I’ve been thinking a lot about Uzès recently – walking, looking, taking photographs and looking at photographs. But there’s been more time spent staring at canvases on which I’ve tried to capture something of the essence of the town. From my studio I can see the Duché, the cathedral and …

Barbara Pitcher is a talented lady who can switch from fluent English to French to Italian to Spanish in the same sentence. As I discovered not only is Barbara linguistically gifted, she graduated from the University of Toronto in French and Italian language and literature, but she is also a …

You can believe there was a lot of competition and jealousy among artists in Aix. In fact, the poster boy for Aix-en-Provence, Paul Cézanne, was spurned by fellow artist and curator of The Museum of Aix from 1892 to 1925, Henri Pointier. Pointier, who never excelled to the degree that …

The south is a world of light. Luminescent brightness is the first, clearest and most lasting impression it makes when you arrive, and its absence is what hits you when you go back north. For a painter, the challenge is somehow to evoke this world using colours and canvas. It’s …

By aixcentric Have you seen the newly-razed ground next to the Rotonde where Cézanne has been left standing looking bemused and besieged by tourists wanting to pose with Aix’s famous son? I read that the town authorities are trying to decide what to do with the area. Well here’s an …

By aixcentric If you fancy giving your painting skills a boost, I can recommend from personal experience the Atelier Ombres et Lumieres in Les Milles. Owner and artist Muriel Moutel will be teaching one-week courses during July, for adults and ados. Muriel encourages her classes to start with interesting backgrounds …

By aixcentric Every June, there’s a must-visit exhibition in Aix from a talented local family – painter Jill Steenhuis, her sculptor husband Sergio Ruffato plus their son Serge, also a sculptor. Jill paints in an impressionistic style and usually takes her inspiration from Aix, the Sainte-Victoire and the countryside around …

The Musee des Beaux Arts at Marseille’s Palais Longchamp is the venue for two sets of art classes this summer. Watercolour lessons are on July 8-10th and 15-17th while instruction in charcoal drawing takes place on August 12-14th and 19-21st. 18€ per 3 days. Click here for Explore this Post

By aixcentric The delightful little Galerie Maison Dauphine is exhibiting the work of Cécile Colombo from Saturday May 30th – June 20th. You can also meet the artist on Saturday 30th at a special Café Rencontre which runs from 10:00-16:00hrs. Alternatively catch up with her paintings and ceramics at the …

Who is Alfred Lombard? I wondered as I visited the Musée Regards de Provence in Marseille this week. It’s a special experience here in the south of France to discover painters, often local, mainly little-known, who turns out to be quite thrilling. And Alfred Lombard is one such. He had …