Love of the Sea (Villefranche-sur-Mer)

Medium: Oil on linen panel
Size: 18" x 24"
Price: $4,500.00 USD
Availability: Sold

Being there at my perch above the beach and sea in Villefranche-sur-Mer felt too good to be true. I just had one day there to paint -- en route from our first home base in Nice in the South of France to our second in Aix-en-Provence. On a previous trip, I'd wanted to paint the beach there but the weather didn't permit it. This time was my chance.

The beauty of the place brought out some extreme impracticality. I really wanted to paint three views. I really wanted to paint each scene on a large canvas because each one deserved all the attention that more space allowed. In the end, I painted two of those three that were calling my name. (Guess I'll have to go back, right?) I chose this as my first painting -- an 18" x 24" -- the largest I bring with me for these trips. (It's the absolute largest that will fit in my suitcase for the return trip. That size also takes a lot of time. To squeeze in at least my two starts, this piece was largely unfinished ... but I felt like standing there working on capturing it for those hours would sufficiently fill my memories of the day to bring it to completion at home.

Day to Remember, 12" x 16" -- my second piece painted that day from the same spot in Villefranche-sur-Mer.

My second piece of that day was smaller and thus finished on the spot. Because both were painted right there, I got to watch and feel the advance of the day, the change of light, and shift in rhythms in both scenes.

It took a few new tricks to get myself back to staring out into the sea once home. Love the way it turned out. Hope you do too.

Love of the Sea, framed and ready to hang

French Paintings Collection

This piece is debuting during the end of summer/fall events that run from late August thru October. See the schedule below. If purchasing online, please check with me about availability in case it is snatched up in person at one of these.