Photo from Cappadocia

I'm in Goreme, Turkey. Beautiful scenery and I'm having a wonderful time!

Photo from Chartreuse.

Not painting.....BUT.....holidaying in Savoie France. Going to Turkey tomorrow for 3 weeks. Life is good! l will resume painting when I get back to OZ. Cheers for now.

Photo of the moon from my studio

This is a picture of the moon taken from my studio with my new camera. The zoom function is mind blowing. I am liking this camera a lot and have been taking many pictures as potential references for future paintings. I will resume painting when I will hear the muses calling but for now, I'm going with the flow.

Courchevel 1850

Couple of pictures I took in Courchevel 1850 just a few days ago on the beautiful slopes of the French Alps. There were several enormous sculptures from Richard Orlinski through out the resort. (Richard Orlinski (French, b.1966) is a sculptor whose works are designed around the concept of "Born Wild©," in which the artists seeks to transform negative impulses into positive emotions). They all looked stunning, especially in this natural setting high up in the mountains.
The ski time I had was absolutely great and it was very nice catching up with friends and relatives. I had 4 wonderful weeks, did lots of skiing.....what a treat!
Now, back Down Under, back at work and ready to paint again in my spare time. I also would like to get back into painting without any pressure at all. I want to go with the flow and see what will come up.
Anyway, it feels good to be home and I am looking forward to spending time in my studio.....and paint.

Quel poivron!

Well, time flies.....I have not been very active with my paintings in the past few weeks. The large painting I was doing is still in the making....and it will be done eventually. I am planning to take a break from my regular job and from my studio for several weeks. I am going skiing and visiting friends and relatives in Savoie (France). I am looking forward to relaxing and recharging the batteries. I will be back the second week of April, so no posting until then.
I did this painting last November at the Adelaide Central School of Art. I took evening classes with Louise Feneley for 7 weeks each Wednesday night. I learned to paint Alla prima which was a new technique of painting for me. This was done in about 90 minutes. I loved going to those classes and learning from Louise the Alla prima way of painting.
I got a new camera and like it a lot. I will use it to take photos during my trip to France. Hopefully there will be plenty of snow when I get there. It will be a nice change of weather from here in Adelaide where the temperatures have been very hot lately.
Anyway, saying goodbye  for now and looking forward to blogging again when I get back down under. Cheers to all.

Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia: (n.) lit. "human flourishing"; a contented state of being happy, healthy and prosperous.
This is the title for this painting. I love the painting and the title. They fit perfectly. I have greatly enjoyed doing this commissioned work. It took me much longer than I had anticipated but some paintings are just like that. They cannot be rushed and I respected that. I am totally thrilled with it.
I took this picture with my phone so the colors are not quite accurate. I am still looking at buying a new camera but choosing one seems to be rather difficult. So many choices, so many reviews from the web saying this and that....it is all getting a little confusing. Anyway, I am looking into it and will have to decide one way or the other.
I had mentioned in a previous post that I had one painting still unfinished. The subject matter is quite different from all the other paintings I have done in the past. OK, I give you a little clue.....it is a close up of an insect! The painting is quite large so it could be a bit confronting for the viewer. But this is a nice bug in my humble opinion.....anyway, you will be the judge once I upload the finished painting.

Hope you had a nice Christmas break. Cheers!

JEUX DE TOILES

"Jeux de toiles" (Painting games) was my 2nd painting exhibition. The 1st one was 3 years ago. The event went very well. I had 26 paintings on offer and to my delight, 9 paintings have found new homes. I am totally thrilled and grateful for all the attention and help I have received in making this exhibition such a big success. A special thank you to everyone involved and to all my guests. You all have been so supportive and I sincerely hope you had a pleasant evening and enjoyed yourselves. I certainly did.

Below are some pictures of this wonderful event:

some more paintings on the walls :

and some nibbles and drinks:

and the glasses:

Also, I am pleased to say that a couple of weeks ago, the commissioned work that I had been working on for the last 3 months, was finally completed and included in my painting exhibition.

I am totally thrilled with the way this painting has turned out. I cannot count the number of people who have approached me during the exhibition and commented about it in such positive ways. I was even told that it was by far, the best piece out of the other 25 paintings. It was such a nice compliment.

In the next few weeks, I will be posting a picture of this painting and I will do so once I buy a new camera. I broke my camera a while back by accident. I really miss it but I need to replace it soon.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the new year, to painting new subjects, and finishing the large painting I had put aside. I am now eager to finish it and complete the work.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and also extend my very best wishes to you and the ones you love for 2015. Cheers! Claude.