Baronnies, Spring 2026

The Baronnies is an area of France that I first encountered as a climber years ago and while it has been a while since I climbed the rock I visit once or twice each year, mainly to paint but also to enjoy what is one of my favourite areas of France to ride my bike and hike the hills. It is a mountainous area, rugged and with a Provencal flavour, full of lavender fields and limestone cliffs.

The following are a selection of the paintings done over a couple of weeks travelling through the Baronnies in my campervan.

The river valley near Veynes, oil on board, 40×24cm

As always outdoors the light changes fast and there is usually a window of a couple of hours to complete paintings. I was working quite small, usually on gessoed panels that travel more easily than stretched canvas.

Just below the Col de Faye, oil on board, 40×24cm

Fields near Savouran, oil on board, 40×24cm

The river near Barret sur Meouge, oil on canvas, 40×30cm

Farm tracks near Savouran, oil on board, 40×24cm

The smallest panels I tend to use are 30×020cm, I used lots of them on this trip. I try not to be too precious about getting quick sketches done on these panels. Quality varies but they can be a good way to get things moving, particularly if I’m struggling to find a subject or if I’m unsure about composition, which to be fair is quite a lot of the time. If anything I find that being too cautious about where and what to paint is more of problem than just getting down to painting.

Lunar Eclipse