Fig tree and shadows

Fig tree and shadows
12" x 12"

The morning light striking the agapanthus flowers, showing off their glory against the dark shape of my neighbour's hedge is what made me stop here. The peeps of bright acid greens through the gaps in the shadowy gate. And then the dappled shadow cast from the fig tree across the dusty path was enough to keep my attention. This is such a typical Bréhat scene, the pinks of hydrangeas seen in the garden beyond, the blue shutters at the window.

Cottage with blue shutters

Cottage with blue shutters

This house stands at a corner two or three minutes walk away from my house. I've walked past it many times and considered painting it but haven't. This year the flowers in the garden look particularly spectacular, in fact it's almost hidden by the flowers! I took Lori there and we both painted it, from different viewpoints. It's a very busy corner in summer and we attracted a lot of attention. It's also a very popular corner for people getting lost and stopping to study their maps.

The flowering rock

Cottage with agapanthus flowers

At around 1950 an American modernist painter called Frank Kleinholz lived on the island of Bréhat for a while with his family. A book of his sketches was published sometime afterwards called île de Bréhat - the flowering rock. The book is long since out of print but I would love to get hold of one. Maybe one of my US friends can help? I can't find it anywhere in the UK!
The flowering rock is a really great description of the island, where there is pink granite and flowers almost everywhere you look! At this time of year the agapanthus and hydrangea flowers are the most obvious, gorgeous abundant blooms of pink and lilac, plus there are roses, lavender, geraniums and marguerites.
We've had a floral kind of day, Lori and I. After a lazy morning we first painted a beautiful cottage hidden amongst it's flowers, and then we came here to île nord to paint 'les agapanthes'. I knew this would be a difficult subject with the house in shadow, looking towards the sun, but it excited me so I had to give it a go. My biggest challenge was to try and get a feeling of translucency with the light glowing through the leaves and flowers. I have to say, I'm fairly satisfied that I did achieve it!
Just so you know, the strange marks in the sky are not on the painting. They are shadows from pieces of grass as I had the board laying on the ground when I took the photograph! Sorry about that!
This oil painting measures about 10" x 12" and is available for purchase as soon as it's dry so if you are interested please message me about it and it could very soon be in your home :-)