What happens when you're in Provence for a glorious week of painting and pleasure, and instead of waking up to
this in the morning ...
... you get
this?
For
one of us, who clearly suffers from Seasonal Affect Disorder, even the
slightest threat of rain will throw me into a mild depression. In fact,
although I was lucky enough to spend a few extra days (OK Meg, I know,
it was closer to a week!) in Provence after our wonderful artists'
workshop last month, I was not pleased when, uncharacteristically for
this time of year, the heavens opened up and it rained off and on for
three days.
I'm not the only one who was in a funk about it. When
it rains in Provence, it automatically becomes the hot topic of
conversation everywhere you go, with people buzzing about, saying things
like: "This is totally ridiculous! It never rains at this time of
year!" or, "This is a completely unusual year because it didn't rain
all winter" or, "It's good for the soil but bad for the soul" or, "The
truffle season will be ruined if it rains this month." You get the
idea! Nobody likes it and everyone talks about it and complains about
it ... except for one unique and determined genre of person: The Plein
Air Artist!
For
plein air artists, the cloudy skies are just another excuse to get out
there with paints, boots and a windbreaker to explore the dramatic
effect of clouds, contrasts and ever changing light.
- Bill Davidson, Plein Air Painter Extraordinaire
And
for this plein air artists, in particular, nothing could hold him back
from the pure thrill of painting in the rain, and catching that fleeting
light that is so dramatic and different, even when it means a soaking
wet palette and a rain drenched canvas. Bill Davidson couldn't get
enough of it.
As a fan of his work, it only strengthened my appreciation of what it takes to be a dedicated plein air painter.
When
he showed me the oil sketch he had done of the town of Goult, in the
Luberon Valley (above), he said his canvas had been so wet, he had to
stop painting. "Aaah, it was fabulous!" he gushed.
One
of my favorite paintings is one he did from a sketch along a country
road, when he was simultaneously dodging puddles and raindrops to
produce a little masterpiece, called Provence Mood:
The inspiration for it was pretty dramatic as well.
His
first sketch of the town of Bonnieux was painted on a cloudy day, which
was dramatic for photography, but not a happy place for a painting.
At my insistence, a a couple of days later, he went back and captured the sunny side of the village.
- Sunny Bonnieux
Bill
sketched all over the South of France and came up with a huge amount of
inspiration and fodder for paintings that he will finish over time.
We're so lucky that he'll be bringing us some for our upcoming Bastille
Day Show, on July 14th at Huff Harrington Fine Art.
We are
excitedly pulling together all of our French inspired paintings for this
show, which will feature some of the work done by our guest artists who
attended Bill Davidson and Nancy Franke's wonderful workshops in
Provence. It's a new idea for us and I hope it will become a tradition
... just as our Bastille Day show is now a five year old tradition!
Luckily for the artists and the workshop, the weather cooperated nicely
and nobody had to endure the raw elements that Bill Davidson
encountered. But even if it had rained in Provence, something tells me
it wouldn't have stopped this wonderful breed of troopers called Plein
Air Artists, who make a pact with nature, for better and for worse. And
I know for sure, it wouldn't have put a damper on the week we had
together.
We hope you'll join us on Saturday, July 14th, rain or
shine, for our Bastille Day Art Show and come meet some of our Plein Air
Extraordinaire artists!
A bientot ...
Ta ta.
HH
