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.

Silky folds

 I did this painting a while ago but never got to post it. Right after I took the picture, I accidentally dropped the camera on the floor and smashed it......bye bye camera! Don't want to be upset about it, that's life. Anyway, I am glad this painting is on my blog now.
So what is new? I have put my latest large painting on hold for now. The reason is, I am painting instead a commissioned piece for someone I know. I am having a great time despite having a constant degree of apprehension just in case the final painting doesn't work out. Pressure is on. This is good in a way as it is making me paint quite outside my comfort zone. That is all for now, thank you for viewing my art.

Ubud

I am on holiday in Bali....posting soon!

Kaspara's apple

I have been painting a very large painting lately but it is not finished yet. Anyway, while I was taking a break from painting, my beautiful niece from New-Zealand came to visit and as she likes to paint also, we both spent some time painting together and we ended up painting an apple she had chosen. We both had a wonderful time putting the layers and keeping the values as best as we could. It was a good experience for both of us. This is my version. Looking forward to painting with her again soon.