I often use photographs as a starting point for my paintings. Certainly during the icy alpine winter this makes good sense! It’s simply too cold to stay still outdoors long enough to make detailed drawings. Normally I prefer to take the photos myself, but in this case it was a good friend of mine who [...]
Located at the foot of La Grande Rue, also known as La Grande Gargouille, this rather gorgeous fountain is one of my favourite features of the old town. It is near the entrance to the Bibliothèque Municipale, which is housed in a building dedicated to Aristide Albert. In the summer of 2016 I just happened [...]
This large monochrome drawing was commissioned by the owner/ director of Briançon Cité Vauban Appartements in November 2017. It all started with a cappuccino at the Patisserie Turin… Followed by a photoshoot in bright sunshine… I was immediately fascinated by the steep walls and stairways. And yes, part of the building was indeed cylindrical, hence [...]
In the summer of 2015, the owners of Le Frog, Dee and Xavier Teychene, invited me to exhibit my work at their restaurant. Once the exhibition was installed, I spent many happy hours photographing and sketching on the terrasse. Or profiting from the delightful swimming pool and sampling delicious food from their summer menu! I [...]
A slightly experimental watercolour, where I left parts of the paper untouched. The composition is adapted from a photograph that I took one early autumn afternoon. I am always on the look out for unusual views of familiar places. This landscape of Briançon “old town” with the Fort des Tetes in the middle distance was [...]
This painting was based on a photograph taken on February 3rd 2015. Le Monêtier les Bains is a large village in the Serre Chevalier valley with a number of interesting buildings, notably the parish church pictured here. You can see the larch and pine forests in the distance with the ski runs created for the [...]
‘Sunflower Garden’ is probably one of my most ambitious watercolours to date. It shows the view from the bottom of my garden looking across the allotments belonging to our neighbours. In the background you can just see part of the houses in the Rue des Beignets. Each year we are charmed by the sunflowers that [...]
La Vieille Ecurie is a charming “Chambre des Hotes”, with a lively bar and restaurant. It is situated in the village of La Vachette in the Vallee de la Claree, near Briancon. In 2014 the current owners, Katie and Richard Fiander, commissioned me to make a winter watercolour painting of their establishment. “Something similar to [...]
In 2005, Mme Laurent, the owner of Hotel Plein Sud, commissioned me to make a large watercolour painting of the outdoor swimming pool and terrace area. The brief was to include some interesting details in the foreground, such as a table set for lunch, as well as the legendary Piste Luc Alphand in the distance. [...]
A springtime watercolour made from direct observation while standing on my balcony. I tried to keep the painting as spontaneous as possible and only sketched in the simplest of details in pencil. I worked quickly to capture the blossom on the cherry tree before it disappeared.