Rain

Bryan working in the studio

It's not always sunny in Les Bassacs and we have had a rainy start to John's week.  People have been painting around the house, doing views out of the windows and working on still lives in the studio. The local toads are happy though and singing each evening. There is sun forecast for tomorrow which will warm us all back up again. The rain is much needed and when followed by sun, brings out all the fresh greens which highlight the abundant wild flowers in the hedgerows.

Before the rain . . .

The roses are prolific and beautiful at the moment, although they are looking a bit battered after 2 days of rain!  Before the rain came two women arrived in Les Bassacs on bicycles looking for the 'chemin des rosiers'.  They had been told by friends about our rose display and had come to take photos.

The roses are all David Austin roses planted by a neighbour, Denny, who was passionate about them.  There must be twenty different roses giving a huge variety of colour and scent.  He used to attentively dead-head them all summer to keep them flowering.  We have less time to spend tending them, though they do remain healthy and reward what little effort we put into them a hundred fold.

Albany's week

Li from New York with Albany at Saignon

Sunny weather with some blustery windy days kept everyone busy finding sheltered spots from which to paint. 

Albany's enthusiasm for teaching is self-evident, but he still finds time to grab a few sketches of his own. (Thanks go to Marc for letting us use his photos for the blog.)

Poppies

The hedgerows are peppered with poppies and the valley is striped by the occasional field of red presenting a worthy challenge to Albany's watercolour group.


This field edged with poppies was Van Gogh's first painting executed at the asylum in Saint Remy in 1889, it beautifully captures the freshness of an early summer landscape in Provence.

Start of 2012 season

Saturday saw the start of our season 2012.  After a showery but warm April, the valley is alive with a feast of fresh greens in the trees and hedgerows and a scattering of spring flowers.