Ahead of his Time?

"The Scarlet Sunset"
Watercolor and Gouache on Paper
JMW Turner, circa 1835-40

While in Aix-en-Provence this summer, I visited a special exhibition featuring the works of the great British artist JMW Turner.  True confessions: there was so much to see and learn from the exhibit that I went twice! The exhibit was titled "Turner and Color", and boy was that an apt title.

"Impression, Sunrise"
Oil on Canvas
Claude Monet, 1872 

Much has been written about Turner being a precursor of the Impressionists. Turner died just eleven years after Monet was born, so most of Turner's career transpired before the great Impressionist "revolution" got underway. Yet for Turner, as for the Impressionists, the effects of color and light were far more important than the illustrative aspects of a painting. He invented a way of painting that got his point across without showing pictorial details. In-

Happy Trails

(c) Sherrie Russ Levine, 2016

I am not usually much of a hiker, but I found myself taking to the trail during the recent workshop in Provence. Our host took us to a beautiful spot on one of the "Grand Randonnee" trails (loosely translated as "Grand Hiking" trails, and commonly known as  the "GR" trails). I learned that this system of hiking trails crisscrosses the entire country of France (see a map here). You can cover the whole territory on foot, on a network of marked and cleared hiking trails. 

(c) Jane Robertson, 2016

I loved the spot we painted. It had many of my key criteria for outdoor painting: (1) a cool, shady spot to stand (the shade cover lasted until about noon, long enough for a full morning's painting session); (2) a choice of multiple different views and compositions; and

Close to Home

(c) Lesley Powell, 2016

One of my favorite days from the recent workshop in Provence with Maggie Siner was the day we painted in and around the tiny hamlet of Les Bassacs. Les Bassacs served as our home during the workshop, and I found that as I got to know it better and better, I grew to love it more and more. This feeling is due in no small part to the hospitality and encouragement of our host (and fellow painter), David Atkinson, and his wife Liz. Better hosts could not be found! 

(c) Robyn Spence, 2016

Sometimes when you become familiar with a place, your eye grows numb to its beauty, and to the potential paintings that it holds. Not so with Les Bassacs, at least not in my case! The top painting is mine, from the morning we painted right in our own backyard. I loved that tall, odd shaped building, and its rough plaster surface and irregular windows. When I saw the interesting shapes presented in the top painting, I just had to grab them. This turned out to