"Wash Day" mini Provence painting

 Some of my favorite painting subjects are the windows and doors of Provence:

"Wash Day" Oil on Canvas, 7"x 5" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

For me, the charm of Provence is in every day life.. I love the Provencal colors-- the gorgeous combination of the buildings' earthy hues contrasted by brightand cheerfully painted shutters and doors.  And most of all I enjoyed the people. By American standards they might seem a little reserved, but they are but warm and lovely. They possess an aesthetic that really appeals to me; taking care to fill their homes (and doors and windows!) with touches of simple beauty, rich with color, texture and quality.

A few gallery snaps from the "Small Stuff" show

Don't let anyone tell you that hanging a show for a bunch of small works is an easy task. But after it was all in place, we were very happy with the results, and I'm glad to report that my husband and I are still married. ;-) Here are a few shots from the show, on view now through Jan. 30th: When we were looking at this space for the gallery, one of the first things I noticed was this cute built-in. It's a perfect display for my minis and my new line of watercolors. Here I've decorated it with some lights and mistletoe:

A close-up that shows some of the ornaments--I like the little silver and gold Christmas balls along the bottom shelf:

On the opposite wall are the landscape paintings of Venice and Lake Como:

Close-up shot of the mantelpiece decorated with paintings. To the left of the large Venetian landscape are a series of little square 6x6" Lake Como paintings.Regular readers probably know by now that I'm a fan of grouping big and small paintings together like this. I'd love to do something similar over my fireplace mantle at home.

A small grouping from the next room of some of my more local autumn scenes:

Iguess that's really all I had time for, photography-wise. I may share a few more snaps and I will definitely share more info on some of the individual pieces in the show very soon.

Miniature landscape painting of the Tuscany sunset

This painting sold last night at my gallery exhibition preview, but it's still on view tonight for the art walk It is a companion to another Tuscany painting I blogged about a couple of days ago:

"Lingering Light, Tuscany II" Oil on linen, about 3.5" x 7.75" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

If you're doing the art walk tonight in Richmond, come by the gallery and see all of the ""Small Stuff" -- miniature paintings and prints --on display for the holiday season. The gallery is located at 16 East Main Street between 1st and Foushee.

If you're not in Richmond, I am continually uploading new paintings to my website or you can see them offered first here, on the blog.

A Provence Watercolor Vignette and a Newsflash

It has been a busy week tending to other things, so not much blogging. Above is a little watercolor vignette of one of my favorite subjects--the Provincial countryside! I may go back and add a little detail to the lavender rows...not sure. This is a small piece, a 4x6" image on 5x7" paper, so I kind of like the simplicity and freshess right now. I will be doing a lot more of these in the coming weeks as I prepare for my next opening in early December, entitled "Small Stuff"

Speaking of small stuff, here's the other thing I've been working on: I'll be releasing a series of mini-prints soon. These are archival prints of a selection of images in mini format, sizes ranging from 2.5" x 3.5", to 8 x 10". They'll be offered matted with acid-free materials, and they are soooo cute! I've been color correcting and proofing all week, sometimes tearing my hair out, but I expect to launch this line by the beginning of next week. Let's hope I'm not completely bald by then!

Art Sketch- May in the Luberon

Today I present a watercolor/ pen and ink sketch I've done in preparation for a larger oil painting. This scene shows a small stone structure alongside a poppy-lined path leading to a Provincial farmhouse in the heart of Provence. The stone structure is one of many I saw while traveling through the Luberon valley. It looked to be a mini-borie. A borie is a stone hut commonly used in agricultural areas for storage or shelter. Some in this region date far back in history, but they have also been built in modern times. I don't know what use this mini-borie would possibly have held other than decoration, or even if it is technically considered a borie, but it did have the same kind of honeycomb or igloo structure:

"May in the Luberon" Watercolor and Pen & Ink on Paper Image size 6x8"