"Need A Ride?" oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Need A Ride?", 12 x 12" studio oil painting on gessoed Arches oil paper
$300 unframed (please note: Price only in effect until painting is framed)
Please click here to purchase

Dreama recently published her take on this scene that we shared at the lavender farm, but honestly I had done this before I saw hers! Good thing too, as I might have been swayed to make mine more like hers :) I think we were all struck by the beauty of this, so it wouldn't surprise me to see it painted by everyone on the trip!
Enjoy!
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"Just Around The Corner", French plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Just Around The Corner", 12x12" plein air oil
$300 unframed (Please note: listed price is only good until the painting is mounted and framed
Please click here to purchase

This is the final painting that I did inFrance. As the title implies, it was the first spot we saw as we left Castres on a circle tour that took us through the hilly countryside. I am not sure what kind of trees are in the back of the foreground, but they were very different from the trees on the distant hillside. They were the colour of olive trees, but a different shape -maybe a Russian Olive??

I really enjoyed painting in France, but am glad to be home now to the familiar. I have some paintings to post that I did at the cottage in Ontario and from my artist in residency at Bow Lake, but those will have to wait until I am home for a bit. We just came back from a 5 day trip to Purcell Mountain Lodge where I was able to do 5 plein air paintings, and tomorrow we are off to helicopter in to Mt. Assiniboine for 4 days of painting. Unfortunately the forecast is for rain for most of our stay, but I am praying that that will change!

Enjoy!

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"Ferrieres,France", plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Ferrieres,France", 12 x 12" plein air oil painting on panel
SOLD

Brenda and I found an amazing place to stay between Albi and Carcassone, places we were hoping to visit, called Castres. I chose it because of its location, but when we drove in we were amazed. Apparently it is called the Venice of the Tarn, because the Agout river runs right through the middle of town, and beautiful bridges have been placed, so that it looks quite like a street in Venice. Our wonderful little hotel was right on the canal, and everything was within walking distance.
One day we decided to do a road trip in the area and came upon this wonderful little hamlet called Vabre in Ferrieres, and I was enchanted by the view. The little creek was there, but the bridge was not, it was in a cute little town near Frayssinet, so I decided to include it here to replace a rather unpleasant grading -Ah the benefits of being an artist!!
Enjoy!
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"Frayssinet", plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Frayssinet", 12 x 12 plein air oil painting
$300 unframed (Please note: listed price is only good until the painting is mounted and framed
Click here to purchase

This is the last plein air painting I did while in Fraysinnet during the Dreama Tolle Perry artist retreat. This house was just a few blocks away from Le Vieux Couvent where the workshop was held. I was attracted to the light and what it did to the amazing rose bushes growing against the building.
It was sad to leave everyone at the end, but I knew that there were more adventures in France ahead. Many of us are still keeping in touch, which is really nice. I came away with a TON of photos to try in my studio this winter. I don't know if I will ever give up plein air painting, but I hope to learn to do as good a job in the studio. This will also allow me to work larger, which has been a goal for many years.
Enjoy!
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"Across The Valley -Frayssinet", plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Across The Valley-Frayssinet", 9x12" plein air oil on multimedia artboard
SOLD

On my recent France workshop with the wonderful Dreama Tolle Perry, we spent a lot of days touring tiny medevil villages getting reference material to use in the studio. However, on our first day to stay home at Le Vieux Couvent, a bunch of us went out in search of a wonderful place to paint en plein air. We came across this view and it was unanimous -we HAD to paint this! I was able to use Dreama's technique of a wet underpainting, and found it went surprisingly well.

Enjoy!
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"French Countryside" plein air oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"French Countryside", 12 x 12" plein air oil

$575 beautifully framed

After Dreama's workshop was finished, Brenda Pinnick and I rented a car and headed out west of Toulouse for a plein air adventure. It wasn't very long until we came upon this spot and had to stop to paint! The light is wonderful in France and I was just hoping to capture it and the wonderful colour of these fields. When we were finished and wondering our paintings were truly done, Brenda challenged me with "What is the most outrageous thing you could do?" I threw in the screaming yellow green in the mid ground, and she was right -it was just what the painting needed. I will have to remember that one :)

Enjoy!

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"Waiting for Dinner", oil painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Waiting For Dinner", 12 x 12" oil on gesso end Arches oil paper

$300 unframed 

I painted this from a photo in the studio at Le Vieux Couvent in France. I must say right now that I am not very good at painting from photos, but much prefer to paint from life. But I figure that living where I do, I had better figure it out! I have SO many fabulous photos that I have never painted from, because of this hindrance. That is one of the reasons I decided to come to France with Dreama. She works exclusively from photos, except for her watercolour journaling, which is done from life. I was hoping to pick up a few tricks, but I have concluded that, as in everything, practice makes perfect ( or at least as close as I can get to it!) I really struggled with the colour balance in the making of this painting, but after many changes and iterations, I think I can call it finished. I really should try it again from scratch you know....

Enjoy!