Inspired by art

 

Inspired by my visit to Brigitte Willers' exhibition, I've been looking at quiet corners and scenes of gentle neglect rather more attentively, in particular the interplay of light and shadow. This is what good art does, after all: it invites to you look closer at the world around, and perhaps to see things differently. What she captures so well is the sheer brightness of the light here and the dappled effect as it filters through the plants and trees planted everywhere for natural shade. Grape canopies hang over dining tables, though here one of ours has run rampant over an old garden chair.

 

Here are some more photos I've taken with the idea of strong light and shade in mind. Another brocante chair is placed underneath an upstairs terrace just out of the sun's glare.

 

You can see the strength of the midday sun out in the courtyard:

 

 

Steps in the shade of an acacia tree have been covered with fallen blossom. The tree is humming with bees.

A plain plastic watering can and chair are blotched with light:

The wide leaves of the catalpa tree dapple the courtyard as well as the raised kitchen terrace:

With the sun almost directly overhead, this table and chairs make shadow spirograph patterns! 

 

 

Face to Face: Brigitte Willers

 

Face to Face is the title of the painting used on the poster advertising Brigitte Willers' August exhibition of gloriously detailed aquarelles in Viens. Every year, she explains, there's one image that seems to sum up what her work is about, and the key is here, on the reflections of the landscape on the old truck window and the rust that seems to be taking over the ancient farm vehicle, taking it, little by little, back to earth.

 

'I'm interested in reflections in glass, which can be as fascinating as those in water,' she told me at her gallery in the Old Bakery. In this picture, the truck faces the ridge of the Grand Luberon but the side window reflects back a view of the hilltop village of Viens.

 

Willers' paintings are full of complex patterns and almost photographic detail. Her scenes of year-round Luberon life focus on the rustic and neglected, the run-down and forgotten corners. The patina of rust is another of her fascinations.

 

 

But these are contrasted throughout with vibrant close-ups of nature, the explosions of colour summing up beautifully the balance between the picturesque decay and rampant flora in Provence, all lit by the brightest of sunshine.

 

 

 

 

If you are anywhere near Viens - close to the town of Apt - before August 25th, Brigitte Willers' work is well worth seeing. If you can't get here, click here for her website.