Provence Spring

For over 20 years I have travelled to Provence in spring to experience and try to capture the elemental wildness of the landscape as it explodes with life. Cherry blossom is held aloft by stark branches, floating on carpets of yellow and purple flowers with sun one moment and wild storms and freezing temperatures the next and all to the buzzing of bees and swifts slicing the thick air.

My approach to painting has changed dramatically over the last few years. ‘Provence Spring 1’ was started traditionally with brushes but thanks to the influences of Ron Pokrasso’s mono-printing course, was then almost entirely painted using offcuts of stiff mounting card of varying sizes to apply the paint, using the sharp edges to scratch into the thick paint to draw and mix colours. The four Provence Spring studies were developed from small sections of the larger painting. ‘Provence Spring 2’ was a reworking of an existing painting using my new card painting approach and attempting to express my feeling of being there rather than actual Provencal cherry trees!