It’s a couple of months since I came home my trip. I’ve talked about the time in Glasgow, London and Avignon. But I haven’t documented the best part–6 days sketching in Provence with Shari Blaukopf. We were based in Fontaine de Vaucluse and sketched each day in the surrounding villages and countryside. It was a wonderful week. Here are a few of my sketches.
The following sketches were done at the monastery in St. Remy where Van Gogh spent his last years. We all loved sitting in the lavender field behind the monastery and sketching inside the ancient building. Both inside and out it was a deeply moving place.
Among many highlights, the sketch below is the most meaningful one for me from the whole trip. Late in the afternoon, four of the class members along with Shari hiked up to the Source, the beginning of the many rivers and streams which flow through Fontaine de Vaucluse. I was expecting a waterfall, not the deep, dark and somewhat spooky pool and surrounding caves. We climbed over the barrier and sat at the edge of the water to paint. For an hour we were silent, caught by the spell of the place–the mystery, antiquity and great beauty. When I look back at the sketch I can reenter that world–the intense and almost meditative quality of the sketching experience. 
