Continuing the story of my French adventure... thanks to my wonderful high school French teacher, Jean Price, I was able to both understand and make myself understood.
Incroyable!
This was France Profund, or "deep France", as the natives call it because it is so non-touristy. It was especially quiet in November. The thousands of summer pilgrims on the Chemin de St. Jacques had dwindled to just a few, and there were many times when walking around Auvillar that we felt we were the only ones around for miles.
Among the many esoteric things that I learned about this area:
pigeonniers, otherwise known as "dovecotes" or places for pigeons to hang out. Seriously, the wealthy landowners of old built these exquisite buildings on their land much to the dislike of their tenants. The smell and noise was probably obnoxious. But look how beautiful!
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| Square pigeonnier. |
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| Octagonal pigeonnier. |
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| Square pigeonnier. |
So what did I find to photograph, what drew my visual interest? In no particular order here are images that I took because I was spontaneously drawn to them, but I do think you can see how the architectural details, some from the middle ages, found their way into the work that I made in my studio at Moulin a Nef, VCCA's French residency program in Auvillar.
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| Architectural details. |
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| From the church at Moissac, stone carvings from 12 century. |
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| From the church at Moissac, stone carvings from 12 century. |
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| From the church at Moissac, stone carvings from 12 century. |
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| 12th Century church in St. Antoine, all details are hand painted. |
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| 12th Century church in St. Antoine, all details are hand painted. |
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| 12th Century church in St. Antoine, all details are hand painted. |
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| This piece, 12" x 12", was exhibited at Projects Gallery during Art Miami 2015 |
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| Installation in my studio, including free hanging elements. Acrylic on Yupo, cardboard. Approx. 40' x 15' x 10' |
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| acrylic on aluminum and Yupo |
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| Installation in my studio, including free hanging elements. Acrylic on Yupo, cardboard. Approx. 40' x 15' x 10' |
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| Detail of installation in my studio, including free hanging elements. Acrylic on Yupo, cardboard. Approx. 40' x 15' x 10' |
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| Detail of installation in my studio, including free hanging elements. Acrylic on Yupo, cardboard. Approx. 40' x 15' x 10' |
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| Auvillar 10, acrylic on Yupo. 36" x 24" |
