Some people have asked for photos of the art we are producing while at Atelier de la Rose.  Jean and I decided to post our art shows separately. The following is a summary of my first week.

My goal on this trip is to create paintings with more planning and sketching than I have previously. Specifically I am working to better understand composition by working the sketches several times to get something I like before committing it to a final painting. I’ve always been more of a spontaneous painter. Sometimes that works, but often I find that the composition could have been tweaked a bit to improve the image. That’s educational plan for this trip.

My first sketch was of a wonderful old fashioned rose that grows on the private garden patio off the back of the studio. It soon became my first Montcabrier painting. I have always loved these simple flowers and jumped at the chance to paint them.

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Next I moved to a hiking trail we hiked early in the week. In another post I will tell more about the trails here that are part of the pilgrimage route to Santiago Spain. Along one section there was a distant views of the hills. It was there that we encountered a wonderful tree. I took photos and did several sketches before completing the oil painting.

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My third painting of the week was another watercolor. The only remaining part of the old city walls is an eroded north gate. It stands at the head of a trail leading down into the forest. I love the image. Again, I worked with photos and created several sketches before settling on how I wanted to interpret it. Interestingly, there is a tree stump to the left of the gate and I chose to resurrect the tree for my painting.

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Finally, here are a few other sketches I’ve done while rambling around the village.

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Having fun painting!

Paul