CEZANNE PAINT ALONG REFERENCE PHOTO #4
CEZANNE PAINT ALONG REFERENCE PHOTO #3
CEZANNE PAINT ALONG REFERENCE PHOTO #2
CEZANNE PAINT ALONG REFERENCE PHOTO #1
Hello everyone! We are currently on Day 3 out of 8 of our Chasing the Light workshop, and I wanted to take a moment to share some behind-the-scenes pictures with all of you. Thank you for your well wishes as we've entered our retreat season. Once we wrap up this week's retreat, we'll post a new episode that will immerse you into the last few weeks leading up to this year's first painting workshop and much more.
For those of you who have been following our Instagram stories, we have just announced a LIVE PAINT ALONG from the Puy Vidal, very similar to last September's paint, with this year's guest artist, Peter Keegan.
It's set for tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. Central European Time. We will go live here on YouTube and on Instagram so you can follow along and get a glimpse of our retreat and Peter Keegan's lesson for the day. There will be a STILL LIFE set up in the Grand Salon, and I will soon share photos of this setup for those of you interested in painting along.
Stay Tuned!!!
Much love from the Château,
Caroline
Hello everyone,
I wanted to give you a quick update on whatâs been happening behind the scenes at Puy Vidal. Over the past few months, weâve experienced an unusual winter season with lots of rain and mostly grey overcast skies, unlike any that the locals have witnessed before! As a result, weâve taken this as an opportunity to spend most of our time indoors, focusing on administrative tasks and some interior projects - preparing for an exciting 2024 workshop season.
On the rare occasion when the sun comes out, you will find the family running outside to get as much vitamin d as possible! It is quiet an adjustment from those sunny San Diego "winters" đ¤
We've continued work on the caretaker cottage that will turn into our Art studio for this workshop season; we've also added a couple of new passageways around the chateau for better guest flow. We've made significant gains on our renovation plans, which we will share with you all soon. Finally, we've learned some excellent Puy Vidal history from the previous owners who visited us mid-January.
Furthermore, as Robert and Penelope are coming up on their one-year anniversary in France, we've taken some time to collectively reflect on our journey so far and plan for the adventures ahead.
You might be wondering when you can expect to see some fresh content from us. We have good news - a new episode will be released next weekend! We appreciate your continued support as we navigate through our 2nd winter here in France :) We are excited to reconnect and share our upcoming projects and adventures at Puy Vidal.
Until then, take care and stay tuned!
Warm regards,
Caroline
As we stand on the cusp of a new year, we extend our deepest gratitude to each member of our Chateau Community - our guests, our team, and all of you following along with us on our journey. Your presence and contributions have transformed challenges into triumphs, making this first year in France unforgettable.
May the winter winds carry away the old, making room for fresh energy and determination to enter the new year. Wishing you all a joyful holiday season and a splendid start to 2024!
We have received many requests to share our recipes, and so we launch a place for all the chateau recipes to live.
If you have the will and inclination please try them and improve them. All cooks at this chateau cook from the heart and measure garlic with wild abandon bordering on contempt of the original recipe.
www.theladyofthechateau.com/chateaudepuyvidalblog/âŚ
Hello everyone,
Thank you to all who watched our very first LIVE video ever last week.
As you all know, we like to film and compile footage of life here at the Chateau for quite a while before editing it together to share with all of you. This is our process- it helps us live our experiences, digest and process them personally, and then revisit them to recreate a version of it as a video which is as close as we can get to sharing the real experience with you. It feels healing, creative and full of love when we take the time to let our experiences and our videos settle a bit after the lived experience.
However, we wanted to test out going LIVE during the retreat, as we were offering a PAINT ALONG during the workshop- an invitation to artists around the world to participate in the retreat from wherever they call home. We posted a photo of the Still Life Set Up of the day, and invited artists to submit their paintings or sketches of this still life. We went live in the Grand Salon during the painting of that Still Life so that the artists working on that set up could feel even closer to what they were painting.
Live on youtube forces the video to be filmed in portrait mode(vertical) as many of you noticed. We believe youtube has designed it this way to encourage viewers to watch live videos from their phones. It is definitely not the usual format or presentation and we know its not for everyone. Thanks to the many of you who tuned in, enjoyed it, and provided constructive criticism!
The video is still on our channel for anyone who missed it, who would like to see what an unedited and raw glimpse into Chateau Life looks like :)
We have attached to this post photos of the two WINNERS of this Paint Along! Congratulations to Kimberley Gates and Carolyn DiFiori!!! Thank you so much to all who took time out of their lives to join us in artistic community!
We hope to be able to organize paint alongs similar to this one at each of our painting retreats in the future.
We are currently working on the full video of the retreat which we hope to be able to post as early as TOMORROW!
Stay tuned:)
Best,
Julia and Carolina
Bonjour Friends,
And thank you all for such excellent feedback on our latest youtube video. We are encouraged by all of the tips and DIY tricks many of you have shared with us in the comments. If time permits, we hope to turn around another update by the end of this month.
-- "Retreat to the Château" Painting Workshop News --
If you know anyone wishing they could make it to this year's September Painting Workshop with Johanna Spinks, then we have great news for you!!!
When we first launched this workshop in February, the Château rooms sold out in 3 days 𫢠In an unexpected turn of events, one final room opened up this past weekend, giving one lucky person (or couple) a chance to sneak into this incredible 7-night retreat! đ¤Ż
We invite you to join us for an unforgettable week of painting in the southwest of France.
If you're an absolute newcomer to painting, this is the perfect opportunity to learn an excellent foundation of color, composition, brushstrokes, and more in an encouraging, supportive environment. If you are an experienced Artist, Johanna Spinks will provide an excellent variety for you to explore new techniques, express yourself, and capture the beauty of this place. Prepare yourself for an immersive week filled with art, fine dining, history, and love for all things French.
If you are interested, email us at admin@ladyofthechateau.com for more details.
Ă bientĂ´t,
Carolina
Bonjour Friends!
It's lavender season, and the gardens, particularly the cypress alley of Puy Vidal, are filled with beautiful lush, and fragrant lavender. As I mowed the lawn relatively late in the evening yesterday, I stopped to take this picture. Here is our lavender and a poem to accompany it. Wishing you all a lovely week. Cheers, Carolina
In fields of France, where lavender blooms,
A fragrant dance in purple plumes.
Its scent, so sweet, fills the summer air,
A whispered treat that lingers everywhere.
The gentle breeze carries its delicate perfume,
A gift to please and banish any gloom.
Its vibrant hue, a painter's delight,
A calming view, a soothing sight.
Oh, French lavender, nature's divine,
A symbol of grace that will forever shine.
In gardens and hearts, your beauty prevails,
A treasure that imparts tranquility's trails.
May your essence enchant, forever endure,
With every fragrant chant, a love so pure.
Oh, French lavender, a gift from above,
A cherished endeavor, an eternal love.
- Unknown author
Join Julia, her partner Caroline, her sister Penelope, and her parents Maruca and Robert as they prepare to move their lives from California to a Château in the Southwest of France.
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