David Caldwell's week

David Caldwell is new to Les Bassacs this year.  He had a group of students who were serious about their work but who also knew the ropes, and despite the weather being unsettled, everyone had a very good and productive week's painting. 

David led the way showing a fierce resilience in the face of the mistral, sporting his shorts in all temperatures and all weathers!

The one wet afternoon we had, meant that he had the chance to teach an excellent session on portrait painting in the studio.

David Caldwell's easel and portrait of Alan

David's week

Despite the stormy start, the week has settled down to nice fresh weather. The magnificent bright sunshine emphasises the new foliage and the hedgerows full of flowers.  The big advantage of this type of weather is that you can happily sit all day in the sun without getting hot.  Later on in the summer, painting views are to some extent determined by the search for a shady patch from which to work.  Yesterday the morning was spent in Villars, and on the way back we stopped to wonder at this field bursting with colour.

In the afternoon David took the group out the back of Les Bassacs to the olive grove that gives views south onto the Luberon hills.

David hard at work

Today a very quiet and peaceful Menerbes was the venue for a successful morning painting.

Rainbows and dark sunshine

Yesterday was the rainiest summer Saturday we have ever had in all the years we have been here.  It poured all day which meant that the trip to Apt market was cancelled and we had the heating on.  Discussing this with Mathilde, our cleaner, she remarked that there is an old provencal saying "never a Saturday goes by without a ray of sunshine", but I doubted it was going to be true for this particular Saturday. However, by 7.30 in the evening the cloud started to lift over the Rhone valley.

Then suddenly through the rain we had this dark dramatic sunshine and two successive rainbows, just beautiful.

Balthazar

For the last three weeks Les Bassacs has been unusually bucolic.  We have had 6 rams and an enormous Billie goat called Balthazar lodged in the village.  Balthazar sports a bell around his neck identical to the bell we use for announcing supper, and has occasionally confused us all by ringing it around the village on one of his escapades.  He is able to jump or climb the retaining walls of his pen and, being a sociable animal, has got into the habit of looking for company in our ruelle.  He is quite amenable and docile and will be lead by the collar back up the lane to rejoin the rams.

a chastened Balthazar being led home by Isabelle

Balthazar demonstrating his climbing abilities

Everything's ready

Everything's ready, now we just need some people to fill the chairs!