BACK FROM FRANCE

Bonjour, bonjour!! Well here I am, back with my loved ones, and so much richer for having gone.

France was amazingly beautiful! It truly was an artist's delight with "paintings" everywhere you looked. From the pastoral countryside to the beautiful Atlantique coast of Brittany, as well as the little thatched roof villages, and ancient historic cities with cobbled stone streets - it was an experience of a lifetime.

We stayed in a small resort village of mostly summer homes, with a little town (a five minute walk away) of a Patisserie or bakery, a post office and a couple of stores which all closed in the afternoon and reopened at around 4pm. We could walk to the beach in 2 or 3 mins. and had our pick. I watched the sun rise over a little bay just across the road from where we stayed, and then painted the sunset over another bay around the corner. It was exquisitely beautiful, with cliffs, rocks, boats and little villages, quaint cities that went through the French Revolution, and pristine beaches with clear water for swimming -I swam almost every day, and yes, it was cold - but delightful once you got in =).

It also was an area where they harvested sea salt, so you'll see some of those marshes as well. (I was able to bring some home - delicious -very flavorful!)

The trip was very well organized, considering we had 27 people with us. We had great accommodations, and although I had to share a room, it was a large room and my room-mate was very considerate and did not snore =). We also had to share a bathroom with another room, a mother & daughter team, but there never seemed to be any conflict.

We stayed in two rental houses that were brand new and were owned by brothers who lived in Paris, I believe. Our wonderful French chef was the 18 year old daughter of one of them, and one of nine children. Boy did she do an amazing job!

We had one large meal together at midday, with a number of courses ending with the traditional French tray of cheeses. This was all included, as well as all the wine you wanted. (I was the only one who did not drink). She did an amazing job! Breakfast and dinner we were on our own, but I did not need much after that.

I learned so much, and painted lots. (I did 14 paintings which I will post when I get time to photograph them. I feel that my work has taken a step up, I believe, and I'll continue to grow as an artist as I apply all that I've learned. I'm truly excited over the next step - The New Renaissance Academy starting early next month, but more about that later.)

Well, shall we take a small tour of France? Come aboard! (We're on the bus from Nantes)

Arrive in Quimiac, after a great "tour" (We got a little lost=) The beach 2 mins from where we stayed.

The group on Monday after we arrived, dining "a la fresco" on the porch between our two houses.

Our first day of painting. We had a model come over for us to paint en plein air. (She's sitting in this one, but we also painted her strolling down the beach etc.)
"Clamming" - the wind was in her sail =) They have 12 foot tides there so twice a day all the boats were left high and dry.

I so very much wanted to paint this house - so lovely, and right on the beach as well. The photo does not do it (or anything else) justice.
Closed for the winter. All their windows are casement windows and open in, and the shutters all close when they need then to. Their walls are make of stone or concrete blocks, 12 ins or more. There are no screens, and they leave their windows and doors open day and night (except for an hour or so at dusk when the mosquitoes come out in full force). I felt very safe in Quimiac.

FLOWERS, FLOWERS, FLOWERS!!! Everywhere we went we saw the most exquisite bouquet of flowers, drooling off walls, fences, windows, roofs - everywhere. It was so incredible!

The French are very aesthetic minded, and loved to come over and see our paintings. They were very encouraging without interfering.
Lynn, my room-mate, with other artists from the group in the background.

I put this one in to show you the size of the doors in the old cities.
The meals were fantastic. This night I went out with part of the group, and again the food was great -not just delicious, but so beautifully and artistically presented. Our waitress was really good - waitressing there is taken very seriously, and people go to school for degrees. There FOOD is taken very seriously in France. Every hole-in-the-wall served amazing food. I never got a dish I did not care for.

The farm village of Kerhinet.
The thatched roof houses were amazing! I saw many more than we did in England. So quaint and lovely. I can't wait to paint from these pics (I don't usually, but because of time did not get to paint any when I was there). I just love them!

In this village the bread sold at the market here was being baked in this stone oven (left).

Fresh oven-baked bread. The smells and sights, and even the sounds were amazing (with cocks crowing, and now and again sheep bleating).

