Maritime Alps from Pointe de Bacon
Cap d’Antibes, France
26 November 96
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
4in. x 6in., archivally matted & backed to 8 x 10
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase
On the 25th I woke to a rainy day in Nice and decided to head up to Digne, the lavender capital of the world. I could live without lavender but life would not be quite as sweet. Lavender is simply one of the greatest treasures of my life experience so you know I was looking forward to visiting the place where the best lavender is grown. Even though it was November and the lavender was harvested in August.
I boarded the Chemin de fer early in the morning and off we went on one of the most rickety train rides I've ever taken. But it was fun and, as we ascended, snow began to fall. I didn't realize that I was headed into the mountains (another instance of deciding to head off to a destination with no plan whatsoever) but up we climbed and down the snow came. The landscape, the vistas, the snow were all beautiful and the rickety ride was sort of fun. By the time we got to Digne, I was ready to move my legs and see some sights but the snow had turned into freezing rain and the roads and sidewalks were all cold and slushy.
I was beginning to get the idea that if everyone in Paris heads to the south in August, everyone in the south closes shop in November. The tourist office in Digne was closed so I ducked into some little cafe and bought the single most expensive cup of tea ever. The café seemed to be the only shop that was open. I realized that lavender fields were out of the question. I had the address of Alexandra David-Néel's house and headed off to find that. All I managed to find were many, many puddles and suddenly it was time to head back for the train. Once on board, I took my soaking shoes and socks off and placed them over the baseboard radiators for the entire, miserably cold and wet ride back to Nice. Oh, well, I thought. I tried.
The next day, brisk but bright and beautiful, I set off for Antibes (again, with no plan). After coffee and a biscuit, I set off for a walk, having no idea where I was going. As it turns out, I walked the length of Cap d'Antibes. Fortunately. I did not walk around the entire shoreline but even the length of the peninsula was a hike albeit a lovely hike. I could find no place to stop and rest so, when I came upon a rocky outcropping, I sat myself there for a painting session looking back in towards the main coastline. As I worked on the foothills and mountains in the painting, I suddenly realized that I was looking at the first snowfall of the year in the Maritime Alps. The snow that had fallen as I climbed to Digne the day before.
Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.
Maritime Alps
