La Rotonde, Le Monetier les Bains. Watercolour, 13 x19 cm, 2015
This watercolour sketch was influenced by one of Claude Monet’s best loved snow scenes ‘La Pie’ or ‘The Magpie’. My painting was developed from a series of photographs and quick sketches which I made in Le Monetier-les-Bains on February 3rd 2015. I remember the day very well as the conditions were perfect for photography. A great deal of snow had fallen and settled on the ground. The soft pastel coloured sky hinted at more flakes to come and the village was quiet and still. There is an air of mid-winter melancholy.
La Rotonde refers to the rounded building in the middle distance, which made me think of Monet’s haystacks too. I tried to use changes in tone to describe the form of the building. The village of Monetier is famous for its spa baths. The hot drinking water from the thermal spring is accessible just outside this building.
‘The Magpie’ by Claude Monet, 1869