We could have eaten at the market, but already had reservations at the restaurant there.
Eating all together in the village restaurant (we had a private room) after a morning of painting.

I did a figure in a blue doorway. She was carrying a basket from the marketplace.

What a picture!

I don't know what happened, but the pic of my main course (fish & potatoes) vanished.

Boy, do the French know how to prepare fish - it was the best I had ever eaten. It was cooked in a buttery cream lemon sauce.

Dessert was so rich and light at the same time.
The restaurant where we ate.

This was a thatched roof demonstration - very interesting!

Now sit back, maybe get yourself a cup of tea, and enjoy the little village houses with me.

Free range chickens.

I sure did enjoy the day at that little village, and hope you did too!

Well, more of France in the following post - scroll down....

BACK FROM FRANCE - Continued

I have posted a few more pics ( I have so many) for those of you, like Erin, who have already commented that they will return to enjoy them again . Thanks for your encouraging comments.
In the middle of this post I show the houses that we rented, and they love renting to Americans since they are military people and lived in the US for a number of years themselves. So if anybody is interested, we could rent one or two gorgeous French vacation houses and go to Brittany for a wonderful vacation. Boy, would it be fun to go with family and friends!
Well, here are some more pics - the first two of "the nutty professors" critiquing some paintings.
They had a wonderful sense of humor, and there was real unity among the leaders. Nancy and Carl, the organizers, did everything they could to make the trip the success that it was. They hope to do this every year, so if you are an artist and would like to go, I can give you information.

La Roche Bernard. I took this into the sun, but it was a glorious day, and I painted this scene.
Bernie and Sara. This was a typical window in one of the little villages.

I found the mixture of stone and plaster very interesting.

Please forgive me if I have duplicated anything.
I had the most wonderful cup of coffee sitting outside a cafe when I took this pic.

Fresh brewed coffee with a little jug of hot steamed milk - and I like lots of milk in my coffee, but I also like it very hot. It was so enjoyable sipping my delicious coffee watching the people go by.

This was my main course that I wanted to show you. It was their local fish, and they sure knew how to cook and present it beautifully (in a creamy lemon sauce). It was served on a bed of vegetables, with a couple of nicely shaped potatoes and a small flaky pastry roll. It was so good!

I painted this figure. It was a thatched roof house, and our model was complete with a basket from the marketplace just around the corner in the little village. While she was standing there the door opened, and in our limited French we asked if it was OK to paint their place. The lady was thrilled, and promptly closed her door and stayed inside the rest of the morning.

The French (and I believe most of Europe) place a very high value on art, and wherever we went they stopped to look and admire.

This boat was typical of the Brittany coast, I thought. I painted it one delightful morning at low tide with Ed and four other artists (who did other boats). You'll see this when I post my paintings later.The same bay at high tide.

I also painted this scene, but got so caught up with the beauty of the cliffs etc., that I did not start my figure until a mere ten minutes before we were to clean up and leave. Elizabeth had been sitting there for over two hours - she wasn't too pleased,.... but what a sweet couple they were!

He was from New Zealand, and they met in the Caribbean - they had even been to Trinidad. They were a delight to chat with.

It was quite windy on the bluffs, and at times we had to hold down our easels in order for them not to blow away. What a delightful afternoon it was!

Thanks to Cindy for these pics. (Hat-head=)
This was an artist's studio and home - it was so overgrown with flowers and vines, but was a delight.

We saw blue shutters everywhere, but their walls were all white with gray slate roofs.

Pink flowers were not as common as red, and usually always ivy geraniums.

We had some beautiful sunsets, but strangely enough, nothing to compare with the sunset just after landing in Dulles on our return. I don't think I had ever seen anything like it before.

(Lord, was there a message in that?)

We had so many different experiences and sights to paint. I was thrilled with this foggy morning, and captured this scene before the sun came out. I think it's one of my better paintings of France. (To be posted soon...=)
The salt marches. Those are walkways you see between the flooded areas. They dry it out and then harvest the most delicious natural (coarse) salt.

Low tide. Keep in mind they have twelve foot tides.

