Provence always calls to me: Land of painters. Walk with giants. Mountains like titans had dreamed them.
In the footsteps of the great painters. Here’s a selection of my favourites.
Paul Cezanne • ‘Le Grand Pin.’ (près d’Aix en Provence). 1896, 85×92 cm
Paul Cezanne • ‘Mont San Victoire.’ (près d’Aix en Provence). 95 x 65 cm. 1904-1906.
Matisse. La Fenetre Ouverte, Collioure. 1905.
Was it all a dream?
‘Provence is a state of mind’… Artists paint their dreams of paradise as much as the real place.
Roussillon Les Ocres
The artists village of Provence. Where the rich ocres come from. The southern heart of colour!
Real or Unreal
It’s surprising to connect a painting to the place where it was painted. The actual land. The light. I walk these places in Provence, the same places in the paintings. I try to find the painting in the landscape, connect the two.
Has overexposure to images made us blind to the beauty around us? We scroll through countless photos, but do we really see? Postcards – sometimes called “clichés” in French – reduce places to just a few familiar, unreal images. I think many of us have lost the ability to truly appreciate what’s right in front of our eyes. Taking a photograph of a scenic view is not the same as painting it. Can we appreciate without photographing? Can we have the experience of ‘being there’ without photography?
Mass tourism spoils the beauty of a place. Gift shops & car parks are not the Provence as seen by painters. The light here is special, revealing the startling nuances of color and form. This is where Matisse, Cézanne, and many other artists found their inspiration. But how to find this real Provence?
When I paint a place, it takes time. I start to know that place in a way that quickly walking around and photographing it doesn’t reveal. For me, Provence is a place where things seem to slow down. This requires some goofing-off. Observing. Daydreaming. Losing yourself in the landscape. Discovering its secrets.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust. This is what I strive to teach my students: to see the world with fresh eyes. And Provence, with its startling beauty and rich artistic heritage, is the perfect place to cultivate this way of seeing.
Méditerranée
There’s so much light in Provence. It’s such an intense light. Even more so when you are besides the sparkling sea. So it’s not difficult to understand why colour & light are central concerns for painters touched by Provence.
However, there are still greys & muted colours. I’ve seen them. There are dark days, when the sun is obscured.
Adam’s Provence
