Cafe in Aix en Provence

Wherever I go, I look at places and things a little more carefully , as if I am taking out the painting in them.  I think this is the biggest advantage of painting, seeing the beauty in unlikely places or things which we pass by every day. Not only the act of painting, but seeing everything around us a bit more deeply adds to the experience and to the joy of life. I consider myself so lucky, when I find myself looking at the light on the long grass beside the tracks as my train rushes to its destination. Or when I see the light in my kitchen as it hits the plants and the tiles on the floor. 

The story of this painting: I went to Aix en Provence in December 2022 for business. On the weekend, the only time I could walk the city of Cezanne, it rained like cats and dogs. I ran into this café to take a break from the rain. As I sat there alone and had my lunch and coffee, the entrance of the café seemed so pretty, a great scene to paint. I took a few pictures to remind myself the sense of the place. When I came back home, I took the painting out of the scene and out of that memory. This is why I paint: For the joy of witnessing and elongating that joy with painting.