Attracted to Provence by the sun, Elke Walter is clear that the weather is better than in her birthplace Hamburg, Germany. Elke began designing clothing in the 1990s in France, and her business Elke Walter Design was officially launched in 2002 when she opened her atelier in Hamburg. Elke describes …

When the Barefoot Blogger decided to travel to France, this blog was born. It was intended as a “letter back home” to those I know so they could keep up with my adventure. Little did I know that the blog would take on a life of its own. Now it …

Sabine Werner is a recent transplant to Provence arriving with her family only in January 2014. However, she tells me that this region has long held her curiosity and is now inspiring her work. It is not that the sun never shines in Munich, Germany (Sabine’s birthplace) or Brisbane, Australia …

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 …

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 for adults and ados during July. Muriel encourages her classes to start with interesting backgrounds of tissue.

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 her lovely …

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 forthcoming Salon.