Scenic Provence

I may no longer be making Cityscapes, but if I were....

This photo has a fabric connection.
The waterwheels were once essential to the manufacture of cloth in Avignon.
This street, Rue des Teinturiers (Street of Dyers), is one of many
whose names relate to the textile industry.

a charming corner in Avignon

A highly textured wall, in need of repair. The building was for sale.
Note the stream in the foreground, which powered textile mills long ago.

Isn't it strange how we find disrepair "picturesque"when we travel?
A building in this state (peeling paint, crumbling stucco)
in our own neighbourhood would be the subject of disapproval.

Arles. The lavender-coloured shutters are thought
to keep the mosquitoes away.

The curves of these arches remind me of music. Vivaldi?
Les Baux, 15th-century City Hall.

Ménerbes, the town that Peter Mayle made famous with
his book "A Year in Provence"

A quiet corner in Ménerbes

A jumble of roof lines and chimney pots in Rousillion,
if you like that sort of thing

As these façades attest, Rousillon is known for
its production of ochre.

Fall foliage against ochre walls.

Wonderful textures and value contrasts

The cliffs of Roussillon where the ochre was mined.

Don't you love the tangle of buildings, roofs and
windows, punctuated with poplars and shrubs?
This is Gordes.

Line, texture, shape, value, negative space....

A Roman temple in Nimes

Provence is known for the art that it has inspired: Cézanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, among others. But very little art of that period remains in Provence for the visitor to see. We must console ourselves with homages, with in-the-steps-of-tours, with contemporary galleries, and with the beautiful scenery and village vignettes that will inspire artists for many years to come.