I love this pic. I did not get to paint the salt marches of Brittany, but hope to paint this. Having been there, I remember the incredible colors and light - hopefully I'll do it justice. Pictures don't.
A late afternoon swim and stroll on the beach near our house(s). How delightful the light was!

French children at play. I believe they were playing football (not soccer) of all things, unless it was rugby.
I just love the evening light here, and I'm hoping to paint this as well.

Look for the 'green flash" - I never did see it!

Harvesting oysters, clams or mussels, I'm not sure, but I did not think I liked "mulles" (mussels) until I tasted them in France. They are smaller, and steamed in a delightful, delicate cream sauce in the shell. YUM!!!! (None of that gritty stuff).
Lynn and I went on a two hour bike ride on Sunday which was wonderful. Something was wrong with my bike, and literally it felt like I was going uphill the whole way. (Maybe the brake was touching the wheel, I'm not sure, but my calves ached for two days afterwards=).

I should have taken a picture of my bicycle (we had a number of bikes that came with the houses). Behind the seat was a saddle type basket over the fender, with two connecting baskets on either side of the wheel...very French, I suspect).

Lynn took this one of me, but I am disappointed that the wonderful plants and flowers in the shadow of the cliff do not show at all. They were growing out of sheer rock - amazing!
Everywhere was a feast for the eyes... and all the other senses I might add!

You'd be walking down the street, and the most delightful smells would waft by of flowers and vines. The sound of seagulls and other birds that I was not familiar with, coupled with the gentle ocean waves, and the sound of soft spoken French, that I found was almost like music to my ears.

Look at the reflections in this door - another painting perhaps?

The one afternoon it rained for a while, we watched art videos, and had a demo by Nancy of a portrait of our beautiful young chef. What an amazing job Nancy did!

And now to the walled-in city of GERANDE. This was the entrance or main gate of this wonderful ancient city that looked like it came straight out of a French Revolution movie, complete with cobbled stone streets, and tight alleyways that narrowed, and roof lines and chimneys that all intertwined incredibly.

I chose not to paint that morning, because it was my only time there, and I was absolutely fascinated with what I was seeing, and decided to spend my morning taking pictures, sipping coffee, and shopping. (I bought two most delicate French china mugs, with complimentary sugar bowl and creamer on a delicate china tray. It was the price of lunch! =) Tea anyone?

I also purchased some local salt, some with herbs, and "Brittany boat" containers to serve the salt in. I wanted to serve it the way the French do, with a shell as a scoop, which I had collected from the beach. (I think our grandchildren in PA will enjoy that).

The coarseness of the salt actually adds to the flavor, if you can imagine that!

Our group going through the gate into Gerande.

Just look at the alleyways and streets how narrow. Take note of the large gas lamps everywhere as well. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The Catholic church in the center of the city. It was beautiful!

Back "home" again. I painted this sunset, but unfortunately the colors do not show in the pic.

(I need Christian and Holly's camera =) Well, I think my painting came out a whole lot better. That's why you can't successfully paint from photographs, because the contrast is too great, and the camera makes the darks so black (or light) that you cannot see the colors you can in life, en plein air.

This was very early in the morning on one of my walks just after the sun rose. (It actually did not rise until around 7am.....my kind of sunrise!)

This was a shed of one of the houses in the village. So cute!

This bay was just across the way from our houses, and I sat on a bench on the left where the dingies are leaning up against the cliff, and watched the sun rise - just me and the Lord. Magnifique!!! Then when the sun rose I read my Bible and wrote in my planner. What a lovely memory I have of that morning!
Our houses on the way back - shutters partially closed as people were now waking up.

The front one, on the right, was where the staff stayed, and we all stayed in the house in the back, on the left (13 of us). Our house had at least seven large bedrooms. It was extremely bright and airy with doors and balconies off each room. There was a wanderful "drawing room" and huge kitchen both surrounded by large windows and doors leading onto a patio. It was all tiled (big white tiles) on the first floor, with some laminate (wood) flooring on the second. All white walls... It reminded me of a house in the Caribbean. The accomodations were great.

