentils and tucked in.

The Fête autour du Moulin was based around the windmill which had been newly restored and was open to the public.

This is a painting of it.
Many thanks to the kind people of Lambesc for feeding us! For Free!

#53 / Mont Saint Victoire

#53 / Mont Saint Victoire

Famously painted on many occasions by Cezanne, I can’t believe I’ve not painted this landmark before. It’s only forty minutes drive to find a good spot to set up your easel. That was my average commute across London when I was working there.

We were driving back from the Salon Cote Sud in Aix en Provence with troubled skies overhead when we stopped at Fruit and Veg stall to stock up on the last of the seasons Asparagus. I saw the view across the wheat field towards the Saint Victoire and the tracks leading off into the distance. It reminded me of some of the paintings of one of my favourite Russian artists, Ilya Repin.

#52 / Cerises de Provence

#52 / Cerises de Provence

I was going to post this last night but the image was so poor I had to wait for better light to photograph it…

Here is a small percentage of the 1.6kg of cherries we have been given over the weekend from our neighbours M et Mme Nuti. ‘Pour le petit’ they say as they hand it through the archway that divides our properties. Sebastian is delighted. ‘Merci’ he says gracefully as he receives this latest gift. We exchange pleasantries and chat about the weather and how impossible it is to do anything between 10am and 6pm because of the heat and strength of the sun then we all bolt back into our cool houses.

#51/ Cucuron

 

#51/ Cucuron

This is a painting of the pond/water feature/lake at Cucuron. Some may remember the scene in ‘A Good Year’ where Russel Crowe and Marion Cotillard share a romantic moment over dinner by the étang at Cucuron. Well, this is where that scene is filmed. We have been there on a number of occasions for the weekly market, also to eat and to go to the annual fireworks display which is quite beautiful with the fireworks reflected in the lake.

This painting didn’t really come out as I had planned. I don’t know if this is the same for all artists, but to quote the late great BB King… ‘I always hear something in my head that doesn’t sound the same as what comes out of the guitar’. I often (always) feel the same about my painting. The painting I have in my head is never the same as the painting which appears on the canvas in front of me. Whether that is a good thing or not, I am not certain… it worked for BB King.

#50 / Le Pont du Gard

 

#50 / Le Pont du Gard

My first landmark as I reach a half-century! This is the Pont du Gard. Quite a drive from us, but worth it nonetheless. Our son took a school trip there last year and was allowed to go inside! I didn’t even know there was an inside…

It is an impressive feat of engineering and construction and anyone visiting the area should go and spend a day or half a day there.

I painted this sketchy representation in rather a rush on a burnt sienna ground and have left lots of it peeking through. I think it helps to boost the warmth in the naples yellow and give a warm glow to these sorts of images. 

#49 / Course Camarguaise, Orgon

 

#49 / Course Camarguaise, Orgon

From time to time we go to the Course Camarguaise. It’s not the same as the traditional Spanish Bull fight with blood and guts and men in silly costumes. It’s better than that. Instead of killing the poor creature for no reason other than to satisfy a baying crowd. A team of Rasteteurs and their Tourneurs pit their wits against a fit, strong and potentially lethal Bull. The Raseteurs (directed by the Tourneurs) have to run about the arena goading the Bull into chasing them, getting close enough so they are able to cut various attributes like string, red ribbons and small white pom-poms from around the Bulls horns and head. They do this (without harming the beasts) using hooks which they hold tightly in their hands. To evade the Bull, the Raseteurs leap over hoardings and clamber up on fencing in front of the crowds. The arena are small and the spectators get an up close and personal view of all the action when the Raseteurs leap to safety just centimeters away. 
The crowd and the competitors have the utmost respect for the Bull and for me at least, the power and beauty of these great creatures, so reminiscent of the Minoan Bulls of antiquity, is what draws me back again and again.

P.S I've just been informed that according to local legend, these are the actual descendants of the Minoan Bull

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#47 Chapel, Oppede Le Vieux

SOLD

#47 Chapel, Oppede Le Vieux

This fantastic chapel which is no longer used is like a time capsule. I’ve written before about the history of Oppede Le Vieux. This chapel is half way up the path which leads to the church at the top of the hill. If you peek through the keyhole at the right angle you can see the dusty pews, some knocked over, others still upright and patiently waiting for the congregation to come back again. All rather spooky...

