No. 798 Clouds and Tulips

Clouds and Tulips

Oil on Gessobord

7" x 5"

Oh yes, it was a tulip bonanza this year.

No. 797 Pop Those Peonies!

Pop Those Peonies!

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

My students have been bringing in the most gorgeous bouquets of flowers to paint.

Sometimes I get to paint them too. Sometimes I get to just soak them in.

Either way, lucky, lucky me!!

Most importantly, they've been doing a splendid job painting them.

Cool door knocker in Vence.

No. 796 Tuips with Coffee 2

Tulips with Coffee 2

Oil on Canvas Board

6" x 8"

Click to Bid

  I will be participating in three festivals this summer. The first one is July 8th and 9th in Mill Creek. With that in mind, I've been trying to beef up my inventory of small paintings. This was painted earlier this spring when tulips seemed to be everywhere. I have a lot more small paintings to share and you may have noticed I'm super close to blog post 800. So look out for a posting burst in the very near future.

More photos from my trip to France:

Matisse's Museum in Nice.

 A close up of one of the planters. Love the green against the red of the building.

A church nearby.

A close up of the detail above the entryway complete with pigeons.

No. 795 Easter Egg Radishes

Easter Egg Radishes

Oil on Gessobord

6" x 6"

I can't get over the colors of these lovely radishes. I found this particular bunch one early spring day at the farmer's market in Coupeville.

I have a couple more paintings and watercolors from France but they still need to be photographed. Oh yes, and lots of photos to share. Stay tuned....

No. 794 La Porte

La Porte

Oil on Linen

7" x 5"

I painted this on my last day at Ville le Reve. It is the view from one of the second floor studios through an open door, over a balcony and out to the Mediterranean. It was a super quick painting and I intended to come back and work on it some more. I've had such a good response from people who have seen it that I decided to leave it as is.

I took a bunch of video with my new GoPro while I was in France. Here is a link to a 3 minute video of a little walking tour of Ville le Reve or the home and studio of Matisse in his later years.

Click here for the video.

No. 793 Another Gate in Vence - Plein Air

Another Gate in Vence

Oil on Linen

7" x 5"

As I was saying, I need a lot more practice painting old medieval towns. I hope I don't have to wait too long before I get another opportunity.... :) This view, with the curved walls, really gave me a run for the money. Lots of people came up to chat with me while I was painting, making me really wish I knew more French.

 

 In the meantime, here are some photos from the flower market in Nice.

 

 

No. 792 Outside the Gate - Vence

Outside the Gate - Vence

Oil on linen

7" x 5"

Vence has several gates with great views into the heart of the city. This was my favorite. When I set up to paint this early in the morning, I didn't immediately realize I was directly in front of an artist's gallery. When the artist came to open up his shop, I apologized for being in his way. He said no problem and invited me to come in when I finished. That was just the start...

This is what I saw walking into Christian Ruiz's studio. This is one prolific, dynamic painter. He studied art in Paris, is an internationally renown painter and has been living with his wife for twenty four years in Vence.

 

A large piece he had just finished working on. I decided to buy a small painting but didn't have cash on me so told him I would come back in the afternoon. When I came back the gallery was closed but Christian was waving from his house nearby. He had told me that he had a lot of work there as well.

Christian standing in the doorway of his gallery with his house in the background.

With both him and his wife waving me towards the house, I decided to check it out. Christian wasn't kidding. He had a ton of work in his house.

I got the distinct feeling that if it didn't move, Christian would paint it. Furniture, walls, found items, nothing was safe from Christian's energetic, colorful brush.

The cup of coffee they gave me on Christian's dining room table.

Christian playing a special "drum" used for flamenco music.

It was quite a treat getting to know a local artist and his wife. I will thoroughly enjoy the piece I bought. Thanks so much for the hospitality and wonderful little painting, Christian!

If you would like to see more of Christian's work visit his website at www.peintures-artistiques-ruiz-vence.com/