Alley of Trees in St. Remy
This summer, Jill’s workshop participants painted in St. Rémy de Provence following in the footsteps of Van Gogh, who spent one year in the St. Paul asylum in St. Rémy from 1889 to 1890…
Les Escargots
What draws my attention this August morning is the light in my garden – the tall stems that miraculously held the beautiful iris flower, even 2 or 3 to a stem in the month of May, have been standing stark naked all summer, but now zillions of small white escargots are clinging to each stem, bringing light back into the alley of irises – my garden is now a shell garden…
The Mountain
The summer after graduating from Sweet Briar College with a BFA in studio art, I journeyed to the south of France to discover Cézanne’s Mountain. I thought if I could see it for myself and walk in the very places where Cézanne had painted, I might understand his vision and I might be shown the way to my own inner poetry…
Still Life in My Studio
eeping cool in my studio this morning and preparing to paint a still life of sunflowers.
July Painting Workshop
My July oil painting workshop is in full swing – we are having a good time. Palette mixing, painting the wheat fields of Provence and the Mediterranean from Cassis. Off to Arles tomorrow to paint in the spirit of Van Gogh and to see his beautiful work at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh.
La Prevote Vernissage video
For those who haven’t seen it yet, here is a glimpse of the opening of our annual family show in Aix – filmed by my son, James Ruffato.
Celebration of Art in Postage Stamps
Amidst the commotion of mailing out invitations to our family show at La Prévoté in Aix this week, my husband brought these stamps home from the post office. Each one celebrates an impressionist artist and lists the painting information on the back of the set. An unexpected and enjoyable twist to addressing envelopes.
May Painting Workshop Highlights
Had an incredible week painting with this group – their work shows it. Here are a few highlights from the week-long workshop.