Back in Aix-en-Provence

“It was different with Beard. He and M. F. had found themselves momentarily liberated, immersed in the innate beauty and inspired artwork of southern France. And wasn’t that, as much as the food and wine they both so loved, why they came here again and again? The French dedication to pleasure, in all its various forms, was what spoke to both of them” (Barr, 2013, p. 115).

Although Barr was writing of James Beard and Mary Frances Kennedy [M. F. K.] Fisher, two American culinary giants of the mid to late 20th century, this passage could just as well speak to Miss Cyd’s and my interests in the south of France. We thoroughly enjoy our immersion in the beauty, artwork, food, and wine that we find when we arrive in Aix-en-Provence, and indeed, the entire Provençal department. This blog and at least one or two more will describe our experiences in Aix. So much to do here, and so little time.

We thought ten days in Aix would be plenty before we embarked on the Italian segment of our trip, but we find ourselves on a rare rainy day sitting in atelier contemplating half of our stay is irretrievably gone. On the bright side, we have had some excellent art time, along with many good meals, and we got in a side trip to Château La Coste yesterday as the weather turned foul later in the day. I was able to do some quick sketches on site and Miss Cyd got a great series of photographs that we may be able to turn into paintings later on.  But I get ahead of myself, so back to the beginning of our stay in Aix and our adventures of the weekend.

As I mentioned in my last blog, our host, Jean-Philippe, picked us up at Marseilles Saint-Charles train station and drove us to our flat at La Méjanes. Arriving here was literally like coming home again. We unpacked and walked down the street, took a right turn on rue Espariat, and headed for a nice meal and a bottle of wine at the Tapas Café across the Place des Augustins from our favorite Irish bar in Aix, O’Sullivan’s. We enjoyed patatas bravas, gambas al ajillo, costillas caramelizadas, el pollo de la abuella, among other delicacies. We washed it all down with a good bottle of Sangre de Toro. One might well ask, what happened to the good French food and the wine part of the trip? Part of the charm of Aix is the strong Mediterranean influence that mixes many different flavors from around the region. Never fear, we will address some French cuisine before this week is over. 

After dinner, we walked across the Place to O’Sullivan’s to indulge in a couple of cold Kilkenny draughts and enjoy some excellent people-watching as the Friday night crowds flowed past our table. As many times as we have been there, I never noticed the small statue on the corner of the convent at rue Espariat and Place des Augustins. Perhaps, the blue coloring has been added since our last trip or perhaps it was just because of my vantage point at the corner of the patio, but we got a few good pictures that I may turn into a painting later on. The juxtaposition of light and shadow with the Madonna as the sun set on a long day of traveling was very interesting.

Saturday morning dawned with a bright blue Provençal sky and warmer temperatures. As one of my art goals on this trip was to capture images of la Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins, after we had a cappuccino and an Americano to get a jumpstart on the day, we walked south down rue du 4 Septembre to the Place des Quatre-Dauphins in the Mazarine Quarter to take a few photos and start an initial sketch. To force myself to pay strict attention to perspective in a constrained space, I elected to draw the initial sketch on one of Stella’s postcards. I took a good picture of the view I wanted and started to work. I finished the drawing with my Derwent pencils back at the flat on Sunday morning and mailed it off to her on Monday from La Poste down by the tourism office.

La Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins
The View I Wanted	The Initial Sketch	The Final Drawing

As you can tell, I had to compress the scene a bit to fit it on the postcard, but I think Stella will like it. I would like to do a painting of this scene when I get back home, but there are other things I want to paint on this trip, as well, so one art goal down, more to go. After the sketching, we spent the rest of the day of wandering around Aix. We stopped at the Église Saint-Jean-de-Malta to see how the bell replacement project was going. The bell tower was wrapped in scaffolding and the bells were no longer inside, so we assumed they are in the process of being hung now.

We also went to the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur to see if the Burning Bush triptych (Nicolas Froment, circa 15th century) was on display for the Easter season. It was indeed opened for viewing and looking magnificent after being restored a couple of years ago. The chapel has also been recently restored and is in marked contrast to the other chapels along the central nave.

On our way back from the Créative Grafic art store on Saturday, where we picked up a couple of canvases and other art supplies, we found an Italian deli (L’Italien) near the Cathédrale and picked up some delicacies to prepare back at the flat. Miss Cyd made a very artistic antipasti plate for dinner on Saturday night that we had with a very good Cote Du Rhone. The mound in the middle of this image is an incredible parmesan-truffle dip that is so good with the bread sticks. We also picked up some lasagna and had that for dinner on Sunday with a Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is very convenient to have a full kitchen here at La Méjanes to take a break once in awhile from eating in restaurants.

Monday was an art day for us both. The weather was looking bleak while I hiked back up the hill to Le Terrain des Peintres (see also my 2015 blog “Channeling Cézanne – Part Deux“) to paint another view of Mont Sainte-Victoire. Miss Cyd stayed back at the flat and worked on some watercolors. She did a fun rendition of a old Citroen (called a Souris in French for mouse) in a French street scene on a blank postcard, while I set up at the top level of des Peintres in the midst of a crowd of tourists, who disappeared as rapidly as they arrived and left me in peace to paint. I used Golden Open acrylics in an impasto style to quickly block out the stormy sky and the mountain, as it appeared a storm was about to move in and block my view of the mountain, as well as drop some rain on my head. While I was happy with the way the blocking turned out, I need to let the background dry before I add the foreground details, which I did not have time to do en plein air. The weather is calling for rain on Wednesday and Thursday, so those are probably going to be studio days anyway.

Blocking out Mont Sainte-Victoire
Impending Storm	Working Quickly	Wet Paint

In addition, I realized that I neglected to take into account how long it takes the Golden Open paints to dry. There I stood, all packed up and ready to go with a very wet canvas, no holder, a few scattered rain drops falling, and a four-kilometre hike back to La Méjanes. Not to worry, though, I found a dry forked stick, pulled a couple of small bungee cords from my backpack, lashed it all together, and away down the hill I went carrying the painting in my hand. No muss, no fuss, and not much rain once I got off the hill. I even had time to stop at the wineshop on the way home and pick up a good Bordeaux for dinner.

Monday was a great art day for both of us. Cyd worked with her watercolors and caught up on her PhotoStream project, as well as her Midori travel journal. I did the background painting of Mont Sainte-Victoire that I wanted (one more art goal achieved) and plan to finish the foreground later this week.

L’Atelier de Cyd en La Méjanes
Cyd’s Art Materials	Midori Entries So Far	Slaving Away

All-in-all, it was a good opening weekend for our stay in Aix, but now we are moving forward. Tuesday, we are spending the day at the Château La Coste. We went there the last time we were here, but it is certainly worth a return trip. However, that is a lengthy topic for its own blog. So, adieu from Provence for now, it’s time for another excellent meal.

Happy traveling.

Joe and Cyd

References

Barr, L. (2013). Provence, 1970: M. F. K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste. New York NY: Clarkson Potter.