Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Colours of Provence

I had read about how many artists came to paint in Provence, attracted by the luminous light and brilliant colours. I think this must be one of those things you have to see to believe. The colours here are so vivid: the sky is a uniform light blue, the vineyards are brilliantly green, and the soil has a reddish hue. Today we drove into Aix-en-Provence, about 45 minutes from our cottage. It was market day and the main square was filled with colours of all intensities--golden sunflowers, fresh green beans, tomatoes, les courges, peaches, strawberries, melons, every fruit or vegetable imaginable. Our French is getting a little better. We bought a fougasse, tomatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini, herbs des Provence, battered zucchini flowers, and half a poulet roti-- a rotisserie chicken. Can't wait for dinner!

My highlight of the day was visiting Cezanne's studio in Aix. He painted here until his death in 1906 and his studio has been left virtually unchanged. It was almost surreal to see and touch his supplies--his worn leather knapsack, umbrellas, smock, overcoat and hat, and most of all, the items from his most famous still life paintings--the wine bottle, pedestal plate (visualize fruit on top), even the table on which he placed these items. We also walked through the trails in his garden. It was easy to imagine him there and to see why he found this part of France so inspirational.

Wish I could post my pictures here, but the iPad won't let me. I have been posting our photos on my Facebook site. If you are interested, just send a request to be my Facebook "friend" and you will have access to my site.

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