The house in which we stayed. Our bedrooms faced the back, with beautiful trees and landscaping. There were no other houses really close by. It was quite private, even with no curtains covering the windows and doors, and skylights in the bathrooms I might add. (They actually had retractable mechanical blinds that came down on the outside of the windows and door at the push of a buttoon. I hear it gets very windy in Brittany in the winter months, although not very cold, and these blinds and shutters are closed when the houses are not in use).

The back of the front house where we gathered each mid-day for the big meal.

White French cows basking in the sunlight. I wonder if their "moos" had a French accent=)
Taken from the van. A typical French village, maybe of the salt workers.

The village of La Roche Bernard. Center square.

All the houses and streets sloped down to the beautiful bay and port, and was quite high up.

The only two watercolorists, buying fresh baked delicacies at the little bakery.
Our group standing around the street corner waiting for the rest to show up.

We walked around quite lost for a little while, but it afforded us a chance for some more photo opportunities. This was a little seafood shop. (No large grocery chains, or Walmarts in these villages).

This church (below) had window boxes drooling with color (it does not show well here). This reminds me of York in England... so quaint!

These steps became a virtual garden.
Take a look at this alleyway. People walked to and from their houses here each day. Note the flowers on the wall...so typical!

These cities are so old that the wells could be seen in the center of town. This village had a number of memorials of the French revolution as seen below. (I thought it did not seem to go with the beautiful flowers on the left. It was someone's home, and they planted flowers in their windowbox. It was quite a contrast).

Look at the timbers and woodwork on this place , as well as the old hardware - amazing!

Every door looked so inviting, you wanted to walk in.

In this town we had an artist invite the group to his home - it was quite a treat!

Below are pictures of our last day in France. We left early the next morning.

It was a glorious day and we stayed close to "home", our little group with Sara, and what a treat we were in for! In no time at all an old black fishing boat with a washed out red sail appeared, back and forth it went dragging a net, we believe. It was straight out of the Homer painting ("The Red Sails") - or whoever it was who painted that famous painting so long ago =).

It was an absolute artist's delight and we all in our excitement took loads of pics, but I have only included one so as not to bore you. He just keep going back and forth, as if to say "paint me from every profile". The morning light on the sails was exquisite, and could not be captured by my camera, but having been there, I intend to paint it in another painting. (The painting I did that morning did not need it, as my focal point was already well established.)
I truly sensed the blessing of the Lord for the entire trip, but this morning I felt that I could hardly contain it. It was certainly a special gift from God on our last painting experience, and we all seemed to share in the excitement of it. What an experience to end our wonderful painting excursion with. It is difficult to put that morning into words for me.

The beautiful red sailboat.

What a trip it was!!

I am so very grateful to Al, my precious husband, and family and friends for having him over for meals etc., and to the Lord for His amazing blessings in my life.
Thanks to everyone who made this trip such a delight and an experience I hope I'll never forget.

WEBSITE LAUNCHED! Leaving for France tomorrow (Sept 9th-21st), and ART SCHOOL in Oct - Nov.

Please forgive me, but I've been meaning to post about my trip to France ( and more), and here it is already - I leave tomorrow! For the sake of time I'm going to post a letter that I recently sent to my family, since we're so scattered all over the globe (I have seven sisters & brothers)and don't often get to talk for long periods at a time. So here it is just as I sent it to them .
I will fill you in (pics included) when I get back. We'll be in a little village called Quimiac, on the Atlantic coast, so I hope to bring back lots of nice plein air sketches and paintings.

