I’ve been down to the studio this morning quite a bit….working on two more collages and re-working the 7th piece into something else….who knows how many of these “re-workings” on various pieces there will be. Definitely, even work that I see coming together will need more “quality of surface”, while retaining their color and value from a distance as they stand.

2 pm we will all meet in the village studios and bring our work to hang/spread out and discuss. Since we have all worked in two studios, plein air, and photography, we haven’t really seen what the others have done during the residency. This will be a time to discuss our work here and share with the others. Maybe pictures later when I get home.

4 pm Tea time at Dominique’s ceramic studio/atelier.Her studio is located up behind Ellie and John’s Ste. Colombe house….violet shutters and trim…wowee.

Wowee, my foot….we got there and it looked like a great space….but no one was there to greet us or let us in….we have no idea what happened that too her away…..we still had a great view from the studio.

Related Images:

Sad to see Annette and Karen pack up and leave for the airport this morning….and we only have a couple more days ourselves. Boo hoo! Our time at Cat’Art is coming to an end.

What an afternoon and evening we had yesterday. The film crew showed up and we just waited until they filmed whatever they wanted from all of us in the two separate studios and then waited for Karen to return so we could get the map directions to Rebecca Gregory’s chateau and studio northwest of Mirepoix. She had decided not to go so we borrowed the map and waited for Ellie….she couldn’t go either, so we got a late start. However, when we did get on the road, the trip was through some areas we’d not been through before and noted the differences in the soil color and texture, the fields, and the trees and colors. And to think this wasn’t really that far away….many micro climates around this part of France.

Rebecca’s home address is the village of Paligne, however, the property, La Commanderie, lies outside the village………..it is fabulous and dates to the 13th century when built by one of the Cathars. The lineage is lost (if I got my info correct) for a couple of hundred years but the main estate was built in the 16th century. It is just a BEAUTIFUL property. We came to see her studio and were pleasantly rewarded with viewing the house and grounds as well. Rebecca’s work is really wonderful…..metal sculpture. Her web-site is http://www.rebecca-gregory.com .

She and her work are lovely and we hope to keep in touch with her career as time goes by.

On the way back through Mirepoix, we took a chance that our favorite restaurant would have a space for us to have dinner ……..AND they did. It was a superlative meal again as last time. You can’t ask for better service or food than at the Relais Royal Hotel restaurant.

http://www.relaisroyal.com

Related Images:

Worked in the studio some of the day…..read a few chapters of de Kooning again. I planned to upload the latest collage image but it did the same thing as the other one….turned from vertical to horizontal and I can’t find a way to rotate it with the blog program. So the picture is from the area of the village compound studios and gallery.

It looked as though the day would be another good one for us to get out and about so we got in the car late afternoon and just drove down various roads we’d not been on previously for some reason or other. Ended up making the rounds around Lac Montbel from another direction and actually going through the little villlage. We took some more photos but the sun wasn’t right for others we would have liked to take….not low enough or too much backlighting.

Leran was another small town we’d been passing signs to in the past so we drove through….nice place with a little outdoor glace/coffee/wine shop to stop and sit for awhile The Unicorn, I think it was……oh yes, and another patesserie right across the way to investigate.

When we got back to the residency, we checked in with the sculpture studio to see the work that came back from Nicolae’s show in Andorra…….wow, some fantastic marble pieces and wood and metal as well.

We also ran by David’s studio to see if he had any other small abstract pieces but I think they are too heavy for my quota for luggage going back, and over my budget as well…..would have liked to take one home.

Related Images:

Another painting from the Cat’Art series…will make a web size image tomorrow of the collage I did yesterday.

Pat and I finally get to meet Randy and her husband Jean Marc from the Possomworld blog…They live in Chalabre. Some of the others of the group have run into them previously. Ellie said that we have lunch set up in Mirepoix today.

Wonderful day…sun shining and warmer. The natives laugh and say it’s summer.

Ellie and John came by and we all caravanned to Mirepoix for lunch at Le Commerce. Very good plat du jour…some ordered other items from the menu. The restaurant is in a hotel right near centre ville. After lunch we roamed around the shops and I found a few things to take home…no telling what since family might be reading the blog.

Not much in the way of “art work” done today other than continuing to soak up the wonderful atmosphere in the south of France….did I say we all love it here??

Related Images:

Yesterday….I did get to the studio….don’t know yet if it’s something I’ll like later. It was kind of an “automatic writing” type thing. Starting with green this time…woo, woo, and I mean GREEN.

Don’t know how I did it but the image is rotated counter clockwise……Dark should be at the top.

So back to the studio today to get some marks, etc. on more paper. So, think vertical for the next painting….no getting away from landscape though as every mark I make suddenly denotes land.

Enjoying reading De Kooning…..who’d thought he would have been a neatnik???

I got another mixed media collage started….wondering how much farther to carry it….and not wanting it to get too busy.

Related Images:

Slow day…holiday here the day after Easter.
Went for French onion soup over at Ady’s in the evening……been reading and just lazing around.
Did a little studio work early in the day.

Up about 7am or so and decided it was laundry day……..that can be a day for one load, washed and dried. Have to figure out how to turn on oven later as I HAVE to have some food that isn’t pastry, apples and coffee.

Went down to the studio again and fooled around and am ready to get back…..later maybe take a picture or two of the work yesterday.

Here’s one of the 15 inch squares……….

