An Imaginary Visit To Provence

Take a deep breath…can you smell the fresh bread baking and the soothing scent of lavender floating on the breeze? Listen to the cry of gulls as we near the coastline. Feel the warmth of the sun heating the cobblestones in the square as you sit at the cafe and watch the people go about their shopping at the market.

Welcome to An Imaginary Visit To Provence!

The region of Provence has so very much to offer from gorgeous villages nestled along the coast and in the rolling hills to the markets and cafes to the history that saturates the area. In the next four weeks, we’ll visit a lavender farm (or two!), take in a market with all kinds of sun-drenched edibles before we tour some of the towns and beyond.

Come and join the fun of this next adventure!

We’ll be visiting the following in our four assignments:

• Cities and Towns of Provence
• Lavender Farm
• Market Day
• What A View! Courtyards, Doors, and Windows

We’ll be working on capturing the sun drenched look of faded patina, distant lavender fields, and vibrant market fare. We will also take a look at a different working methods because not everyone sketches the same way. We will explore different ways to give our pages a finished look, creating suggested texture, when to leave details out and when to add them, and what we can do to add unity and harmony to our sketchbook pages when we’re traveling and moving fast!

This class is structured to help you build your skills for drawing on location as if we were actually on location. Imagine stepping off the bus and being told we’ll be moving to our next destination in 30 minutes. That means you have thirty minutes to get something down on the page—once you find what you want to sketch! This part of the class is strictly optional. If you just love to draw and paint, you can always ignore the suggested timeframes and create at your own pace.

Video demos are provided for all of the assignments. All techniques are shown so that you can “see” when and where they’re used. You have total flexibility as to when you watch the videos once they are posted. The demos are available for the duration of the class and you can watch them as many times as you like. Some “travelers” find it helpful to paint along with the video, pausing it as needed to learn the techniques Laure is demonstrating. Others watch the video and then apply the techniques to a photo reference of their choosing.

The recommended art supply list can be found here.