If you are inspired to visit Tourrettes Sur Loup (see last post), you should have time to call in to see Matisse’s famous chapel at nearby Vence, which the artist called his ‘masterpiece.’ Recovering in Nice from cancer, Matisse had hired young Monique Bourgeouis to nurse him and act as …

Provence-based artist Jill Steenhuis explains her painting style to Perfectly Provence readers (in case you missed part 1 you can read it here). “My soul was made full again by the daily activity of painting in the fields and allowing myself to become one with nature.” Jill Steenhuis   I paint …

By aixcentric There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of famous French photographers – it must be a result of living in such a beautifully photogenic country. MUCEM’s current expo show-cases the work of Raymond Dépardon and I found it to be a colourful and stimulating exhibition that made me …

Suppose you are visiting the super Raymond Dépardon photography show at MUCEM. In that case, there’s still time to cross the road to the delightful Musée Regards de Provence to catch the last weeks of Marseille Eternelle. You will be guaranteed a relaxing viewing of these colourful local paintings…a better …

By aixcentric What a wonderful subject for next year’s show at the Carrieres de Lumieres. ‘Leonardo de Vinci, Michel-Ange, Raphael: Les Géants de la Renaissance’ takes the visitor on a journey starting in Milan. It then goes to Florence where Raphael and Leonardo were painting portraits and Madonnas, then to …

Jill Steenhuis is an American artist who has lived just outside of Aix-en-Provence for 30 years. Jill paints en plein air (outside) the way Cezanne did much of his work. Inspired by this master painter and one of very few artists with access to Château Noir Jill agreed to share …

By aixcentric Happy New Year to all! And it’s good to start 2015 on a positive note: it looks like there is some movement, at last, to restore the bastide that was home to the Cezanne family for 4 decades. Paul Cezanne’s father built the artist a studio on the …

By aixcentric On Thursday 20th Nov, there will be an ‘Apero Arty’ to launch an exhibition of the work of Guy Denning. He’s a self-taught British artist who lives in France and, by the look of his website, produces interesting pictures: http://www.guydenning.org/artwork/lightbox/artwork.htm The Apero Arty is at 19:00hrs at La …

By aixcentric Celebrating 20 years of raising money for charity, La Maison de l’Artisanat are holding their annual art sale.Profits from the sale of 11 paintings by each of 111 artists go to improving the conditions for children with cancer at Marseille’s La Timone hospital. Over the 20 years, Explore …

By aixcentric Jill’s view of the Aix Cathedral. The video clips show how she composes and builds her paintings Jill Steenhuis is an American painter who loves Cézanne. She lives locally with her family and paints in the master’s footsteps. I love her colourful, impressionist-style work with its exuberant brush-strokes …