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JACK MORROCCO
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'Apres Midi, Le Cannet' (study) |
'Grand Canal towards Santa Maria della Salute' |
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8" x 8" |
22" x 16" |
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acrylic on board |
oil on canvas |
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SOLD |
SOLD |
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My base
in the south of France is at the eastern edge of Provence with
the villages of Biot and Valbonne almost on my doorstep and the
larger towns of Antibes, Cannes and Grasse within 20 minutes
drive. The smaller “villages perché” within easy reach nearby
include Cabris, St Paul de Vence, Tourette sur Loup and Mougin.
Even within the larger towns I always seem to gravitate toward
the “old town” where the architecture and ambience seem
unchanged for centuries and the with the addition of a few
coloured parasols make irresistible subjects.
Whilst the coastal towns have a reputation for glitz, I can always find a quiet corner or café in the shade of an old plane tree where the pace of life returns to the French norm. Admittedly I have to work a little harder to edit out the intrusions of the modern world in St Tropez, Toulon or Cannes, but there are little gems like Cassis and Bormes les Mimosas which appear to have been untouched by modernity, and it is still possible to find the same vistas that attracted an army of artists before me. My journeys into central Provence would never be complete without another visit to Aix en Provence, a larger town with both large municipal squares and narrow alleys which serve up wide variety of painting subjects. I have painted the famous tree lined boulevard “Cours Mirabeau” many times and each time it gives me something different. Longer trips to the western part of Provence have provided me with many subjects around Arles, Avignon, St Remy and a particular favourite of mine, Uzes. All have a unique character, and in common with most towns and villages in the south of France, have a weekly, or in some cases daily, market which change the sometimes quiet squares into a riot of activity and colour. Journeys in the opposite direction take me quickly to Monte Carlo and then on into Italy. A 3 hour death-defying drive on the Italian autostrada can get me to the calm of Portofino. It can be difficult to avoid pictorial cliché here but the effort is worth it. A beautiful and unique coastal oasis which still finds favour with the glitterati but has lost none of its charm. In between trips to France I try and make time to get to Venice as often as I can. Its unique “carless” environment suits my attempt to create timeless pictures, and the more I visit, the more I find the areas off the beaten track to give me a new take on a classically beautiful town. Having painted almost no landscape at all until spending my summers in France since 2003, landscape makes up more than half my work. With the different times of day at different times of year, the permutations of town, village and scene are almost infinite, and I look forward to interpreting the environment and atmosphere for many years to come. Jack Morrocco |
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