Esquisses de Verteuil~ Chemin des Dames

One of my favourite walks takes in Chemin des Dames , a steep elevation of steps that is crowned by a 1900 wrought iron and glass conservatory. At the top the Eglise de St Medard and a panoramic vista over the rooftops that includes the Chateau de Verteuil and the Couvent des Cordeliers comes in to sight .Through it all, the river La Charente sings softly its endless song.
The Chemin des Dames was originally the name given to a route taken by the two daughters of Louis XV , Adelaide and Victoire between Paris and the Chateau de Boves , near Vauclair .

Extraordinarily ' beau temps' for the time of year gave a radiance and brightness to a handful of autumn sketches around the vicinity of Chemin des Dames , Verteuil .

La Paix ~ Oil Painting on Canvas SOLD

The painting La Paix was created in my Arthouse Atelier in Verteuil-sur-Charente . It will be on exhibition at Atelier 32 , Verteuil-sur-Charente from mid November 2012 .

Le JaRdIn MeDiaeVaL , Tusson SOLD

painting  jane courquin  le jardin mediaeval Tusson

I frequently  find myself inadvertently on the route of St Jacques de Compostelle . My first encounter was in the Pays Basques  whilst residing and exhibiting at the Galerie Dacosta Bray in Saint Jean Pied de Port in 2002 with fellow professional painter Nichollas Hamper . A more recent brush with this well trodden path was whilst visiting the Musée du Patrimoine in Tusson with its wonderful mediaeval garden of healing medicinal and  culinary plants.

 Both places have  been remarkably inspirational to me and the painting above draws on  the medicinal garden and its encyclopedic collection  of graphic symbols to represent the plethora of healing plants that surround us .

The orange indian marigolds ( calendula) in the top left hand corner of the painting are a nod to my friend and fellow professional painter Justine H. who sent me a small packet of calendula seeds when we moved to france that have long since spread all over the garden and are now flourishing even further up the road aswell .They are equally reminiscent of my travels around India in 1998.The blue enamel jug is especially resonnant for me as it was given to me by my extraordinary friend and mentor Florence .

 The coquille de St Jacques gives the painting context .

L'Architecture et le Paysage eN ChArEnTe

 John Piper made several studies of Cheltenham where I made my entrance into this world and I would often come across his work in Oxford where I was studying to teach Art and Drama at Westminster College and Oxford University Dept. of Education . I have always been regaled by his work . As an adjunct to my recent woodcut series La Rue Principale, Verteuil , I will be looking at the architecture of the village . This will include  Le Chateau de Verteuil , l'Eglise avec son mise en Tombeau , and some of the more startling architectural features of the french village where i am resident .

Photograph : Jane Courquin ~ Lichères

 When I was first in France I was digging to prepare the soil for our small potager when by chance i excavated the most beautiful pottery fragments in blue and white with a floral design . I was moved to immortalise them into one of my paintings that is on display at Atelier 32 , Verteuil-sur-Charente .

Photograph : jane courquin ~ Lichères

 Some translation work for a visiting film maker making a pilot for the BBC in 2005 had taken me to a secluded church that sits in a field of sunflowers in the summer . Whilst writing my translation on the architectural features of L'Eglise de Lichères and its importance to the pelerins who travel the route  St Jacques de Compostelle , i was astounded at the beauty of this simple church . It would be incorporated into my painting with the excavated pottery fragments and an archetypal female who was on the swim .

Photograph : jane courquin~Lichères

Photograph: jane courquin~Lichères

Photograph : jane courquin ~ Lichères






Painting jane courquin Venus~Fugitive Pigments

 The work of John Piper was a great inspiration for several of the paintings i created when we first moved to France , especially my paintings which incorporated the romanesque architecture of L'Eglise de Lichères with its arabesquing lines which provide the backdrop to the archetypal female crawling on her belly through the undergrowth or perhaps trawling  the seabed while she awaits a sea change . The female figure is derived from the sculpture of Giselbertus originally for Autun Cathedral , France .It is an image i have carried with me for at least twenty years after first seeing a represenation of it at an exhibition at the london Arts Council . I also used it for the inspiration behind  a bas-relief wood carving i made in Oxford in 1995. 

John Piper  Lichères

Two paintings exist from  this early series 'Venus~ Fugitive Pigments' and 'La Paix '. It is my artistic intention to continue my series Architecture et Paysage, La Charente in the spirit of these two paintings and their inspirations .  

Organic Woodcut November 2012

This is a recent organic flowing woodcut that i made in my studio . The block can be used to print with repeatedly, but may need recutting at some stage .

Abstract Composition SOLD

'Abstract Composition' was an attempt to capture a serene and contemplative geometry . It is in a private collection in France .

London Calling - three paintings on wood ALL SOLD

Vuillard was the inspiration for these small paintings on wood which have stayed together in a private London collection .

More recently I painted ' homage to Madame Vuillard ' which is on canvas and a much larger scale .

Exposition Galerie Gazelle SOLD OUT

These four paintings were on exhibition at the Galerie Gazelle in La Charente , France . Three of them have subsequently been acquired by private collectors . They were inspired by journeys made to India and France and a bunch of hand-picked wild sweetpeas given to me by a very dear friend and fellow painter .

Paris Revisited

A spontaneous daytrip to Paris in early summer of 2012 to frequent La Palette , trawl the Galeries along the Rue de Seine and admire the Degas expo at La Musée d'Orsay inspired two large paintings on return to my studio .

Still Life with Blackbird SOLD

Still Life with Blackbird was created in 2012 . It documents the quotidien objects that surround me in my atelier and kitchen infused with some poetry from my daydreams .The fragments of fabric are adored pieces in my collection from the 1930s . The red and white cup was sourced from the local brocante and is reminiscent for me of some still life objects in Ben Nicholson's work . This painting is held in a private collection .