Only 3 months since my last blog and just over 2 months since our move to Sainte-Maxime.  How quickly time flies!

So much has happened and with the weather being so amazing since we arrived it felt like a very long holiday!

Even now in October, the first signs of Autumn are appearing, the colours are changing..the vineyards are putting their russet and yellow coats, plane trees are slowly losing their leaves and Monsieur Mistral is bringing that touch of freshness as it blows the clouds away, but the sun remains faithful and  swimming in the sea is still a pleasure !

I do love my new home..I love Sainte Maxime.

Making our dream come true ; never giving up  is what gives energy , joy and fulfilment..it keeps us young!

scintillante - Acrylic on canvas / Acrylic sur toile

Now living in my favourite landscape  (and  I cannot imagine not being able to be so close to the Mediterranean ever again) , the words to describe my feelings are, fun, joy , each moment is an adventure.

I have painted a little, but felt I needed to let go of the past habits so that my heart could express all this joy and fun.. absorbing everything around me, the warm air, the sea, the colours, the boats, the hills, waiting to see where my new painting journey would take me.

I have always had a strong affinity with wood, trees of course. and now the water,  the sea.. the two together are now closely linked for my inspiration..

Le Port de Sainte-Maxime - photo Annick McKenzie

Sainte-Maxime is a beautiful seaside town and the harbour is a delight ..just on my doorstep…I am discovering  so many sensations , like ‘seeing’ for the first the oneness of these two elements …wood and water… boats and sea….their coming together , reflecting each other , the sun , the light dancing with them. Shadows and light!

Painting on wood panels again and ideas are now really taking shape.

My camera is my other creative tool which is helping me collect many images of sea, hills, trees, sun, sea  etc…a  colourful kaleidoscope .

This is a new beginning, having a youthful mind and attitude,  living life this way each day creates joy and I am very grateful!

The first step on my new creative journey  : ‘ You make my heart sing’… one exciting step at a time !

'you make my heart sing' - 30cm x 40cm - acrylic on wood panel/ acylique sur bois

Le Roi Babar

‘Babar the Elephant ‘ was my favourite childhood friend and I fondly remember looking and reading the books filled with beautiful and colourful illustrations,  imagining myself with him and his family sharing all their adventures.  I think every child became Babar’s friend very naturally.  I did,  and still am…

At the end of July,  at last,  my husband and I will be moving to our new home in Sainte Maxime, in the Var region of  the Provence -Alpes-Cote d’Azur area in Southern France, where Jean de Brunhoff wrote the first Babar book ‘Babar the Elephant.

A lovely sandy beach now bears his name ‘La plage des éléphants’.

I left France 30 years ago and this move back home has been a long and difficult journey at times, but oh, so rewarding , as my life has expanded so much by never letting go of my dream and now the joy of being able to live it ! I am so grateful and excited about my new life…

Apart from the incredible seaview,  I will have studio space and I am so looking forward to settling down , discover and savour my new landscape…the sea and the hills…

Sainte Maxime

I don’t feel I will become a marine painter but the sea will bring a new dimension to my mediterranean landscapes .  I find myself becoming slightly dizzy as I ponder how my work will develop and I am full of great expectations !  I cannot wait to get painting !

Also,  there is the fond memory of my childhood friend ‘Babar’ to make me smile and dream of  new adventures to come !

A few days ago  a wonderful surprise came through my letterbox…A budding artist friend of mine came back from visiting her sister in Canada and brought me back a beautiful book of postcards of The Group of Seven.

I  must admit  I never came across these artists’ works  even when I lived in Toronto in the early 70’s.  Opening the book and seeing  the colourful landscapes,  my heart jumped for joy and I felt so grateful to her for introducing me to such beautiful art !

I am sure my Twitter and Facebook Canadian artists friends  (you all know who you are …)  are shouting ‘how could you not know about these wonderful painters ?’…yes indeed,  how could I not,  but luckily it is never too late !

So for those of you who didn’t know about them either,  I would like to introduce you to  The Group of Seven ;  I’d like to call them the Magnificent Seven !

Red Maple - A.Y. Jackson

Lawren S.Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, A.Y Jackson, Arthur Lismet, Franklin Carmichael, F.H Varley and Frank Johnston officially formed the group of Seven when they exhibited together for the first time at the Art Gallery of Toronto (later renamed the Art Gallery of Ontario), the year was 1920.

