Painting Light and Colour

‘Cafe at Cordes sur Ciel, France’

Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 cm

Status: Private collection, The Netherlands

Cordes cafe

This is another view of Cordes sur Ciel, from the main square or La Place la Halle, looking across at the cafe. One thing in particular that I recall about this one is that three small boys were playing football in the square – it has a huge covered roof, and it was drizzling rain outside, so I was kinda nervous that they would knock me and the easel over. Fortunately, it didn’t happen, but the anxiety may have contributed to the lively (nervous) brush and knife work!

‘Cathedral at Albi, France’

Oil on canvas, 38 x 55 cm

Status: For sale: €350

Cathedral at Albi

This is a view of the Cathedral (Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d’Albi) in Albi. It is a world heritage site and unique in that it is built of small bricks instead of the larger blocks which were used for cathedrals constructed later.

In the city, there is also a museum dedicated to Albi’s most famous son – the painter Toulouse Lautrec.

The river Tarn runs through the city, and I painted this from the south side of the river looking back across towards the old town, and was able to capture some interesting morning light.

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Poppies

Poppy field, near La Cabannes, France

Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 cm

Private collection, Cordes sur Ciel, France

The poppies are out here as you can see. While I was painting this one, a lone cyclist in full Tour de France regalia stopped his bike and come over to where I was in the field, and informed me that in French, they are called ‘coquelicots’ of the rouge variety. Nice to know!

Anyway, a nice result in the end, all painted in the field, with no final touches in the studio required at all. Should be able to get a few more tableaus done before all the flowers perish, but then it is time for the sunflowers I have been told. I don’t think it is possible to go too far wrong with the reds and greens in front of me, so I will see how the yellows of the sunflowers can be handled next month.

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‘The Tarn west of Albi’

Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

Status: For sale: €225

Tarn River

The river Tarn is one of the major rivers in the south of France, and the Tarn valley is a significant tourist attraction.  As the river makes its way through the country side,  there are numerous opportunities to paint the landscape.

I kept this one very loose and mostly abstract, but the colour and tone is pretty much what was in front of me. I did the entire thing on site, (just me and the bugs!).

I was going to take it a bit further in the studio, but apart from a few tidy-up brush strokes, decided against it. Nothing worse than an over worked painting, and I think the sponteneity and freshness of the brush and painting knife marks show it.

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‘The Château de Saint-Félix-Lauragais’

Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 cm

Status: €145

The Château de Saint-Félix-Lauragais is a castle in the commune of Saint-Félix-Lauragais in the Haute-Garonne département of France, which is about a 40 minute drive from where we are currently staying.

The castle was originally constructed in the 13th century. In the 14th century, the castle was transformed into a country house by a brother of Pope John XXII. The complex includes buildings from the 13th to the 18th centuries.

It is now privately owned, it has been listed since 1994 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

‘Landscape near Lavour, France’

Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 cm

Status: Panel A: Private collection, France

Panel B: For sale, €180

Landscape painting is really just a box of air with little marks in it telling you how far back in that air things are. (Lennart Anderson)

I painted these two little panels on the same day, one in the morning, and the other one in the afternoon, near where we are staying in France. It was still quite cold when I painted them, and I had to find a vantage spot out of the wind. The cool light and the dry air created a harmony that unified the scene and provided me with the fairly straight forward task of putting the paint in the right places, which I think I managed to do to some extent!

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‘Rembrant’s Bodyguard’

Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

Status: €225

Anything painted directly, on the spot, always has a strength, a power, a lively touch that is lost in the studio. Your first impression is the right one. Stick to it and refuse to budge. (Eugene Boudin)

Although we are now resident in France, I just wanted to post this one last Netherland’s windmill, as I particulary like this one. Painted on the spot during the course of one day, this is the same windmill as the one a few posts ago, but painted on the canal side, and in much nicer weather earlier in the year.

Just goes to prove how the conditions dictate the result, even from the same painter!

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Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

Status: €360

Country house

‘Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one’s sensations.’ (Paul Cezanne)

This is a painting I did of a house in a block of land directly behind where we are currently staying.

I finished it during the course of a complete Sunday, it being relatively easy to take my paints and easel and set up in the bottom paddock here, and every time I wanted a break, I just had to walk up to the ‘gite’ to get a coffee or a sandwhich. As a result, there was no need whatsoever to touch it up in the studio.

I even signed it on the spot. Talk about confidence!

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‘du Château de Loubens-Lauragais’

Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm

Status: €360

Chateau

‘I don’t believe in making pencil sketches and then painting your landscape in your studio. You must be right under the sky’. (William Merritt Chase)

As we are now firmly ensconsed in the south of France pending the opening of our gallery space later this year, it is the perfect opportunity to get some of the local landscape down on canvas. This painting of the Chateau was done on location, from the carpark over two afternoons, much to the amusement of the locals – it was pretty cold, even though the afternoon sun was strong on both occasions. I expect it will go nicely in the new gallery.

We are firming up on an agreement to operate my art practice out of a gallery in Cordes this summer, and I will keep all informed of the progress as we go!

‘Candle’

Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm

Status: €295

‘Hitherto the nude has always been represented in poses which presuppose an audience. But my women are simple, honest creatures who are concerned with nothing beyond their physical occupations… it is as if you were looking through a keyhole.’ (Edgar Degas)

Candle

Although I have been doing a  lot of landscapes lately, it’s really nice to be able to settle down in the studio and work on a figurative painting. It’s also a lot more comfortable and warmer. My apologies for the relatively poor quality of the photograph. I was only able to use my phone camera, as everything else is pretty much packed away in storage as we move down to South of France. Should be able to post some nice landscapes from there soon, as is appreciably warmer than Amsterdam this time of year.