Renovating an old farmhouse in a wonderfully tranquil village in S W France creating a low cost artists retreat. I will run creative workshops. I want to interact with artists and engage in good conversations over excellent food. My wife runs Health & Beauty, home cooked food and Indian cuisine. We live in a superb region with so much to offer artists. Join us and enhance your creativity.
Lizards lounge alert in the welcome hot Sun, intermittently darting for cover but quickly gain confidence returning to bathe some more. Butterflies are on the wing and I am baking working on the studio which now sports windows and door. A few more weeks and I will be in and working, being an artist again and content. The evenings have given us a spectacular view of the alignment between Jupiter and Venus with Mars a faint light on the other side of the night sky. A powerful and humbling reminder of the vastness of the universe as opposed to my daily universe of studio and garden.
I have had some news today. I have just been offered the possibility of a show in France. Lots of details to be ironed out first but it is a nice feeling.
We are starting to get inquiries for the retreat this summer. It is looking like an exciting year ahead.
I am cracking on a pace with my studio, floor concreted, a support beam made good and safe and now I am ready for the door to be fitted. More good work done on the garden and in the main house too. Sadly no artwork being done.
I have been getting various models who are keen to come down and stay in exchange for modelling work. As always I have no problem getting models, it is the artists who are hard to find. What kind of creative projects working with models would interest artists? I want to produce a piece of work based on Saint Sebastian so I am going to organise a male model to be tied to a tree, when the weather is a bit warmer although I may have to leave out the shooting with arrows as a model is likely to want extra money for that!
I am also looking to organise a cultural exchange between my area of France and the UK but like most things I have to get my studio completed before I give these projects my full attention. What I need are some sympathetic artists who may be able to get involved with these projects perhaps?
I will have a restful Sunday then back to the hard work on Monday
Thursday 23 February. Another super sunny day quite like a Summer day in the UK. Halfway through concreting the studio floor but still a lot of work to do before completion. Working outside creating a wild garden is therapeutic I love being here, it is good for my health and well-being although watching the documentary on Lucian Freud was both exhilarating and depressing as it reminded me of how little work as an artists I am doing for the moment. In fact the picture with this post is my latest drawing and it was done on the 17 December 2011! It will be such a joy to have my studio finished.
As promised, a view of the mountains taken today 21 Feb 2012. Not a great picture, just a quick snap.
Thank you Glenda for your comment. I will get some images up but you can also go to the link below to see images but I will go out to mske a photograph just for you