"I thought I'd take a little time to send you an update of some new things the Lord is doing in my life at this stage. Hope and pray that all is well with you and your families. You are in my prayers so very often, and I love you, each and every one of you so much.
I believe you all already know that I now have a blog (a web log,- sort of a journal, with pictures etc. so my family and friends far away can keep up with our lives if they'd like. There are also links you can click on to get into Christian's and Sean's blogs as well - and boy are THEY interesting! =) My website is allisonsangree.com (the blog is in the middle).
WELL, GUESS WHAT! I don't know if you already know because it has been on my website for a few months now, that I'm going to France to paint with other artists for a workshop, leaving this Sunday 9th Sept. (for 12 days).
I'll be plein air painting- meaning all done in the open air, or countryside, seaside etc., and alla prima, ( at one sitting, from life). I'm excited!!
Then the REAL MIRACLE is that we finally found a school after all these years that is the BEST we believe. It's called the New Renaissance Academy and is out in Washington State on an Island called Whidbey Island. I will be taking a six week course from Oct 7th to Nov 16th. My family is all for it, and Al is coming along with me to get me settled in, and we'll spend a few days together, before he flies back and the classes begin.
We both really feel it's what the Lord is calling me to now, and it's so very exciting. I'm really going to miss Al and the family. I'm sure the time will go faster for me than for him, but I know God will be with him and bless him. It's great when you know you're doing God's will, because He'll watch over us all.
Two days ago I won first place for both oil painting as well as watercolor, as well as an honorary mention, for all three paintings I submitted in an exhibition for the Hershey Area Art Assoc.. I don't enter juried competitions usually, but a good friend encouraged me to put my paintings in, and we feel the Lord wanted me to know we're on the right path, as unusual as it may seem. It was all the Lord, we believe, encouraging me that I'm going in the right direction.
The special thing is that all my family is so very encouraging, and believe I'm doing the right thing, by going to this art school (as well as to France for the plein air painting experience). What an incredible blessing to have such a supportive family. They are sending me with their blessing, and no pressure. However I believe that my paintings will only improve, and I want to do excellent work for God's honor and glory.
I know it's not for everyone, but this is what we believe God's calling me to at this point, and His grace is there, and He has provided all that we need.
I praise God for my precious husband and children, and for this wonderful opportunity!
TO GOD BE THE GLORY, GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!!!
Love you all so very much,
Allison"

Music to go with the reflections below.

Few songs, in my opinion, are as wonderful as this one, to express a heart of worship toward God. I highly recommend Dennis Jernigan's CD, "I Cry Holy".
The entire CD is great, but especially the fourth worship song called "You Are My King".
It's incredible worship! I would have a difficult time to describe my time of worshipping God when I put this CD on (too loud for anyone else but me =)
Let me know what you think. (You probably could download just that song for 99c from itunes)

"Reflections for Ragamuffins"

Thought I'd share some of Brennan Manning's words from his book "Reflections for Ragamuffins" with you, and hope it would be as much of a blessing to you as it was to me this morning. This book was a gift to Al for his birthday by friends of ours, Gary and Lynda, and I too thought I'd pass it on to friends and family.
I have another book by him on order that I hear is excellent as well - very SIMPLE. It's called "Abba's Child".

"God is so great that there is an infinite distance between God and all that is not God".
(C. de Foucauld)
"God works His divine effects only when persons acknowledge human insufficiency (..human powerlessness)....
The most fundamental act of religion is that we owe our life and being to Another. Dependence and loving surrender were the very breath of their life. The ragamuffins were the poor in spirit, those who were little in their own sight, those who were conscious of their nakedness and poverty before God and who thus cast themselves without reservation on His mercy.
This was the spirit that God looked for in His people; it is the only attitude that rings true to human creaturehood. It compounds a sense of personal powerlessness with unfailing confidence in the love of God and total surrender to the guidance of His will...
('I have loved you with an everlasting love'. (Jer.31:3)
God's love is based on nothing, and the fact that it is based on nothing makes us secure....
People who realize this can live freely and to the fullest).
'Blessed are the ragamuffins; the reign of God is theirs.' ('Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven'. Matt.5:3).
I share these reflections with a specific purpose in mind: not to transmit inspiring thoughts, but to awaken, revive, and rekindle radical, ruthless trust in the God bodied forth in the carpenter from Nazareth.
Ruthless trust .. is a rare and precious thing because it often demands a degree of courage that borders on the heroic.
I continue to confront this choice in the darkest, loneliest, and most desolate moments of my life. By inviting you to join me on this ragamuffin journey, I ask of you no more than I ask of myself: to trust in God's love no matter what happens to us."