When May arrived, I was ready for a vacation. The month prior I had two plein air painting events, finished a 30x40” marsh commission and completed four paintings with prints for Hotel Poseidon. I loved every minute of it, but I was also tired. So the first two weeks of May were spent relaxing in France. I only picked up a paint brush twice in those two weeks to do a couple of watercolor sketches.

Traveling with my husband, and fellow Wilmington artist Kelsey Howard and her husband, we explored Nice, Provence and Paris. Then the guys flew home; and Kelsey and I spent a couple of extra days in Paris, before headed to our artist residency at Chateau Orquevaux for the rest of the month.

While we traveled, I took photos. I didn’t document every little detail, just the moments that spoke to me. My approach to photography is to really look, take in the moment, and only snap a photo if I want to paint what I see.

In Nice, we took a car to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and walked the coastal trail where we spotted snorkelers and cliff divers. The water was crystal clear and a beautiful shade of blue. So naturally, I snapped a picture.

In Provence, we went to a market in Gordes, a gorgeous hilltop village. Instantly, I could picture it as a painting.

Then I discovered the work of Maximilien Luce at Musée de Montmartre. His use of color moved me, and I was particularly drawn to his painting Le Maquis, Montmartre, completed in 1904. So I happily purchased the catalogue for the exhibition, to dive deeper into his work.

When I arrived at the residency, I was recharged and ready to paint! Colors and compositions from Nice, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Gordes and Giverny (more on that below) were swimming around in my head, just waiting to be realized.

I started by sketching compositions, then determined what size canvases to get from the on-site art store. I was thrilled to have a large studio with lots of wall space, so I went big with three 36x48” canvases and one 48x48.” I worked on unstretched linen canvases and stapled them up around the studio. Then I started pouring paint, adding bright washes of color!

The first canvas I completed was Provence, a view of the landscape from Gordes. It was one of those paintings that just flowed. I love the patchwork feel of the land. Fields dotted with trees, and hills along the horizon.

Left to right: *Cliff Diving, Gordes, Provence, Le Fruit*

With each day and each layer of paint, Cliff Diving and Gordes came together as well. I wanted to keep some of the whimsy from the first layers of paint in the finished pieces. Adding detail, without loosing the energy of my initial marks.

Cliff Diving was my most challenging piece. I could feel it stretching me, pushing me. While Gordes was the most satisfying, as if something new was clicking into place.

I also completed one piece for the permanent collection at Chateau Orquevaux titled Willow. A 30x40” painting inspired by a little pond surrounded by flowers with a beautiful Weeping Willow tree draped over its edge. I noticed it on a walk to see the cows, and it felt like it embodied the magic of Orquevaux.

A couple of days before our residency, Kelsey and I took a train to Giverny to see Monet’s home and gardens. My expectation was that the pond with the waterlilies would be my favorite part. Instead, I was completely enchanted by the gardens!

I found beautiful handmade paper with deckled edges in Paris and splurged on soft pastels at the Sennelier store. So after I set up my studio at Orquevaux (while I waited on gesso to dry), I worked on pastel paintings of Monet’s garden, before going bigger to paint a 36x48” canvas.

I felt free working on unstretched canvas, and in a space where I could loosen up and make a big mess with my acrylics. Yet, it took me by surprise how much fun and how natural it was to paint with soft pastels on paper, from flowers to fruit to figures.

Left to right: *Mademoiselle I, Giverny, Fleurs, Petits Fruits and Mademoiselle II*

A Little Backstory

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been taking life drawing classes at Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC, with the wonderful Donna Moore. I went from using just charcoal to slowly introducing color with pastels. Drawing the figure has sharpened my skills and improved my eye. In 2025, I’ve been regularly attending the weekly life drawing sessions, where I’ve worked primarily in soft pastels on newsprint.

So I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise to gravitate towards painting with soft pastels in France. It’s more of a next step, another part of my artistic practice.

Chateau Orquevaux hosted a life drawing session one afternoon, which I happily attended, bringing my pastels and my paper, just like I do at home. But this time I went for the nice paper, allowing myself to value my figure drawing work, and treat it as the art that it is. So for the first time, I will be including two figures in this collection, Mademoiselle I and II.

I’m sometimes asked, “Why attend an artist residency, when you can paint at your home studio?”

For one thing, I think it’s good to get out of your comfort zone. A change of scenery can do wonders for your creativity.

Plus, seeing the world from a different point of view makes you more empathetic and compassionate for ALL of the beautiful, worthy, valued and deserving humans on this planet. Which is something we desperately need more of in this age.

Artistically, I’ve seen my work grow leaps and bounds at residencies. There’s something to be said for having the time and space to create without the day-to-day chores and distractions of daily life.

You also learn so much from the other artists, and make lifelong friendships in the process!

I’m back home, now, but I’m still daydreaming of France and my beautiful time there. Pastel paintings are being framed, canvases are being stretched, and I’m in the thick of planning the Far From France Art Show with Kelsey Howard!

We would love to see you at the show on Friday, June 27, from 4–7 p.m. at Far From France Bakery and Bistro.

Event details

The Making of: The French Collection

A Little Backstory

I’m sometimes asked, “Why attend an artist residency, when you can paint at your home studio?”

Far From France Art Show

Chateau Orquevaux