sWiMMiNg iN tHe sUnLiGhT zOnE, jUnE 2015.

 On 7 June 2015 we drove to a secret location on the Ile de Re for a weeks holiday by the seaside. After a stroll on the beach and a wade through the rock pools I spotted two mermaids sat on a rock and quickly decided the week for me was going to be a crash course in becoming a mermaid.
So I watched the tides and calculated when was best to swim and when was the best time to go rock pooling. I learnt about the splash zone and the rip and the wine coloured seas of the classical poets. And I finally braved a swim with > Les Meduses< .

>Swimming in the Sunlight Zone< janeCourquin copyright 2015

 The painting is underway as I work from my sketchbooks, photos and memories.
 I have added the > mermaid< stone I found on the beach in the painting above and some of the red seaweed left behind on the splash zone. A mermaids purse clinging to a sea tangle leads us into the painting. The whole space is sun drenched and full of light.

>Swimming in the Sunlight Zone< jane Courquin copyright 2015

detail L' Antiquites, La Flotte, Ile de Re

Le BaNc 2015

 

Its been a pleasure to participate in the Artistes et Compagnie project for 2015. I was first invited to the project by Dominique Retouret in 2014 to paint a homage to Monet's Waterlilies series alongside a small group of French and Belgian artists.
This year I was commissioned to work in full liberty from my own paintings. This is the resulting bench painted over a long weekend in full sunshine.
I was most thankful to the residents living opposite who kindly appeared with trays of fresh mint tea and Algerian patisseries and fresh dates whilst I was painting. My thanks also go to a local 10 year old girl who came to watch me work and to other friends who stopped by to show their interest and support.