Provence Sketches : Peter Delahaye

My twin and I set off on a trip around Provence. We soon realized that the “must see” towns

were still all jumping with tourists in late September. We changed plans and headed to the

hills – literally!

From landing in Nice we arrived in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, perched on a rock-face. I started

painting immediately, conscious that the lavenders, pastel-blue shutters, creamy stone walls,

cloudless, ultramarine-blue skies could make a painting look “too pretty”. And yet everything

was too pretty! Both palettes I’d brought needed paring down, bright surfaces had to have

corresponding shadow colours to pull off the bright sunlit glow.

Steep steps up to the front door in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, where we stayed

From Tourrettes we traveled via Grasse, of perfume fame, with enchanting pedestrian streets

signaled by high-hung pink umbrellas. 

A galaxy of pink hung umbrellas mark the pedestrian routes in picturesque Grasse

Then on to the Luberon where chocolate-box, small hamlets abounded. On the way were vast empty and brooding landscapes above the tree-line with distant horizons turning purple.

The imposing cliffs and forests in the Luberon National Park

A country lane on the way to Cadenet in the Luberon

The forest at the rear of the villa we stayed at in the Luberon

Anouis won the prize as “village fleuri”, with cheerful shopkeepers happy to talk about their local craft produce.

The quaint village street of blue-shuttered Anouis. Not yet midday.

The sweeping countryside below Anouis village walls

Finally an overnight in Sauveterre near Avignon, before a long drive back to Menton’s seaside,

and Nice.

A friend’s garden in Sauveterre, near Avignon

The colourful town of Menton, nestled below the coastal cliffs

Rocks in sunlight, at Menton’s beach

These sketches were made on site, en plein air. Three I created from photographs back in my

studio. The three additional abstract colour stripes are made on tape and give a real sense of

the Provencal palette.

Peter Delahaye will be taking painters to Tuscany in Italy next April 2024 for watercolour

landscape workshops.