Tag: France

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Art Weekly 152 – Menton Colours, France

Menton Colours, France

11th November 2014 – SOLD

Menton is one of my favourite places in France, It’s a bustling town on the Riveria and just across the border from Italy, which gives it a wonderful mixture of Italian and French. The buildings, particularly in the ‘Old Town’ have the wonderful coloured facades of Italy, and thankfully the coffee is generally more Italian-style as well!

In February each year, Menton holds la Fete du Citron (the Lemon Festival), the only place in Europe I’ve seen a 5 metre tall Kiwi made of lemons being parading proudly down the street!

If  you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Menton Colours, France
Price:  AUD$90.00
Size: 21 x 15cm
(Postage and handling included)

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Art Weekly No 147 – Marche Provencal, Sanary sur Mer

AW-147_MarcheProvencal-Sana7th August 2014 –

As promised, a painting from France this week. I have so many photos of French markets, but the one near the lovely harbour of Sanary sur Mer is one of the most colourful one I’ve seen in a while. As I’ve said before, some of the larger markets seem to be moving towards white awnings – all part and parcel of the smart and very clever market vans that are ‘popped open’ with everything in place. It does seem more noticable so far in Italy than France, but it seems a pity to lose the traditional coloured umbrellas. I would imagine that the market traders are quite happy though, if they can afford the upgrade.

If  you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Marche Provencal, Sanary sur Mer
Price:  AUD$90.00
Size: 21 x 15cm
(Postage and handling included)

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Art Weekly No 142 – April Poppies

AW-142_AprilPoppies30th April 2014 –

It’s springtime here in Europe, and the poppies are everywhere again. In France, where I first fell in love with them, they’re memorable in large swathes (that word must have been invented just for poppies!) in open fields, but here in Greece they pop up everywhere. They seem to particularly like growing along the side of the roads, often mingling with the vibrant yellow daisies (remember, I do live in a rather rural area – can’t see this happening in Sydney!). They’re also found scattered around the villages, tucked in between old buildings, or against lovely crumbling stone walls. The poppies here too, do seem to be larger and a much richer red than the ones I remember from France.

I went sketching today with Gill’s On Location gang, to a lovely village up in the hills, and there they were, a whole wall full of poppies, just waiting for me.  I couldn’t resist a quick sketch!

Chrisokellaria-Poppies

If  you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

April Poppies
Price:  AUD$90.00
Size: 21 x 15cm
(Postage and handling included)

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Art Weekly No 140 – Blue Boats, Sanary sur Mer

AW-140_BlueBoats_Sanary-sur9th April 2014

There is something about the little harbour in Sanary sur Mer that I find quite magical. It’s lined with colourful Provencal style buildings, and tightly crammed with lovely old, even more colourful, traditional fishing boats. Tiny sea food stalls often line the port, selling today’s catch;  each stall proudly labelled with the name of the boat it was caught on. There is also a wonderful daily market under the trees with the usual spectacle of beautifully arranged fresh fruit and vegetables that the French do so very well.

Sanary sur Mer is a small, but interesting town on the French Cote d’Azur.  In the pre-war 1930’s, Sanary became home to a large number of German writers and intellectuals. I particularly like a quote from one, Hermann Kesten;  “If one lives in exile, the café becomes at once the family home, the nation, church and parliament, a desert and a place of pilgrimage, cradle of illusions and their cemetery… In exile, the café is the one place where life goes on”.  How true!  Sadly, following the outbreak of war, most of these exiles were imprisoned in Camp des Milles, a French concentration camp on the outside of Aix en Provence.

If  you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Blue Boats, Sanary sur Mer
Price: AUD$90.00
Size: 21 x 15cm
(Postage and handling included)

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Art Weekly No 133 – Reflets de France

AW-133_Reflets-de-France
For Sale – 10th December 2013 – SOLD

This title is actually a well known food brand here, but I do think it also suits this painting as, to me, it is one of the rather memorable ‘reflections of France’.  These long straight roads lined with plane trees are such a wonderful sight at all times of the year, but there is something quite stunning about them in winter when they’re almost bare and their trunks glimmer almost white in the sunshine. We have been getting plenty of sunshine here in the Languedoc, but that also comes with COLD. When I got inside following my early morning trot down to the boulangerie recently, Peter was pleased to point out that was minus 5oC! I suspect it might almost be warmer in the UK (and that’s saying something!) where we’re heading off towards tomorrow, with a few days exploring Normandy along the way.

