Streets in Bonnieux 4

The last of these memories of a Provencal town, before I start painting where I am now, in Galicia.

Here's the complete painting of "Streets in Bonnieux".

View from the Studio, Provence (detail)

I've painted many white pitchers over the years, always attracted to how, when posed against the assertive patterns of landscape or fabric, they manage--with their simple, strong and quiet shapes--to hold their own.

Sunday Sketchbook: Provence

Every summer when I teach in Provence, we return to the same hill towns to paint. Once again I look through narrow walls to a deep valley and violet mountain, and try to get down on paper how the whole thing fits together--and what it feels like to be sitting on a stone step in cool shadow, looking out to sun and another distant hill town.

Fields beneath Roussillon, Dusk

The "golden hour" of late afternoon, when the light is mellow and shadows are long, is beloved by painters and poets everywhere. From Provence to the Bahamas and on to Vermont, the landscape may be different, but the mood at dusk (for me, anyway) is always the same.

Towards Luberons, Sunset

Another view towards the mountains behind Les Bassac, a scene I could paint over and over through changing times of day, weather, and seasons (if I could spend a year looking out over this valley) and never be bored.

Market at L'Isle Sur La Sorgue

This Sunday market is famous around the world for its antiques, but when I'm here I always find myself sitting on a bench, looking across the river Sorgue at the shapes and colors on the back side of the vendor's stalls.

Seine, Late Afternoon

Sitting on the Quai Voltaire on my last afternoon in Paris, looking towards the Louvre and the Pont du Carrousel.