Thought we’d get out and about today but have not…..well maybe later or I’ll get sleepy and take a nap between reading De Kooning……..

Just spotted Ellie heading down to the studio…gotta go.

Related Images:

Yaay….finally got some studio time in. Not that I know what I’m doing but it’s something. I’m not pushing it as that is NOT what we are here for. This experience will arrive in its on good time in my work on down the line.

Today is the Easter Party…about 3:30ish…Barbecue, French Style. People are arriving from all around. By the time we walk over to the area prepared for the party, there is a large open fire being tended and chickens being cooked. The tables are heavy with salads, snacks, and wine decanters. The tables are decorated with grasses, flowers Annette gathered, and deeply colored eggs dyed by Nikolai. We’ll have to get him to tell us how he got such deep, beautiful colors…I saw one that must be Karen’s favorite “barn red”.

Before the evening is over, we hear everything from Elvis to bongos for entertainment. We also met many more people and artists from around the area. We have invitations to visit the studio of a potter/ceramist Saturday and a sculptor who lives the other side of Mirepoix next Sunday afternoon.

Note from Monday morning….people are sleeping out wherever they find shelter with sleeping bags…..guess they couldn’t drive home and there is no motel 6 around here.

I didn’t take my camera to the party so we’ll have to share pictures later with Karen and Pat.

Related Images:

What a view coming back from Esperaza….. near and above Rivel today. Those yellow flowers and the unbelievable varieties of green is astonishing.

Happy, happy…the clouds and possible rain went away and it was a beautiful day. I hope the weather holds for the Easter Party tomorrow.

Worked in the studio. I can’t tell what I’m accomplishing yet at all………just have to trust in the process. I’m not here to try to paint what I see in front of me, but to absorb the energy and flavor and to know it will come through at an opportune time.

Just a thought…I don’t think I’ve ever been to so many grocery stores/markets in a week or two in my life. Seems we make a stop at stores, markets or patesseries, etc. a couple of times a day.

Bientot……….

Related Images:

Just checked and it should be around 70 and sunny today.” Make hay” as they say since rain is in the next few days forecast…maybe that will wrong.

Down to check out the studio again..worked on a few collage pieces but I need some fluid medium instead of this gel for everything. So plan to head out for lunch and to find somewhere to buy medium or its eqivilent. Catherine gave us the names and locations where we might find it and we set out toward Larouqe ‘d Holmes and beyond. We couldn’t find any but did find a woman who wrote directions to a “specialty” store in Foix…………..Hey, we are open to going to Foix since we seem to be on the “Route du Foix” continually. We finally got there and miraculously found the place…a bookstore with some art supplies. I got two versions of glue/medium and we headed back. Stopped at a store for more pastries for breakfast…..found some nice olive oil soap and headed back to Cat’Art.

All the usual….fixed something for dinner, met Karen’s granddaughter, Lauren, (coming in from Belgium) and ended the day with this missive.

Tomorrow, some are going to Esperaza for the life drawing again………Au Revoir.

Related Images:

Got away from the B & B about 9:30 am and got Lynda Marshall, the owner, to take a picture of Pat and me with our Paint-L banner Karen made…gotta prove we WERE there. The place out at Ste. Esteve Janson is beautiful and Lynda is a lovely hostess as well and made us feel right at home….complete with a new map to find our way back to Ste. Colombe. It was a faster trip this time using the toll roads. We got back into Limoux and had lunch about 1:30-2pm or so and then went by the grocery for a few things on the way to the residency. So tired but got stuff out of the car, checked email, made notations, downloaded pictures….all that good stuff although no time yet to upload the blog entries.

Felt like we came home when we drove up to the residency.Happy to find that we don’t have anything onthe schedule for tomorrow.

Related Images:

Fondation Victor Vaserely

Up this morning…. leisurely had our breakfast of juice, yogurt, croissants, and coffee. Then off to find the Fondation Victor Vaserely.http://www.fondationvaserely.com A noted Op Art artist, Vaserely designed the building and incorporated his geometric experimental artwork on a grand scale into the design of the unique building. Although not usually my taste in art, the work and the building are impressive. My local art museum has some of his work so I’ll have to mention this visit to the director there.
Mentioning getting to anywhere….everyone will tire of hearing of all the “lost” times….needless to say, much time is lost trying to find places that look easy to locate on the map. By the time we found the foundation, toured, and tried to get to Aix centre ville , it was lunch time. Then after looking around and practically being blown over periodically by the Mistral winds, we got in the car to find the Cezanne Atelier. missed it on the way out of the city center and by the time we could have gotten back it would be closed…so no tour of the atelier/workshop. It would have been better to go on a guided tour of this kind of thing…too bad.
I hope we can get to out to Sainte Victoire but we’ll have to get on the road back before too late in the morning.

Related Images:

Just now getting around to writing anything (Wednesday)…for Tuesday as that was travel day . It was a long drive but interesting to see all the countryside, villages and cities along the way. Through Carcassonne to Beziers, Montpellier, Penzenas(stopped here to eat the goodies we brought along with us), Arles and then to find our way out to the B & B out of Aix. It’s a gorgeous place although the Mistral is blowing. I think we brought it with us so it’s a might cold with that much wind and the sun going down. Our hostess, Lynda, was most helpful with information for our trip out to Aix and about for the next day. Most glorious was the hot shower and towels warmed on the towel warmer….and a hot meal in the art deco dining room.

Related Images: