Workshop Day 1...Monday, July 2... we met the group at the airport! No bags were lost!
We discovered that the 7-passenger van was not really big
enough to carry 7 people because there was no leg room in the back seat. We
managed to fit everyone in the van and Marc’s car with the ton of luggage and
headed back to the Gite.
Everyone unpacked and had their first dejeuner of the
week.
Lunch- salade,
pate de campagne, des tomates, saucisson
At 4 PM I did a painting demonstration, working on a small
painting of the “pigionier” in the vineyard. I was set up in the sun so it was
a little difficult for people to sit in the hot sun watching, but all in all it was a good start.
Dori began a painting at the same time.... she set the pace early as she was rarely not at her easel during the week.
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| The start of Dori's first paintingof the week... |
I hope to post a photo of her final painting here later... As was the case for nearly all of the artists, We were able to begin many paintings, but there were very few finished oeuvres... that may have to wait for a couple of months.
The first evening we also had a wine-tasting
by the Gite vineyard owner. He let us taste a bubbly white, known as "cremant" - Mousseux de Matens,
and a red – Matens, midi et soir
We had appetizers of Boudin and Tarama on croutons...
Our first dinner consisted of Aiguillettes de
canard- strips of duck breast sautéed along with salade, and les petits cocotes
de legumes. We then served some fromage followed by dessert- surprise gateau au
chocolat to celebrate Betsy’s birthday.
