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Dinard, French Landscape Paintings

11/17/2014 3:30:21 AM

  Years ago when I visited Dinard in the height of summer, I gave up going to this beach simply because it was so crowded with holiday makers and I couldn't find a parking spot.  But last month when my workshop students and I went there, there was no one except a few locals enjoying a quiet stroll by the water.  I thought I came to a different beach.   In front of us was a vast stretch of sandy beach, the calm blue ocean, the town of Dinard on the left, the skyline of Saint-Malo in the far right.  It was almost too [...]

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Il fait toujours beau en Bretagne! no.II

11/9/2014 1:18:50 PM

  This painting is one of the demonstrations I did in my recent workshop in Brittany.   Pointe du Chevet is at the tip of the peninsula near Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer on the Emerald Coast of Brittany, France.  As seen in the photo (below), the view we had from there was stunningly beautiful, and the weather couldn't have been better, either.  Both my students and I were so eager to take advantage of this one fine day to paint outdoors.   When we arrived there, the tide was low, exposing much of the mud flat in front of us.  Damp mud glistening in the sunlight, instead of [...]

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Il fait toujours beau en Bretagne! no. I

11/2/2014 8:13:45 AM

  Il fait toujours beau en Bretagne: I was in Brittany last month and my Breton host taught me this expression.  When people say "il fait toujours beau" (the weather is always fine), it may be true in certain parts of the world.  But "en Bretagne" (in Brittany) in northwest of France?  The area is known for variable weather patterns even in a day.   Recently I taught a plein-air workshop near the small town of Ploubalay of Brittany for 5 days.  Each morning around the dining table where we all ate, our conversation started with "what's the weather like today?" and ended at [...]

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