And The Winner Is....

Saturday night was the reception that I hosted for the committee, Les Amis de La Grande Vigne. These were the people who selected me for this honor. I was concerned about whether I had the right food, whether the work would be well received, whether the wine would be good and about my pigeon French! I needn't have been concerned about any of it. Why is it that most of the things that concern us never really come to pass? The committee members were a most delighful group and the evening topped off a waking dream for me. I found myself regretting that I didn't have the ability to tape what was being said just so that I could replay the beautiful French that was being spoken. Fortunately, 3 of the committee members spoke some English. This meant that I didn't have to rely on charades to be understood. There was a lot of laughter. I had a great time with the entire group.

The over-arching reason for the reception was for the committee to select a piece for their collection. I was pleased that they had difficulty making a choice, because, of course, I was concerned that my work be up to their standards. The piece that they selected was one that I included in a previous blog post, but I include it again here. This painting was inspired by a lake view within the Forest of Paimpont. When I saw the lake, I was transfixed and got out of the car to take resource photographs right away. Mist was falling, which threatened my camera lens, but I got shots that I knew would inspire some work. When I got back to the house, I was moved by this particular view and the painting practically painted itself. In fact, it seemed to come too easily without the usual struggle. I call paintings such as these my 'hole in one' paintings since they happen rarely. Oddly enough, this was the only painting that I made during my sojourn here that I had already titled. Good thing, too, since they wanted a title for the piece!

So, the winner is, "Vivianne Was Here." ​