Mount Ste. Victoire is ALL THE WAY on the other side of Aix-en-Provence from us and although we thought we'd know all the hiking trails by now, it just isn't the case. Our first day of exploring the area was windy, rainy and chilly, so we took in some sights and cafés instead of hiking or painting....However, Frank did take his easel that way later and here is the beginning of a larger canvas of ye olde mount, made famous by Cezanne.....just a start....stay tuned for the progress....
 |
| Just a start, Mt. Ste. Victoire, oil painting by Frank Bruckmann© |
Check out the time-lapse video I caught of Frank before my arm fatigue was too great to continue. I have watched it way too many times to admit. Love how we can watch him sketch in the composition.... This is the vineyard just down from our house, previously mentioned. If you head down there on foot, you get to witness the neighbors' 4 dogs comically mauling each other to get a look at us passing by, or to get a piece of Hazel (our dog). It's hilarious...anyway, look at the video below:
Below: still an early phase.....still what he considers the "block-in phase" but this is with some color....I would estimate that this is within the first hour of the painting...my personal favorite phase to watch and observe....watching the blank canvas come into forms
Below: Fast Forward waaaaay ahead. This is Day 2 or 3. He is still not finished the piece, but it is much more than a block in at this stage.
 |
| St. Marcellin, Rognes. oil painting by Frank Bruckmann © |
Frank found this patch of pavement on which to paint during the siesta part of the day. The boulangerie just behind his easel does a brisk biz until 12:30pm, and then the baker goes home for lunch like everyone else and then returns for a late afternoon stint. She makes lovely boules with the crest of Rognes dusted on in flour and pastries and baguettes and tons of deliciousness that we haven't even tried yet.....but we still have (a few) months to do so.....
 |
Rognes! one of the Road to Lambesc pieces that Frank has begun. oil painting by Frank Bruckmann©
|
It's time for olive harvest, called the "recolt". We answered a call from a small farmer who needed some hands to harvest. We filled a container with olives that we gathered in exchange for a litre or so of olive oil from the exact olives that we picked. Being that this farmer isn't a pro olive farmer, I don't expect the oil to be exceptional, but since I know barely anything about what it takes to make great oil, perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised....
 |
| These two (three) in a doorway of the charming village of Ansouis |
 |
| See?.....Rognes Boule |
No comments:
Post a Comment