Summer Workshops in The Poppy Fields Of Ile de re, France

Having traveled to my husband's hometown of the Island of Ile de Re, France for over 25 years now, my favorite time of the year is early Summer. The Parisienne vacationers have not invaded the island yet, that is reserved for August each year. This past summer was extremely special as the Poppies were in full bloom. I arrived in France mid May, which was actually a little earlier than I normal travel. To my surprise RED was everywhere. When the artists arrived for our Plein Air Painting week, it could not have been more picturesque.

We were a group of Painters driving around the island in hot pursuit of fresh Poppies. We drove down a small meandering dirt road until we found this gorgeous field with a beautiful farmhouse off in the distance. STOP the car... and out of the SUV we jumped, with our easels in hand, ready for a quick setup to get started painting. I must admit, we spent as much time snapping selfies in the fields as we did painting. It was too beautiful to pass up this amazing photo op.

Here are fellow Artists Catherine Mulflur, Janey Brammer, Patty McGeeney and Noreen Coup enjoying the beauty of the Island and its fresh Poppy Field. The exciting thing was that we were all at different levels on our painting journeys. To see a beginner at first be overwhelmed with the entire experience and feel so happy and satisfied at the end of the session was so gratifying.  And watching a seasoned pro get just as excited to paint was rewarding for all of us to experience.

This is a Painting that I did while standing in the Poppy Field. I loved the way the tree line background set the stage for the Poppies in the foreground.

Here is the actual photo from this location in the poppy field. It's always exciting when you stumble across a good spot to paint, as we certainly did with this location.  

One of the 10 villages on the island of Ile de re, is the village of La Flotte, registered as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages In France".  There you will find the ruins of a XII Century Abbey. This historical site offers the spectacular remains of the Abbey build by Cistercian monks in 1156 who first settled on the island and developed the wine and salt industry, still in production today.  It is surrounded by wheat fields and poppies  this time of the year and a potato farmer working the fields. BTW, he wasn't too keen on us taking his picture. Opps, we snuck a photo anyway. C'est la vie.

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