Van Gogh in the News

"Sunset at Montmajour"
Vincent van Gogh, 1888

Reading the newspaper this week, I spotted a subject that makes a timely follow-on to my recent post on the olive grove paintings. It was just announced that a new Van Gogh painting has been discovered--or perhaps "authenticated" is a better word. The painting had been laying in an attic for decades, believed to be a fake. But careful research has revealed it to be the real thing. You can read the full details here.

The news was especially interesting to me because the painting was painted during Van Gogh's time in Arles, in the South of France, where our recent workshop was held. Though it depicts oak trees rather than olive trees, the colors and feel of the painting are very Provencal. 

To make this discovery even more timely, it comes just before a new Van Gogh exhibit is scheduled to open at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. The exhibit opens on October 12, and I for one hope to see it. 

And one more note on Van Gogh. A new, definitive biography was released in December. It is entitled Van Gogh: The Life, and it gets rave reviews. Weighing in at over 800 pages, it promises to keep me reading for many a night.

Day is Done

Sunset at Pibernet

Photo: Lesley Powell

What better way to end my series of posts on the recent workshop in Provence than with a sunset motif. One evening we had quite a treat--we went out on location in the afternoon, and our hosts packed us a picnic dinner so we could stay in the field until after sunset, and paint in the last light of day. Gorgeous!

The afternoon session found many of us painting the vineyards and nearby houses. Donna Thomas, our workshop coordinator, had one of my favorite paintings of the afternoon. I loved the geometry of it and the movement of the lines. Wish I had a better photo of this one.

(c) Donna Thomas

The real excitement came after the picnic, as the sun began to set. We had intended to do some landscape work when the shadows were long, but we waited a bit too late, and lost the sun before we could get too far underway. The ever-resourceful Roy Williamson was not to be defeated. Since we could not see the colors, he did this fine drawing of a house at the foot of the Luberon range:

(c) Roy Williamson

With the sun sinking fast, some of us decided to tackle a sunset motif. I have talked a lot about the need for plein air painters to be quick, and the sunset tests anybody's speed. The light changes almost second by second, and so do the colors of the land and sky. Not a moment to waste!

My sunset painting is quite small (I thought that working small would give me a leg up on the timing considerations). Even though the canvas is not very large, I believe that I captured the feeling of being in the valley on a summer's night, at the last light:

"Pibernet Sunset"

The notion of painting a sunset captured th imaginations of several people in our group, and the theme was continued the next night from our home base at Les Bassacs. As Maggie remarked, sunsets are an opportunity to see "outrageous" colors in the landscape that you cannot see at any other time. I did two more sunset paintings, pictured below. If these paintings are still available, look for them to be part of my annual Small Gems benefit sale that launches in November.

"Sunset I"
5 x 7 

"Sunset II"
6 x 9
SOLD

And so the sun sets on our wonderful workshop in Provence. Many wonderful memories, new friends, and great new approaches to incorporate in our painting going forward. I am eager for next year!

The Olive Grove

One of our last painting locations during the workshop in Provence was an olive grove. Provence is known for its olive groves, some of which have trees that are hundreds of years old. The olive trees are a quintessential element of the landscape. What's more, their twisty limbs and silvery leaves have captured the imaginations of painters in the South of France for over a century. Vincent van Gogh is one such artist. Here is one of his paintings, painted in St. Remy, about an hour from where we stayed:

"Olive Grove"
Vincent van Gogh, 1889

Olives like full sun, and in case you have not had the occasion to stand in an olive grove in August for three or four hours, I can tell you---it's HOT! And the olive trees don't cast a very big shadow for shelter. Despite the heat, some of the strongest paintings of the workshop came from this location. Here is Rachel Egen at work on her painting...and the finished painting is below.

(c) Rachel Egen

One of the most fun things about painting with a group is seeing the different way that each person interprets a scene. Everybody has a unique "take".  My hope in sharing images of the other paintings is to allow you to share in this fun. I especially liked this one by Audrey Scherr, and its wonderful bold foreground:

(c) Audrey Scherr

Last by not least, here is my set up, with my finished painting, at the end of the session. As you can see, the easel is definitely listing to the right. It's a miracle that either of us were still standing after all those hours in the hot sun!  You can see the finished painting here.

Fellow workshoppers, are you reading?? Coming up next: the final post on the workshop in Provence with Maggie Siner.