If  you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Reflets de France
Price: AUD$ SOLD
Size: 15 x 21cm
(Postage and handling included)

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Art Weekly No 132 – Le Marche, Aix en Provence

AW-132_LeMarche_AixenProvenFor Sale – 11th November 2013 –

As you might have gathered from my recent blog, we’re now in France, after a great saunter through Italy. My previous post gives you the highlights of that.

I’ve never managed to get to Aix en Provence, which is strange considering we lived within a 2 hour drive for 3 years. We’ve had a couple of attempts during our past French trips, but it never quite worked out, and once we even arrived there, but couldn’t find hotel.  This time we were determined to at least have a look at the place. We spent the night, and next morning managed to land right in the midst of the Saturday market – a real bonus for me, of course. I was becoming convinced that many of the French markets were abandoning the coloured umbrellas, and leaning more towards the practical white ones, often attached to the side of the ever more efficient vans.  But there they were, in all their glory – umbrellas in every colour, stretched through a large area of Aix.  It was a very crowded market, so taking photos proved a little tricky, and I have plenty of heads and elbows in some of my shots as proof, and although the overall impression was one of multi-colours, when narrowing it down for photos, I didn’t quite capture it as I would have liked, but ho hum….. it was still great. The mushroom stand was just amazing, as being autumn, the cepes were there in all their glory, giant ones this year too.

Anyway, this little painting is actually a watercolour, worked up in my rather heavy handed acrylic method of painting. The trick with watercolour I believe, is leaving lots of nice white paper – something I am still trying to achieve. This one depicts a tiny section of the flower market, but there will be more of these market scenes to follow. Have I said that before I wonder…..?

If  you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Le Marche, Aix en Provence
Price: AUD$90.00
Size: 21 x 15cm
(Postage and handling included)

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A Painting A Week No 129 – Virginian Creeper, Chateau Biron

For Sale – 27th August 2013 –

I took this photo during my first French sojourn in the Lot district in 2003. I’ve always loved the photo and intended to paint it, and its taken me this long!  Its a start, but I would like to attempt a large canvas – will add it to the list.

I was visiting Chateau Biron at the time, and was captured by the gold and red Virginian Creeper climbing on the stonework inside the courtyard walls of the Chateau.  Its been a long time, but I still remember it clearly!

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Virginian Creeper, Chateau Biron
Price: AUD$90.00
Size: 15 x 21cm
(Postage and handling included)

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A Painting A Week No 128 – A Little Lavender, Provence

AW-128-ALittleLavender-Prov

For Sale – 7th August 2013 – 

Summer in France is always brimming with beautiful flowers, one of the most exceptional being the lavender. Huge swathes of it turn the countryside into patches of purple and its always interesting to see what’s grown alongside, or sometimes, what pops up wildly in the middle of it. I took this photo near Gordes one summer. It was just a small field, but I liked the combination with the pink shrub, which I believe is the Ile de France Butterfly Bush, or Buddleia.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

A Little Lavender, Provence
Price: AUD$90.00
Size: 21 x 15cm
(Postage and handling included)

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Poppies at the Chateau

Poppies-at-the-Chateau

Details of this painting can be found in Gallery – French Life.

I photographed these poppies whilst staying at Chateau Mouillepied in the Charente area of France way back in 2005. Although it was a rather modest chateau, they had the most beautiful gardens, and when I arrived I had to seek out Monsieur who was merrily digging away amongst the bushes. I knew one day I’d finally get around to painting these poppies.

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A Painting A Week No 121 – Languedoc Harvest

AW-121_Languedoc-Harvest

For Sale – 11th February 2013 –

Another appropriate painting this week as we’re here in the Languedoc again. There’re no golden leaves left on the grapes now, but the countryside is still looking beautiful with its rows of bare vines, the golden sandy soil, and the huge skies.  We’re staying with friends in the lovely village of Magalas, and seem to be spending an awful lot of time driving along what I always think of as ‘Napoleon’s French roads’! – long and straight and lined on either side with rows of bare plain trees, their silver trunks sparkling in the winter light.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you’d rather deal with me direct, please email me at jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Languedoc Harvest
Price: AUD$90.00
Size: 21 x 15cm
(Postage and handling included)