Two of my Favorite Trees

When I go to the beach to paint, more often than not, I'm drawn to these trees.   I painted these a couple of weeks ago, before I messed up my knee again.  I'm struggling in the studio with two larger paintings and watching rain most days.  It is a very cool summer.

oil painting 6x8"

oil painting 6x8"

Provence

I returned last week from a wonderful trip to Provence, France where I attended an oil painting workshop taught by Carol Marine.  My neighbor Aimee and I flew to Paris and took a train to Avignon where we got picked up  and taken to nearby beautiful Chateauneuf de Gadagne where the 10 day workshop was held.  Other than learning from Carol, we toured the area, painted in different places, shopped, and enjoyed amazing food and wine.  Carol is an excellent teacher.  Her demos and suggestions for my painting were very helpful and I'm home with inspiration to paint every day.

 Julie Snyder who runs Workshops in France and her helpers Shirley Hemlick and Balinda del Pesco (all three are artists) did a fabulous job keeping us happily busy and comfortable.  

Here are 2 of the paintings I brought home.  They are both on Gessobord.

View from the Chateau  oil painting 8x8 inches

Lavender at Clinique Van Gogh oil painting 8x8 inches

After the workshop, Aimee and I met our friend Carolyn and went to Aix in Provence where we rented a lovely apartment and enjoyed the city and surrounding area for a week.

As on all my trips, I make a book of watercolors. I was so concentrating on oil painting that I didn't get much done in it, but there are a few pages on my Watercolor Postcard blog here.