Deep in the Dordogne

Back Road to Urval 12x16 oil

On our recent stay in the south of France, we often found ourselves on small roads like this, buried deep in a Dordogne forest with little light, and the allure of dappled roadways was too much for me to resist.  Once, coming back late at night from dinner at a little restaurant in Cadouin, a wild boar ran across this very road just in front of us, and we were all treated to our sanglier experience.

When I find myself struggling to spend time in the studio painting, I work on small canvases, 11 x 14 or smaller, and that seems to help; there is less at stake, failures are easier to accept, completion is faster.  But now that winter is coming, what else am I supposed to do with all these short days and long nights?

Back in the Saddle

Looking South From Loubès-Bernac 24x30

After spending nearly a month in the south of France, it has been hard to pick up the painting routine again.  At first I stalled and found excuses, then I tried some very short portrait sketches (below) which helped me remember what it is like to hold a brush with purpose.

With luck, I will be able to focus on the amazing autumn color that teases the eye at every turn, that beckons and calls, full of promise.   But mostly I just hope to get into the flow of the painter's process.