It was a historic exhibition, followed by a succession of at times  controversial shows through the decade and the first retrospective exhibition of the group in 1936. After Johnston left the Group in 1924, the young A.J. Casson was asked to join.

Many of these artists, along with Tom Thomson (who died tragically in 1917) had met as early as 1913 in Toronto.  At first they were a small group of like-minded artists who established a practice of regular outdoor sketching trips. They gathered strength from mutual support to pioneer a new direction for Canadian landscape painting.

'Autumn's Garland' - Tom Thomson

Tom Thomson had  profound effect on this group of artists as he introduced them to Algonquin Park and the ‘Northern’ wilderness.  In 1918, members of the Group organised the first of the now famous ‘boxcar trips’ to the Algoma region of Ontario – a place they returned to often.

“ We are endeavouring to knock out of us all all of the preconceived ideas, empty ourselves of everything except that nature is here in all its greatness.” F.H.Varley

These artists fundamentally believed that art should permeate all aspects of our lives.

How wonderful is that ?  Nature is also my inspiration and I am grateful to my friend for the introduction and I hope you will get to know them and their beautiful and colourful art…I really feel they painted from the heart !

‘Courage is the power to let go of the familiar’   Raymond Lindquist

The time of going to France is fast approaching and as people who move house will know very well,  there is always too much of anything and everything stored away !

So many things we have forgotten about,  especially the ones put away safely    ‘just in case we might need them one day !’

After 23 years in our house,  you can imagine how complicated and time consuming the ‘sorting out ‘ is.

I am not a hoarder and I find it easy to just let go of the old and look forward to the new….not everyone in my family feels the same … my boxes of  ‘things to take to France ‘ are the smallest!

My studio is now practically in order,  ready for the new adventure.

I feel excited about the new works I will produce ,  fresh inspiration ,  new departure.  I  sense that my sketchbooks,  canvases ,  paint and brushes cannot wait either.

I found a small sketch I did a few years ago , whilst on holiday in Dorset and at the time,  I drew it with a large painting in mind.  It is going in one of my boxes to take to France and I know I will do the painting.  I have just the right canvas for it packed away in that same box!

Embracing the view - neocolor crayons on card - 30cm x 20cm

Spring is truly here,  painting the landscape with colours of deep and light magenta.  This year,  the cherry  blossoms in particular,  are thick and fluffy like candy floss,  showing how strong and beautiful the trees have become as they persevered through the hardships of a snowy and very cold winter. They are singing,  joyful and colourful songs !  Life always gives us opportunities to reveal courage and hope, opening one’s heart and find deep joy.

Blossom Path - ©AnnickMcKenziephotos

Recently,  a very dear friend of mine commissioned a painting of her garden and mystically,  she is,  as I am,  experiencing new beginnings,  letting go of  fear and attachments,  daring to believe and taking the opportunity to go forward … deciding to make the impossible possible.

I finished the painting this week-end and as she and I talked and pondered about the title,  I realised that,  while painting amid all my daily life’s ups and downs,  my heart expressed  the feeling of reaching upwards,  expanding,  becoming stronger on my journey to achieve my dream.

We both decided to call it  ‘soaring’… a fitting title!

' Soaring ' - Acrylic on card - 50cm x 40cm

‘The Kegon Sutra says “the heart is like a skilled painter” .  Like a great painter, the heart freely creates representations of all things.  One’s heart is the designer, the painter, the sculptor and the architect of his and her being.’   Daisaku Ikeda

Le Port de Saint-Tropez - Annick Mckenzie/photo

On March 21st , we celebrated our 30th wedding Anniversary with a very yummy lunch in Saint-Tropez.

After the champagne ,  the Grand Aioli,  the rosé de Provence,  the absolutely delicious tartes aux fraises ,  we strolled along the port , happy and at ease !

For those of you who have only visited Saint-Tropez or St Trop  in the summer months,  the feeling is quite different in winter and early spring..no crowds,  hardly any yachts in the port ,  the plane trees look magnificent and sculptural ,  and the restaurants are quietly busy .  We enjoyed our day so much!Many villages in this area are very unique and I understand why artists like  Paul Signac ,  the neo - impressionist painter,  who arrived there in 1892 and made this lovely fishing port a ‘rendez-vous’ for artists.

Port de Saint-Tropez (Paul Signac)

Local artist Auguste Pégurier, and Henri-Edmond Cross were already painting scenes ‘tropéziennes’ and through exhibiting at the Salon d’Automne in Paris , made the charm of this little fishing village known and Saint-Tropez became a place of inspiration for many young artists.

