Missing Provence (and a new landscape painting of the Luberon)

I've really been missing Provence. But with the U.S. dollar faring so abysmally against the Euro, right now I'll have to console myself with paintings. On my last trip to France, I fell in love with the Luberon. With its gorgeous scenery, wonderful olives, cheeses, and wine, it is an easy place to love.

Provence landscape painting Luberon valley France art

"Sentier aux Coquelicots" (Trail of Poppies) Oil on canvas, 24x30" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

The village of Lourmarin is a little gem, and a great destination for the plein air painter. There is no train station there, but in many ways, I see this as a plus because it wasn't overrun with tourists. It was lively enough in the daytime as it is a very charming town and popular with daytrippers (it rightfully earned a listing in the book "The Most Beautiful Villages of Provence".) But at night it was extremely quiet and peaceful.

Lourmarin is easily walk-able, and for a small town, there were a number of good restaurants to choose from. On longer hikes we soon found ourselves out in the dazzling countryside, with vineyards, olive groves, cherry orchards and lots of wildflowers in the spring and summer. Needless to say, I always had my painting gear handy. Thanks to my fabulous husband, my burden was usually relatively light, which is why he soon took to referring to himself as "le pack-mule". ;-) Further afield, short drives easily took us to some of the other charming villages nearby (Ansouis, Bonnieux, Roussillon, etc.) which had their own charm and beauty.

I am sure we wouldn't have done wrong basing ourselves out of any one of the many lovely villages in Provence, but our time in Lourmarin was pretty darn near idyllic, and I long to return. Loooong. And I'm sure I will. It might take me a little time to save the extra pennies, but I will.

p.s. I did!

Slideshow demo: Provence cafe painting start to finish

While I diligently documented the progress of my latest Provence painting, I was remiss in posting about it here on the blog. So to make up for it, here is a short demo that shows the development. The painting is of an al fresco lunchtime scene in the lovely French village of Roussillon. To see a the slideshow (with captions), click here:

"Dejeuner a Roussillon", Oil on Canvas, 36x24" ©Jennifer Young

"Dejeuner a Roussillon", Oil on Canvas, 36x24" ©Jennifer Young

New "Art for Food" charity auction listed- Provence watercolor

Here is the latest in my series of charity auctions for the Central Virginia Foodbank. I am listing this little Provence watercolor of the Luberon Valley  on eBay, and you will notice some adjustments to the listing due to the things I wrote about in my previous posts here and here.

Provence watercolor landscape painting

“Summer Vineyard” Overall size 8×10″ (image size 5×7″) (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

On the easel- Provence outdoor cafe painting WIP

After spending so much time painting small pieces, it is nice to be working on something large again. This is the beginning stage of a 36x24" oil painting of an outdoor cafe in the Provencial village of Rousillon. I painted a small study of this scene some time ago and I have been wanting to create a larger version for a while.

Provence painting work in progress

Even as a full time, near daily painter, it's always a little scary posting a work-in-progress because I don't exactly know how it will turn out. I have a pretty good idea, but from time to time  a painting may not come into fruition in the way that I expect. But, that's all part of making art, I suppose-- a little trial and error, and a lot of practice.

It might be a little hard to tell what's going on at this stage, but what I'm painting is a village square with lunchtime diners seated at umbrella-covered cafe tables. I've started in my typical manner of putting down my design with a light wash of ultramarine blue and cad. red light or permanent alizarin, thinned way down with mineral spirits. I'm drawing with brushes, but also just with a rag, wiping in and rubbing out as I develop the composition.

While I'm still keeping it pretty light and loose, with architectural scenes I do a bit more drawing and shading than I might with pure landscape. This does not mean that my compositional decisions are done, however. Sometimes I will make changes, shift, add or subtract things as I am further along in the painting process. But I've gotten a good start and I'm ready to jump in!

*UPDATE: See the progression of this painting demonstration from start to finish here!

"Summer Vineyard", Provence watercolor vignette

Last minute Christmas shoppers have kept me incredibly busy (and thankful) this week at the gallery, so I am finding little time to blog and do much needed computer work. But I do have a new little Provence watercolor painting to share.

provence painting watercolor by Jennifer Young

"Summer Vineyard" Watercolor/Pen & Ink on Paper (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

It might not be quite "season appropriate," but if you're like me, there's never a bad time to dream of summertime in Provence.