Souvenirs from Bourgogne

What’s on your bucket list? Have you checked anything off lately? As an artist, “Painting in France” has been on mine for quite a while and I officially checked it off after traveling to Noyers-sur-Serein earlier this month. This tiny village is about 2 hours southeast of Paris in the Bourgogne (Burgundy) wine region and was built during medieval times. As we pulled through the city gate, I felt like I was stepping back several centuries.

What brought me to Noyers? I spent a wonderful week taking part in an artist residency program at La Porte Peinte where I painted daily with 8 other students led by artist Trish Land. This workshop taught me to paint looser and with more freedom. Bolder yet more intentional brushstrokes were a huge takeaway. Another large component of the workshop was feeding off the energy and emotions of being in an unfamiliar place and letting those feelings influence my work….painting beyond what I simply see.

Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play! We spent plenty of time outside of the studio exploring this paradise in the French countryside. Some of our excursions included the Sunday morning market in Chablis, visiting a farm of peonies and irises, dinner at the stunning Mailly-le Chateau, and wine tasting at Bailly Lapierre located in a cave. All of these experiences are actively influencing my next artwork collection titled, "Souvenirs." Souvenir is French for "remembrance" or "memory" and a token acquired during a trip by which to remember it.