After the First World War the realistic and colourful style of some painters especially Henri Manguin became more appreciated by the public who was yearning for reassurance after the terrible heartache of the Great War.

Other creative people started to visit and an ‘intelligentsia  parisienne’ settled in this port made known to them through the paintings of these artists.

Now the fame and fortune,  celebrity syndrome is thriving,  especially in the summer months..no small fishing boats in the harbour,  only impressive yachts stand side by side ,  film stars,  packed cafes and restaurants,  designer boutiques and mostly thousand of people hoping to spot someone ‘famous’ .

I wonder what Signac and his friends would make of it all, would they join the numerous artists painting ‘en plein air’ along the port?

For me, one of the treasure of Saint Tropez is Le Musée de l’Annonciade , a reminder that the village was one of the most active centres of the pictorial avant-guarde of the beginning of the 20^th Century,  thanks to Paul Signac who discovered it while sailing in the Golfe.

Charmed by the area, Signac bought a home there  which became his studio ‘La Hune’ and where he invited many artists such as Matisse,  Derain,  Marquet.

The collections displayed were introduced between 1890 and 1950. And it is a pleasure to walk around the beautiful and light building and have the time to ‘stand and stare’ at these amazing paintings…I love colour and this is my world!

All the artists exhibited based their work around the notion of colour. These works by artists such as  Signac, Derain, Matisse, Braque,   Bonnard, ,  Van Dongen ,   Rouault,   Maurice Vlaminck,  George Seurat,  Edouard Vuillard and Henri Manguin , belong essentially to the Pointillist,  Les Nabis and the Fauvist Periods.

Seeing the works of one artist in particular,  Henri Manguin,  a Fauvist ,  made me realise and understand even deeper why I love this part of France ,  its light,  colour and landscape…and why I am so looking forward to move there very soon.

Olive Trees (Henri Manguin)

Oh, and what about the  ‘house of our dreams’  I talked about in my  previous blog ?  we did find it and fingers crossed,  all will be revealed very soon….

Home, Sweet Home , 60cm x 40cm

This coming monday ,  my husband and I will be in France in the Var region of Provence.

Our mission:  To look for the  house of our dreams and to book a fabulous restaurant for our 30^th wedding anniversary dinner celebration…will it be in Saint Tropez,  Sainte Maxime,  Plan de la Tour even Flayosc or Tourtour ?… so many choices..maybe we will try a few during our 10 days stay!

I am taking my two Moleskine sketch books,  pens,  watercolours and I know there are some exciting motifs waiting for me to draw and paint.

We will also re-visit one of my favourite museum Le Musée de l’ Annonciade in Saint-Tropez.

If you want to see wonderful paintings by some of the great Masters of Colour, this is the place to go and be inspired by painters from the Pointillist,  Fauvist and  Nabis movements…as they say in England ‘ just my cup of tea’ !

Who hasn’t got a golden dream ?

For the last 20 years ours has been to find our home,  sweet home,  in the very place we love and  yes, where we feel at home . Lucky us,  it happens to be in a beautiful part of the world .

Sunshine,  blue sea,  pine trees,  cicadas,  hills and vineyards – a painter’s dream .

Let go of the past and go for the future.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

It is such an exciting and important time for us,  and of course there is sadness in leaving the place where we have been happy for nearly 23 years. But,  it is about recognising the right time,  and when we do,  we must seize it,  knowing that the next adventure will be even more thrilling than the previous one.

I  cannot wait to paint to my heart’s content in the beautiful light and meet many new friends !

I will report on this trip in two weeks time… stay tuned !

A friend of mine blogged and made a wonderful video about the place we are leaving behind ..a very special momento and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Merci Steve !

You must not blame me if I do talk to clouds. H.D.Thoreau

A few years ago, on a July visit in Perpignan near the Pyrenees,  the beautiful Canigou mountain suddenly appeared in the deep blue sky , wearing a scarf-like cloud around its neck..I was awe-struck at the magic of this vision and luckily I had my camera with me so I could capture the moment. Canigou was visible for a very short time only and it faded away as quickly as it appeared.

Canigou - 100cmx80cm

Painting the ‘vision’ was magical and  putting up again on my studio wall ,  I realised how much I am attached to this painting and wonder if is the reason why it hadn’t sold yet. Writing about it now, I am letting it go.

