Painters departed

I do like it when people come here to run courses. I like to see what's going on, and share the enthusiasm of the participants for their subject. The painting course of the last week is coming to a close, and here are a few pictures that I took.




Our large room was converted into a studio for the duration of the course. Students displayed their work and used to opportunity to do the finishing touches.














The weather had turned a bit during the week. Although it is a relief to see the garden getting a bit of water, it wasn't so good for the painters. But that doesn't mean that the sunflowers were any less bright, and the light was still good. We went to a field nearby, and found some willing subjects.















The village of St Suzanne is not far away, and has just been awarded the status of "One of the most beautiful villages in France" A well-deserved title in my view, not only for the pretty streets of the main town, or the peaceful mill cottages down the hill by the river, but also for this view from the cliffs opposite. You just can't come here and not paint this view....













We got special permission from the Duchess, through our friend who lives in a house in her grounds, to paint her castle at Mésangers. It touches on a beautiful lake that makes a wonderful foreground to the pictures. I'm told that water is hard to paint so it was also a good challenge for the students. I'm quite pleased with this photo of a couple of coots on the lake, even though it's a bit blurry. I think you could make a nice impressionistic painting from it.











Two of our painters are participating in the painting in the streets competition at St Pierre today. On my way back from organising our tickets for the evening meal, I took the opportunity to snap this gate. It replaces the one that was nicked earlier in the year, and was hand-made by Jean-Claude. I think he did a good job, it's a nice-looking gate. The plan is to stain the lighter members to match the dark horizontal ones, which I think is a shame. This time, it can't be nicked simply by lifting it off the hinges. You need a spanner. That'll be safe then.










And two pictures for free.