I arrived back to the U.S. safe and sound, already missing my cottage and atelier in France. As I reflect on my time away I am struck with one strong feeling, "FRANCE IS IN MY SOUL".
Even though I am person who tries to live in the moment, I find it hard not to reminisce or plan ahead each time I set foot on this land. I find these voyages to France evoke a feeling of having lived in this country before. Another lifetime. The smells, tastes and vistas fill me with such strong familiarity, I begin to understand on a spiritual level that I have come home once again. Comfortable and secure.
And then, I get a shot of inspiration from the colors and shapes around me. The cerulean blue sky; cerise red of the sumac plant, celadon green of the fields and the raw sienna from the turning leaves on the poplar trees. There I am again, off to create my next painting, rushing forward to catch the muse.
During the last few days in France I began to paint outside "Plein Air" style. Utilizing the wonderful light that is prevalent throughout this beautiful country, this is one of the reasons I come to paint here (along with all of my impressionists masters and mentors). Not an original thought, you might say, but one that will resonate deep inside me for a long time.
I am already planning my next year sabbatical to my adopted homeland, but first, I must return to the moment and pack up my studio in Orlando, return to my wonderful home and studio gallery in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida and move forward with a new direction for my art and my life.