LA PATRONNE / WINTER RESIDENCY
Mattie and I were in La Patronne, a small town somewhere in the south of France, to join a winter residency organized by Sarah Blumenfeld and Guillaume Pellay. For two weeks, we lived in a big stone house along with several artists in the midst of nothing but nature.
It was cold wintery days and we had our fireplace burning all day and we all smelled of burnt wood. We worked on our projects near the fire, we had many promenades in nature, we tried things we had planned to try before the arrivals and also the things we discovered there. And we ate well everyday.
Some rare days when I was the first to wake up, I walked down to the dark living room where ashes in the fireplace were still hot and red. It was so pleasant to open all the shutters and to restart the fire. Then I went outside to greet the dogs who came to visit us everyday. Then I wondered what if this is everyday.
Mattie and I wanted to try watercolor for a while, and we decided to practice everyday while we were there. It wasn’t everyday, but at least the first few days, we took our watercolor and brushes to our walks, we settle in front of sceneries we liked, and painted.
Old dogs, whom I named Kombucha and Bear, visited us everyday from somewhere. They would accompany us on our walks and they seemed to know all the existing paths. We fed them and they slept in front of the house most of the day, until they return somewhere in the evening.
Left over carne alentejana from the day before dinner cooked by Estelle. I regret not documenting all our epic dinners.
Wild rosemary field.
Thelma <3
Some new sketches and an experimental pot we made with the clay we found in nature.
He showed up one rainy morning in front of the house. He looked lost and helpless, but turns out he was a local hunting dog. I think he just wanted to sleep rather then hunt in the rain.
Now back in Paris, I wonder again what if this is everyday.
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Some pictures are by me and some are by Mattie.