#46 / Pewter and Earthenware

#46 / Pewter and Earthenware

I spent many days when I was a younger man sitting as a gallery attendant in the Estorick Gallery of Modern Italian Art in London admiring the work of Giorgio Morandi whose etchings adorned the walls and whose paintings where displayed in a dedicated exhibition during my first few weeks as an employee.

The more I looked, the more intense and loaded the still lives became. The subtleties in tone, the painfully careful drawing, the application of paint. It seems so simple, but nothing can take more effort and concentration. From the placement of the objects, their colour, the surface they are sitting on, the background, the sizes, the shapes.

I can’t say I’ve managed to achieve a Morandi here – but I enjoyed the process.

#45/ Earthenware pot

#45 / Earthenware pot

This is a quick study of a little earthenware pot sitting on an upturned palate in front of the door to the ‘Ecurie’ – what used to be the stable door where I now have my studio.

Half way through painting it my six year old son walked in and immediately declared...

‘Ooh, that’s nice, but… it’s all wrong’

‘What’s wrong’? I asked indignantly.

‘It’s too tall in your painting and it should be wider’ he replied nonchalantly.

I looked again at my efforts and lo and behold – (and to my shame) the boy was right.

After studying art for twenty years in some of the finest art institutions in the world, I was cut down to size in two brief sentences by the smallest art critic I have ever come across! Other than one tutor saying than my painting of a rose I had made at art school looked like a chicken, I don’t think I have felt more inadequate…

Still, here it is (post critique) my painting…

Lessons learned:

Remember the basics

Don’t hurry your drawing

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

How great it is to have such a perceptive six year old who is able to see an object, compare it to what has been drawn, see the error in the drawing and know how to correct it.

At least I know I’ve done something right!     

#43 / ‘Le Pont D’Avignon’ (or) ‘Pont Saint Bénezet’

#43 / ‘Le Pont D’Avignon’ (or) ‘Pont Saint Bénezet’

Rather irritatingly I had the song ‘Sur le Pont D’Avignon’ running on loop in my head as I painted this… As far as I can remember it was one of the first songs we learnt in French at school in England with our wonderful French teacher, Mme Moir. Avignon is the administrative capital of the Vaucluse… as far as I know it is the only place you can exchange foreign currencies within a 40 mile radius!

Again I have John Singer Sargent’s paintings of Venice in mind whenever water and buildings come together. Here I’m trying to distance myself from getting caught up in detail and focus on broader areas of tone and colour only indicating architectural details with the least amount of detail I can get away with.

#42 / L'Isle sur la Sorgue

#42 / L’Isle Sur la Sorgue

This is a painting of one of the water wheels that are so famous in L’Isle Sur la Sorgue. It is the smallest of the paintings I have done in this series of ‘daily’ paintings. I’m using the same sized flat square-edged brushes I was using before, so each stroke appears larger than in previous paintings and allows me a little more freedom to roam into slightly more abstract realms.

Each year there is an enormous Antiques fair here where eager tourists clamor to buy over-priced junk. Once we saw Richard E Grant walking through the melee. I’m certain he won’t have been seduced by the frankly criminal stall holders, as I believe he is a regular visitor to the South of France. One example of their nefarious activities we witnessed a couple of years ago was after we got a free ‘retro’ pastis glass when we bought a bottle of ‘51’ from the supermarket. We saw the same free retro pastis glass being sold by one of these crooks for €16! Just enough to buy the villain another bottle of pastis!

Moral of the story… go to the supermarket before you go out looking for antiques or you may end up buying something you would have got for free and you won’t even have the pleasure of drowning your sorrows in a bottle of 51…

#41 / Lac de la Grande Bastide

#41 / Lac de la Grande Bastide

This fishing lake (about 400 metres from our house) is a great spot for walks and BBQs – and of course fishing -  I nearly caught a Trout with my Hardy split cane rod last year but it is rather hard work for fly-fishermen with trees and people behind one and the mistral blowing from time to time. The flies end up decorating the branches of all the surrounding trees like tiny, shiny reminders of one's incompetence and the local fishermen with their spinners and lead weights all stare in bewildered awe as the crazy Eeengleeshman struggles to unwrap himself from his line and yet another aborted cast…

#40 / Blue Bottle

#40 / Blue Bottle

We ran out of internet credit last night as I was in the middle of posting this, so is yesterday’s painting which I will follow with this morning’s painting.

It took me ages to find the tube of Prussian Blue in the old studio, so I started rather later than I had hoped to this morning. Sticking out of the top of this vase is the most enormous white Iris that has the most incredible scent of sweet almond. If it lasts in the vase, I’ll try painting it this week.