Daily Market (Aix-en-Provence)

This July's visit to the South of France brought me back, happily, to paint and stay in Aix-en-Provence. One of the reasons I'd picked Aix as a home base back in 2019 and now 2023 was because of its markets, and particularly this one  -- the daily market.  Here in 2023, the market hasn't changed a bit but I found a new vantage point.  I love sunflowers, especially as the way they are presented by this seller in Aix.  I found a spot for my easel next to a cafe and a little out the way for those coming and going from a residence there.  It allowed me a great view of those sunflowers and a more open square to fill with shoppers. Even in returning to a place to paint, it needs to be something different -- size, vantage point, focal point, time of day etc. 

I met so many neat people in the market that day. That truly is one of the major highlights of my life as an artist. Standing there at my easel invites conversation and connection with people who might have otherwise remained strangers. Instead, we talk, laugh, share.

This is one of 30 pieces created on my 16-day personal painting trip to the South of France.