Perspective

On the final day of Artistes en Campagne we finally got out to visit other studios besides Pamphyle's (see yesterday's backblip). First we went to Saint Laurent where no fewer than five artists were exhibiting. The first stop was to see Pascal Auger's rather remarkable work using layers of cut paper -- my photo absolutely doesn't do justice to the three-dimensionality and organic forms of his work. Upstairs, Claire Charpentier made very different but similarly complex works on large canvases. We especially liked one that reminded us of medieval frescoes in its use of different scenes and iconic motifs that clearly had significance even if we didn't understand them.

From there we moved on to Anna Camille's gallery, previously seen here. As you can see, this room has rather more flamboyant decor, not necessarily suited to displaying art :) Chatting to visitors in English, French, and Finnish, she also found time to serve us coffee and lemon drizzle cake.

Finally, Jacques Duault (marble sculptures) and Anne Sarda (works made of recycled driftwood) -- both of whom we're familiar with, so this was not so surprising. And the work of Anne Sarda's I like most is still her tissage.

We decided we had enough artistic discernment left for one more visit, so on the way home we stopped off in Ferrals to see Bertrand Claverie, ex IT project manager turned artist. You can tell he used to be a project manager from the way he immediately gave us an off-the-cuff fifteen-minute lecture about his life story and techniques. His work may look a bit simplistic but it has a lot of theory behind it! It was interesting that as a self-taught artist he has taken one class, on the restoration of old paintings, and he now uses very old techniques and materials to produce very modern works. By the time he had finished telling us all about it, we were ready to go home for a cup of tea. There's always next year to visit the other artists.