Escape to Provence! A Step by Step Demo

Over Christmas break as everything was pretty brown and exceedingly soggy outside, I decided to mine my many photos of sunnier times from my trips abroad. I will never forget my trip to Lourmarin, painting and eating my way through this beautiful part of Provence. I still long to go back, and am determined to do so, hopefully this time sharing it’s magic with my daughter. In the meantime I can always revisit the experience through paintings. So let’s get started, shall we?

The Design

I draw out my design in a number of ways, usually with a warm tone like burnt sienna. I had been doing this with paint, but I’m enjoying these little oil sticks by Sennelier that I bought on a whim. I like them because they are quicker and can be thinned in the same manner as the paint for washes or adjustments. I also like them because they don’t seem to stain as much as the paint, which means after adjustments and corrections, the drawing and toning are easier to read.

The Shadows

Next I want to lay in the shadows, as this will give my painting the structure it needs. Most of the shadows are concentrated around the horizon where the building, (the area of interest) is.

Color all around

Here I am starting to flesh out the color in the fields and mountains, still leaving my lightest lights untouched.

Painting the sky

To work out the sky, I paint a blue sky color around the areas where I think the clouds are going to go, trying to keep the edges soft and feathery. Right now the white of the clouds is just the white of the canvas.

Head in the Clouds

As I decide on the cloud placement, I start to add pigment. This is a sunny breezy mid day scene so the clouds are pretty bright and high. Keeping the value light, I mix a tiny dab of Gamblin Cadmium Orange deep with a much larger ratio of Titanium White for the lighter side. The shadow areas are made up of Ultramarine Blue, Napthol Red, Titanium White, and maybe a teensy dab of Cadmium Orange. Working wet-into-wet allows me to tease out soft edges. Here I also lay in the color of the light side of my building and the dirt road. The building and the road leading to it have the greatest contrast to lead the eye.

Poppies!

I keep the poppies and other wildflowers to the last, laying them on pretty thick. I used to use Cadmium Red light for the poppy color but I have since replaced this on my palette with Napthol Red. It is a highly staining, cooler red than the Cadmium but can acheive cleaner pinks when desired so I find it both less expensive and more versatile. I mix the Napthol with Cadmium Orange to get that distinctive, sunny “poppy color” I’m after.

“Le Printemps, Temple de Lourmarin”, Oil on linen, 24x30” ©Jennifer E Young

Above is the completed work, photographed outside for correct color and no glare! This Protestant Church, Le Temple de Lourmarin, is simple and austere on the inside but it has a wonderful exterior and adds a sense of history and tradition as it sits like a sentry at the edge of town. Click through on the final image to read more or purchase this piece.

New auction of Provence

"Springtime at the Chateau de Lourmarin" Oil on panel, 6x6" ©Jennifer E Young

Technical difficulties on my blog last week didn't exactly create a seamless experience for my first auction. But I'm trying again with a new feature that I think will work much better. This week's auction isa sweet 6x6" Provence landscape. Congratulations to Pat H. for winning this auction!

"Reverie des Roses"- Provence garden painting

Today is a "bonus day". This morning as I was writing out my "to do" list, I commented to my husband it's rained during the last several First Fridays art walks. And with 70% chance of rain again today, it didn't look good for the art walk tonight. "But today's Thursday," husband said. I cannot tell you how happy this made me. I found an extra day! It also worries me a little too...I really can be in my own little world sometimes. In any event, I now have time to post my most recent painting of a lovely Provencal pathway lined with roses:

"Reverie des Roses" (Provence, France) Oil on Canvas, 24x30" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

If you're in Richmond, come see it in person TOMORROW during the First Fridays art walk. I'm open early from 6-8:30 PM with a new show called "Spring Mix."

Rose Garden in Provence

Fresh off the studio easel is a new painting of a beautiful rose garden I saw while visiting the area around Lourmarin.

 

 This painting measures 24x24" and is oil on gallery wrapped canvas. The painting continues around all four sides so it is ready to hang and no extra framing is needed:

The roses are blooming here in Virginia also, and I'll head out this weekend and part of next week to capture some of them en plein air.

For more information about the painting featured, please click on either image above, or contact me.