I love looking at the sky , at cloud formations when walking around in the countryside .  Clouds are like magicians, they can take the shapes of animals,  trees,  even faces and when the sun sets, they put on their beautiful multi-coloured coats.

annickmckenziephotos.

As an artist, mostly a painter , Nature is my muse and  because anything in the landscape can suddenly take my breath away,  a splash of colour, the strength of a tree, the wonderful light , the purple and blue shadows or the magical clouds playing in the sky,  my camera is the perfect tool to capture these moments. Of course, the ‘coup de coeur’ stays imprinted in my life, and when in the studio,  the photo will ‘relight’ the feeling … is a wonderful tool.

I enjoy  painting  or sketching ‘en plein air’,  but I need  the warmth of a summer’ day when I can really savour the wonderful feeling of oneness with my environment and express it on paper or canvas.

When I was a child , my favourite ‘look’ was seeing the  sky covered with tiny white clouds, looking like flocks of sheep huddled together.

annickmckenziephotos

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher, but to add color to my sunset sky.  Rabindranath Tagore

Putting a smile on people’s faces or lifting their hearts ,  this is the reason why I paint !

All letters written in French have been beautifully translated in English and it is a privilege to see copies of some of the handwritten letters, postcards together with many beautiful  black and white photographs of these artists, at work, at home and with friends, taken by the great French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.

I have not seen or been in touch with this friend for at least 8 years now,  she moved away and we lost contact. ..but this book about friendship reminds me of her kindness and thoughtfulness in giving me the opportunity to read about the daily life of these two artists she knew I admired and I am grateful…

The letters exchanged between Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse from 1925 to 1946 attest to a forty year friendship between those two great artists.

Vive la Peinture !!!

Amitiés

Matisse

Antoine Terrace, Bonnard’s great-nephew writes in his introduction that Bonnard and Matisse “ have the same painterly intelligence. They share the same absolute conviction that the painting must have a life of its own.”

There are so many inspiring and heart warming passages in these letters, postcards, personal or art related. While reading this book I felt the support and inspiration these two artists gave to each other.

“They seem like two Benedictine monks debonairly telling each other about the progress of their twin labours, and helping each other, without pettiness or self-regard, to embrace the truth a little more fondly.”  Julien Gracq

These letters really touched my heart and encouraged me to make every effort not to lose touch with any friends.

Nowadays,  we have many ways of communicating with each other,  from telephoning,  texting,  email,  facebook messages or twitter.

I use all of them and I have made many virtual friends throughout the world and quite a few of them have become good friends.

It’s the heart that is important and it will show in the way we communicate with each other.

Taking the action to open one’s heart a little bit more,  to find the wisdom to listen,  to give unconditionally,  to help that person discover their great potential is the way forward . Trust and friendship lead to a peaceful world.

Also handwritten letters or cards are a bit of oneself we give to someone…like a signed artwork …made to inspire and encourage.

I will finish with this moving letter.

January 8^th, 1940

My dear friend,

I take pleasure in writing you that my first thought this morning was about you. I still have a very precise memory of your work, which I find surer than ever. I can still see the decoration with its rose tree, and I am delighted by it. Your blue seascape, too, and I am sorry I didn’t get a good look at the bouquet of roses. I promised myself I would see it before I left but the time was too short and the interest of the conversation (I was talking about myself) prevented me. Be of good cheer, my old friend, your work is going well.

Both of us have had relatively good health, given the changes in the weather.  This morning it is warm and beautiful. That will continue.

My friendliest wishes to you both.

Henri Matisse

‘La terrasse ensoleillée’  . Bonnard worked on it from 1939 to 1946.

In the woods near my house, snowdrops seem to always be the first to push their beautiful and happy little bell -like flowers through the hard and sometimes snow covered ground.

Their name in French is ‘perce -neige’ or ‘snow driller’  – symbol of hope and tenacity. They are the very first signs telling us that Spring is on its way and proof that Winter always turns to Spring.

The 21^st March is the first day of Spring and this year, on this special day, my husband and I will be celebrating our 30^th wedding anniversary.

And I feel so fortunate because these have been 30 wonderful years together and with our two very special sons.

Also, this year will mark the beginning of a new chapter in our lives as we will be moving to the South of France making our dream come true and we will celebrate the first day of Spring at our favourite restaurant in the village where we will live.

Yes,  Spring is afoot,  and the snowdrops are reminding me that perseverance brings about new beginnings!