Things are really taking off here in Aix-en-Provence. We’re finished with our orientation, and I’m in the middle of my first classes. I’ve already had my first 19th century French impressionism class, which was pretty cool, as well as the first studio session. The Marchutz program is amazing. Our director is this guy named Alan, who runs the program with the help of John, another man, and the two of them make quite the duo. They’re exactly the types of people you would expect to randomly decide to expatriate to the south of France and take up art. John came from Seattle to Marchutz to study as an architecture student, and Alan, who used to live in and around the Carolinas, left the US to go to a Cat Stevens concert in Tunis, traveled around Europe for a while, camping and making friends, then tried painting for the first time after a trip to Ireland, and left only to get his MFA in Vermont. They’re both very soft spoken, and just indescribably spacy.
The studio is absolutely stunning. It’s just outside the city limits, in a town called Tholonet, literally 150 meters from the spot where Cezanne panted this: http://www.fineartprintsondemand.com/artists/cezanne/mont_sainte-victoire_tholonet-400.jpg
The drawing went well today, I think. I didn’t get any criticism, which seems like a good sign, I’m not doing it completely wrong, but I’d love to know what to work on. The only two comments I got today were that my inclination to start with areas of strong contrast was good, and then at the end he told me I had a good first day. It’s not like a regular art school in that they really don’t spend time teaching us technique. The way Alan put it, they’re “going to give us a brush and some paint, and tell us they’d prefer we use the side with the bristles, but we don’t have to.” They’re more worried about how we see. The school used to be called the Marchutz School of Vision, and, while the name changed once the 70s were over, the approach (and faculty, apparently) has stayed the same.
This weekend they’re bussing us down to Cassis on Sunday, and Nice on Saturday. Nice is supposed to be... well... nice to say the least, and Cassis is known for its "calanques," little inlets in the cliffs on the shore of the Mediterranean, each with its own beach, complete with baby blue water and pristine white sand. The photos I've seen in the guide books look absolutely breathtaking, so I'll keep everyone posted on how that goes, and I'll be sure to take some pictures of my own.
Tonight Mme Tissot had 20 of her friends over for what couldn't be described as anything short of a banquet-style feast. She had about 10 different types of quiche going, accompanied by a huge platter of different pates, an enormous salad, a special black olive and anchovy tampanade, a specialty of both Provance, and, according to the lady sitting next to me, Mme Tissot, as well as bread, and, of course, wine. Then after that had all been cleared away, came the typical French cheese course.
So here I am, with my mind blown and my tummy full after the feast, and I havn't been able to make myself finish my art history homework.
I'll keep y'all updated on how Nice and Cassis are for sure, and get pumped for next weekend, because my partner in crime and I are off to Munich for a Bavarian cultural festival.
A bien tot!
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