Natalie Lundeen's Studio Blog: September 2012

I learned a lot on my recent trip to Provence, even before I left the last airport on my three-plane, one-train journey. The first thing I learned, and the most important lesson I think, is that there is at least one European man out there who sprays his crotch with perfume in duty-free shops.

The next very important lesson is that some French people really do say, "Ooh la la!" I also learned the circumstances that will make me cry like a 5-year-old in public. Namely, traveling for 36 hours without sleeping or eating more than a bag of potato chips, having my luggage lost, consequently missing my train and then not understanding French well enough to operate the pay phone. After explaining this to certain information desk ladies, you may hear an exclamation of, "Ooh la la!"

I took 2401 photographs on my 10-day trip. 359 of these were taken of the clouds on my first plane ride, from Los Angeles to Boston. I took a break after the man sitting next to me slit his wrists, driven to insanity by the incessant clicking of my camera shutter. But really, can you blame me?

At any rate, it was all worth the trouble once I got to the beautiful Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne. Our chateau was incredible--almost 2000 years old, with a beautiful view.

Our communal area

A couple of artists painting in the courtyard.

A gorgeous day painting in Gordes.

One of the first things that struck me about Provence was the light, often creating an intense lavender sky in the evenings. Here is one of the many "Are You Kidding Me?" moments brought to you by the average Provencal sunrise:

Every morning was different, but continually breathtaking. I wanted to paint the morning light, but it wasn't until one of my last days that I finally got up early enough. I had a false alarm the day before when I set the alarm for 6:30, poked my head out the window, said "The light's not right," and went back to sleep. Before I left, I was blessed with the golden light I had been waiting for. I scouted out a good spot and did the drawing on my canvas in advance, and set up my gear the night before so I could capture that light in the short time I would have. I started painting as soon as light broke and really only had about 20-25 minutes before it had changed too much to keep going. I finished the painting when I got home, mostly from memory.

"Sunrise Over Provence" - oil on linen - 8"x10"

I had a bit of a struggle painting while I was there, which I eventually realized was because of the solvent I was using to clean my brushes. (You can't bring your own solvent on the plane). I'm used to cleaning my brushes with a solvent that evaporates in a few minutes, whereas this thinner took DAYS to dry. The result was something like painting with soup, which is not an easy endeavor! I brought a wax medium that was good for thickening the paint and speeding the drying time one day, but the next day I was painting in the full 90 degree sun, and sadly my wax medium melted and succeeded only in making my painting soup into more of a stew. But it was still a lot of fun, and always educational to paint from life.

I will leave you with two more paintings completed on the grounds of our chateau. The second is a portrait of a fellow artist staying with us who was nice enough to pose.