Château de la Treyne Exhibition

Château de la Treyne. 90 x 110 cm, oil on linen.

My wife and I will be having an exhibition in Château de la Treyne on the Dordogne river, in the Lot region of France this coming July.

All of the small paintings were painted on site last summer, when we had an opening in the lockdowns here in Europe. The larger paintings were painted in the studio this winter, either finished from plein air starts, or enlarged from sketches done in the field.

Bend in the Dordogne. 100 x 140 cm, oil on linen.

It’s a stunningly beautiful area, and this is the second summer we have spent painting there. We are normally based near Domme, as we work with the V&A Gallery in Sarlat-la-Canéda, but for this trip we worked much more to the east, to try to paint areas closer to the Chateau.

The castle itself is a spectacular property and we received a very warm welcome from the wonderful owners.

Afternoon Light, Château de la Treyne. 80 x 100 cm, oil on linen.

One thing I really love about the Dordogne is how clean the water is. The areas where we were painting were full of water crowfoot, with bees pollinating the flowers that sit just out of the water. And it’s great to see such a large river so teeming with fish and frogs.

Passing Cloud, Château de la Treyne. 100 x 80 cm, oil on linen.
Walnut Grove. 90 x 120 cm, oil on linen.

Above are all the larger pieces fresh from the studio. Below are all of the smaller, plein air work from the summer. The first group are the ones I used as reference for the studio paintings.

The Dordogne from above Pinsac. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.
Afternoon Light, Château de la Treyne. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.
Passing Cloud. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.
Walnut Grove. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.
Banana Tree, Martel. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.
Canoe Rental, Pinsac. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.
Reilhaguet. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.
Château de Belcastel. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.
Milling Stone, Moulin de Cougnaguet. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel
Reflections, Pinsac. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.
Castelnaud-la-Chapelle Castle. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.
Gardens at Château de la Treyne #1. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.
Gardens at Château de la Treyne #2. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.
Gardens at Château de la Treyne #3. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.
Cutting Garden. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.
Morning Light, Martel. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

Regards sur le Gers

Plein air oil painting of Plieux, France.
Fallow Field, Plieux. Oil on panel, 20 x 30 cm

I have an exhibition on at the moment with Plieux Arts in the Gers region of France. The paintings were done last year, and I wrote a blog post at the time about the beauty of the area, including images of the work.

This year, we had to be here for the exhibition opening in July, and then again for a plein air course in early September. Therefore we decided to stay the month in France rather than drive back and forth from Portugal. We rented an apartment in the village of La Sauvetat, at the southern end of the area where we love painting (around Lectoure). These are some of the images from this year’s crop of plein air landscapes of the Gers.

Plein air oil painting of a passing cloud in Gers, France.
Passing Cloud, La Sauvetat. Oil on panel, 25 x 35 cm
Plein air oil painting of Lectoure, France.
Lectoure #1. Oil on panel, 25 x 35 cm
Plein air oil painting of Lectoure, France.
Lectoure #2. Oil on panel, 20 x 30 cm
Plein air oil painting of oleander.
Oleander bushes. Oil on panel, 20 x 30 cm
Plein air oil painting of a brocante market in France.
Brocante, La Sauvetat. Oil on panel, 30 x 20 cm

It’s worrying traveling in these times of Covid. Our town in Portugal still hasn’t had any cases, so for us it was concerning to leave the safety of our controlled environment to drive halfway across Europe. So far, so good though. And the French seem to be taking it pretty seriously.

Plein air oil painting of an artist painting in the shade of haybales.
Tina Painting in the Shade. Oil on panel, 20 x 30 cm
Plein air oil painting of Lavardens, Gers.
Lavardens. Oil on panel, 20 x 30 cm
Plein air oil painting of Queen Anne's lace.
Queen Anne’s Lace. Oil on panel, 30 x 20 cm
Plein air landscape painting of rolling hills in Gers.
Rolling Hills, Gers. Oil on panel, 20 x 30 cm
Plein air painting of chickpea fields.
Chickpea Field, Gers. Oil on panel, 20 x 30 cm
Plein air painting of a farmhouse in Gers, France.
Farmhouse, Gers. Oil on panel, 25 x 35 cm

I only had time for one larger plein air piece. The following one was painted over the course of three days:

Plein air landscape painting in oils of a sunflower field in Gers.
The Side of a Sunflower Field. 85 x 110 cm (34 x 44 inches)

As I mentioned last time, the Gers is a really stunning area for landscape painting and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a picturesque region for plein air work.

California Dreaming

I have a number of works in a new exhibit at the Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor, NY. Check it out if you’re in the area. There is no opening due to COVID, but the gallery is open normally.

The paintings were all done either en plein air in California, or later in my studio from studies.

Here are some photos of the paintings, for those of you who can’t make it:

Oil painting of Heilser Park and Divers' Cove in Laguna Beach, California.
Heisler Park, Laguna Beach. Oil on linen, 8 x 12 in.
Oil painting of the Big Sur coast.
Big Sur. Oil on linen, 8 x 12 in.
Oil painting of San Benancio Road in Salinas, California.
San Benancio Road. Oil on linen, 11 x 14 in.
Norton Ave, Windsor Square. Oil on Linen, 11 x 14 in.
Farm near Watsonville. Oil on linen, 8 x 12 in.
Monastery Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Oil on linen. 8 x 12 in.
Palo Corona. Oil on linen, 8 x 12 in.
San Carpoforo. Oil on linen, 11 x 14 in.
Rye Grass. Oil on linen, 39 x 31.5 in.
Garrapata. Oil on linen, 31 x 39 in.
Hope Valley. Oil on linen, 35 x 47 in.
Big Dome, Point Lobos. Oil on linen, 43 x 54 in.
North Point, Point Lobos. Oil on linen, 35 x 42 in.

Grenning Gallery Solo Show

Oil painting of cows in Big Sur, California.

Big Sur Cows. 55 in x 42 in, oil on linen.

My solo exhibition in Sag Harbor, NY opens today at the Grenning Gallery. You can see all the images of the paintings on their website here.

The works included in the exhibition are mainly smaller plein air landscape paintings from the last couple of years in Italy, Croatia, Russia, France, South Africa, Holland, Norway, and the US. There are also a couple of larger plein air paintings, and a few studio pieces as well.

There are articles on the show on Fine Art Connoisseur, Underpaintings, and Lines and Colors.

Recent Larger Landscape Paintings (2014)

Plein air landscape painting of Korcula, Croatia

Korčula. 29 x 37 in. Oil on linen

Here, quickly, are some of the recent larger landscape paintings I’ve been working on. A couple are plein air landscape paintings, the others were done in the studio.

These are off to Sag Harbor for my solo show at the Grenning Gallery in late June.

Landscape painting in oil of laundry blowing in the wind.

Laundry in the Wind. 36 x 28 inches, oil on linen.

Oil painting of cows in Big Sur.

Big Sur, Afternoon. 42 x 55 inches, oil on linen.

The portrait of Tina under an olive tree will be in the show, as well as a number of small and medium-sized plein air pieces from the last year.

I spent much of the winter on the painting below but I can’t figure out how to resolve it. I hate abandoning large pieces after months of work, but sometimes artists have to cut their losses.

The Afternoon Chat. 42 x 55 inches, oil on linen.

The Afternoon Chat (unfinished). 42 x 55 inches, oil on linen.

I have a few more larger pieces on the burner which I’ll add soon.