A street scene from Saint-Victor-des-Oules in southern France,
painted for an earlier “staycation”-themed Zoom class.
At right, detail of the plein-air painters in the scene.

In the Spring an artist’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of … plein air painting!* Online watercolor classes were a great way to escape the winter climate; as the weather grew nicer, my students and I were growing impatient to get outdoors. Zoom classes are on hiatus for now while I venture on to some other projects.

Pictured:  In Saint-Victor-des-Oules, France, some fellow artists and I walked up the road into town from our lodging on the outskirts and tucked ourselves into a little driveway to paint — the cars come up fast on these narrow streets! A beautiful part of travel is the “mindful moments,” being able to sit and absorb the wonderful smells of food and flowers and the sounds of people speaking French, paying attention and enjoying the senses and feeling “really there.” This scene brings to mind the scent of beef bourguignon floating to us through an open window.

* (with apologies to the source of the quote)