I’ve always wanted to do a series on La Fleche, and it’s been happening… slowly. I love the very particular, soft lighting that seems so characteristic of the Loire Valley.

So after painting my ducks and the small cascade, I was looking through my pictures when my painting teacher, Bonnie, stopped me at this photo and said “I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do with this one.”

This painting has three “fun” things about it. First, it is painted over a base coat of bright orange like the two others in the series. Second, painting complementary colors over one another (the blue of the water over the orange base) normally results in something very similar to… mud. I had to be very careful! Third, this may not sound fun but I love painting grass and foliage - there’s a technique where you hold the paintbrush at its tip, and just turn it around and around so the brushstrokes are almost touching.

Do you have pictures saved where you always wonder, “what would that look like as a painting?” Or, “how would an artist or painter interpret my vacation picture?” You never know if they’ll start by painting the canvas orange!