"Giverny Cottage"

This painting was also inspired by our side trip to Giverny. This cottage was probably someones garage many years ago. With the addition of the fireplace I suspect it's now a high dollar rental property. There was a house directly across the street listed for sale. When I got home I looked it up on the Internet to find it was only $2 million dollars. It needed a little work! The entire town of Giverny was filled with these "Normandy" style homes. Like a time warp, but a beautiful one.

"Pink Peony's"

This is another painting inspired by Monet's garden. There were several peony varieties and I just loved the pink/lavender ones. I chose watercolor to paint this one and it was a challenge! I hope this inspiration stays with me a bit longer.

"Eygaliers House"

The French (and Italians) take great pride in their property entrances. Most homes have lovely shutters and some sort of colorful planters out front. It is their personal signature that they live there and take pride in their home. This is a pen/ink/watercolor I did of one of those homes close to where we stayed. Whoever lives here does a bang up job in decorating their entrance. It was so lovely to see, I had to do a little painting.

"Monet's Iris Garden" - SOLD

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting Monet's house and gardens in Giverny. There was a huge abundance of different kinds of plants including varieties of iris I'd not seen before. From my photos I painted these two in pastel. It's a 9x12 painting. Monet was one of the lucky artists from his time to actually be a successful painter while still alive. His home was just beautiful and quite grand. Trailing roses covered the front of the house which looked out on the other rose gardens. I actually stood on the same bridge he used to view the huge lily pond. I have many great photos and will definitely do a series from his garden and pond.

Journal Doodles

I kept a journal of all the places we visited. It was my way of keeping track of where we went each day so I could later match photos with the correct towns. It's amazing when you take hundreds of photos how hard it is to remember each location when you view them later. The above images are quick sketches I made while sitting on the patio drinking coffee in the morning. They are my impressions from the villa. I just completed a pastel painting of iris's from Monet's garden. That will be my next post- a real painting from the trip!

"Villa View - Eygalieres"

This is a morning watercolor sketch I did while sitting on the back patio at our villa in Eygalieres, France. In the evening these same mountains turned a beautiful blue/purple. The villa was on acreage, so this is just one view off the back. The grounds were so well attended and the rose garden was fabulous. I have other quick watercolor sketches I made while there which I will also share soon.

"Untitled"

I'm back from my wonderful France adventure! We had perfect weather, great times, good friends, food & wine. Can't ask for more than that. I did this painting before I left town and it's currently on exhibit at the Georgetown Public Library 2nd floor. The current exhibit is by GROUP OF FIVE and is a great show. If you are in the area in the next couple weeks, take a minute and run by. I promise you won't be disappointed. I'm very proud of this one.