On my recent writers' retreat, I was lucky enough to go walking with a friend who is an artist.
She noted how I was attracted to sunburst pictures.
And it's true. I'm frequently taking pictures with the sun shining through the trees or over the horizon.
I love the lines of light that peek through the forest.
The lines of the fallen tree in this one caught my eye.
More sunburst in the woods -- different day.
My artist friend explained that what I needed to do was take pictures of the sun shining on objects instead.
And she took a picture of me with the sun illuminating my face.
So as I walked alone in the woods a few days later (see my previous post) when I was sure that a bear wouldn't chase me down, I took some selfies of the sun lighting my face.
Here's my first selfie attempt.
I like this one much better with the way the light shines on my eyes.
I'll continue to experiment with light and photography and hope that my pictures get better as I prepare for my move to France.
Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
Earlier this summer, I posted some pictures that my friend Leah took while she traveled in the south of France.
Leah is an artist and takes wonderful pictures. Then, inspired by the pictures, she paints even more compelling paintings.
This month at our local coffee shop, Leah's paintings are on display. I went in earlier today to take some pictures because my daughter Grace is too sick to go look at them. I knew she'd be inspired by Leah's artwork.
I took this picture at a strange angle because there was a man sitting at the table Skyping. I tried not to be intrusive, but I love this picture of a tree-lined road on the way to St. Remy de Provence.
This next painting was inspired by both Van Gogh's painting of Les Iris, and a vase of purple flowers in a cafe in St. Remy de Provence where Leah had lunch.
Inspired by Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles, Leah painted the bedroom her son slept in while they visited Arles. Yes, she meant it to be a humorous take, but I love the colors.
There were other lovely paintings by Leah, and I can't include them all, but I will include a painting of a mosaic that she saw in Morocco, where they traveled after France and Spain. This painting looks 3-D, as if I could run my finger over the individual tiles. Again, I took it at an angle so the matting looks askew, but that's just my picture, not Leah's framing.
Hope you enjoy looking at Leah's paintings. I've included her Facebook page and her Etsy shop too in case you are interested in more art by Leah.
Thanks for playing along with Dreaming of France. I can't wait to see what everyone else is posting. Please visit each other's blogs.
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