Jill sends her warmest greetings for 2020 as she enters her 40th year of living in Provence. She reflects on her artistic pilgrimmage and life journey as an American living in France. She also shares some of the highlights of the past year and mentions some of her upcoming events in 2020.
Jill, Sergio and crew swept through New England and made their way down South on their most recent tour. The tour included several art shows, talks and workshops, a documentary screening preview on Jill, and a plein air art competition.
This summer Jill ventured out to the American West, in the heart of the the Rocky Mountains where she and Sergio gave art shows in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.
This summer May, July and September, Jill hosted artists in her 8-day oil-painting workshops. The groups journeyed throughout Provence, to Cézanne’s art studio, followed in the footsteps of Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and captured local scenes on canvas (port of Cassis, market in Aix), and more!
The delicate and exquisite beauty of the almond blossom bears a poetic reminder of greater truths. Jill captures a few of these thoughts as she crafts her palette and is inspired by these lovely flowers and the graces of this season.
The “buzz” around here is that Sergio’s first public art commission was recently inaugurated as part of the “Euroméditérrannée” urban renewal project in the La Joliette neighborhood of Marseille.
As the New Year begins, I wish you all a year of renewal and time to be silent, time to go outside and to walk to restore your spirit. The question is not “How can I be happy?” but rather “How can I be free?”
Who was Leo Marchutz, this Franco-German painter and lithographer who died in 1976 – four years before my arrival in Aix?
In the heat of July, Provence is colored in shades of purple as the lavender flowers bloom, releasing their sweet, heady scent.
ON TOUR THIS SUMMER — International sculptor, Sergio Ruffato, and French based, Atlanta-born painter, Jill Steenhuis, will be showing an exceptional selection of artwork, including metal sculptures, oil paintings, and lithographs in Wilson, Wyoming from August 2-4, and in Hamilton, Montana on August 7th and 8th.
SPRINGTIME IN PROVENCE — An unusually rainy spring led to more bountiful flowers in the landscape for my two oil-painting workshops in May. In spite of some rainy days, we journeyed out en plein air to experience nature and allow our inner poetry to emerge on the canvas.
ANCIENT SPACES SHOWCASE BRAND NEW ART — Once again we are thrilled to be exhibiting our work in the beautiful Galerie de la Prévôté here in Aix. The 11th century building and courtyard, nestled just under the magnificent Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur, is an oasis from the bustling streets of Aix and a perfect place to showcase our … Read more
French-based artist Jill Steenhuis arrives in the U.S. this spring, bringing in her bags the sun and skies of Provence. In Aix-en-Provence, where Jill has lived and painted for over three decades, spring comes early, with the budding of almond trees, streaky crimson-slate sunsets, whiffs of wild thyme and rosemary, the reawakening of nature. All … Read more
As some of you already know, in France it is bad luck to send your New Year’s greetings before the new year has begun & then you have until January 31 to do it. Having adopted the French ways that suit me, this is one that I like. “Here’s my secret, it’s very simple: It … Read more
