Pleine Aire Painting At Crystal’s House

A side view of Crystal’s garden. Work in progress.

Last week my art group had an away day, an actual meeting outside to paint in the countryside! Or at least in Crystal’s back yard. After meeting on Zoom for the past year It was pretty exciting stuff. Zoom is better than nothing but not ideal.

Crystal lives on a quarter of an acre surrounded by old trees with a stream running through the grounds. She and her husband moved to France to retire about seven years ago, and what they have done to create their elegant garden is a clear example of why people retire to live in the French countryside. Huelgoat where they live, is notable for gigantic boulders left over from the last ice age. Crystal has arranged a turn on-and-offable waterfall to cascade down the truck-sized rock behind her house.

We painted for a while in the sunshine but since it had been months since we had met in person it was more of a gossipy catchup. So nice to see my friends in the flesh! I took a reference photo and worked on the painting the next day.

As in other countries there has been a flood of people leaving cities and buying up houses in the countryside, or buying them as a country getaway. From living in the back end of nowhere, all of a sudden we are considered chic. I have Paris friends who in the past have spoken of Brittany in a slightly sneery tone (bad weather, provincial etc). Not so much now.

We are approaching the best time to be in Brittany. The summer sunshine has finally arrived, the birds are tweeting like mad things, the flowers are flowering, and I can finally walk outside with bare arms. It’s a good time to be alive.

Plein Aire Bliss & Unexpected Treats

Here in Brittany there is an organization called Couleurs de Bretagne. During the warmer months they organize painting competitions in towns around the area. Artists descend on the chosen village and literally paint the town. We compete to be part of the big show at the end of the season. It’s free to the artists and very friendly and dedicated volunteers run the show.

I have participated over the years but these days I tend to go along with my friends for an arty day out in a beautiful town but not bother with the competing part. It can be a wonderful experience although the Breton weather is not predictable. Pouring rain is not unusual.

Last weekend we went to Pontrieux, a beautiful town on the water, with a cobbled center and traditional french, grand houses lining the riverway. My friend Ann found this spot along the river which managed to encompass some of my favorite things: lush foliage, lovely architecture, reflecting water, boats, and of course old stone houses.

In typical Brittany style the morning started out damp, gray and chilly with an uncomfortable cold breeze. As the day progressed the sun burst out in spectacular fashion and made our plein aire crouching much more pleasant. I was inordinately pleased with my painting. Perhaps the sunshine and lack of stress from not participating in the competition made it all more relaxed.

There was also a scantily clad young man going through his weekend warm ups off to the side. A useful distraction for those inevitable moments of frustration.

The afternoon finished off when a classic car club turned up unexpectedly and gave us a splendid parade of old Jaguars, Harleys, and Daimlers. The oddest things turn up here.

Musicians at the Pub

When you come to Brittany you realize that there is a large British population that has come over to buy second homes or to retire. Some of our English pals run a pub/brewery where they make Britsh pub-style beer to make the ex-pats feel at home. We walked in recently and saw that some musicians had turned up, unplanned. Musicians sometimes wander in and these ones were excellent. The pub is a stone-built old farmhouse in the traditional Breton style which creates a nice Anglo-Franco atmosphere.

http://www.les-fous.com/

In The Neighborhood

I’m posting some drawings that remind me of how randomly nice France can be. This cafe is La Buvette (The Wheelbarrow), which is one of our locals. The morning crowd has arrived for their first kir of the day, a mixture of white wine and creme de cassis. A little sweet for my taste but very popular amongst the cafe crowd.