

Les Artistes

Erin Hill
This is my
Art and Travel Journal ( or Journey ). Join me as I
explore the ups and downs of creating & teaching Art.
You will see the process and hear how my paintings,
drawings and sketches come to life. I am a professional
Artist who after leaving the advertising industry in
1986, went to The Julian Ashton Art School and completed
a 4 year diploma in Fine Arts. I had my own Art Gallery
for 10 years, painting and selling watercolours of the
local area and further afield. Also showing were my
French Italian and Greek Isles works. My former Art
School is now the North Shore School of Art. After much
interest in whether I teach, I have ‘The Art of
Sketching’ art classes twice a week based in the Studio.
Since then I’ve been exhibiting and selling regularly
with commissioned and Gallery works, and now have my
painting studio in Manly. This is ErinHill Studio which
is also a Gallery and where ‘The Art of Sketching’ art
classes are based. My work has mainly been watercolour
though after recent travels in Italy, I am now using
acrylic, which adds another dimension to my work. You
can view Watercolours, Sketches, Acrylic and Decorative
acrylics. These days I am free to travel and paint on
location more. I have a client who has me paint in their
French village for them. Each year we produce a
Christmas/ New year card for all the clients who visit
their stone cottages. I will be back in South of France
in September 2012, to paint and to take a group of
artists on my ‘Sketching Food & Wine of the Minervois’.
Details are in the Menu Bar above, and you are invited
to contact me to enquire about places. Contact me soon
as it’s a small group. I like to be in contact with
other artists, With a group of painting friends, we
regularly travel and explore new techniques and ideas,
in Greece, France and Italy. We then keep in touch and
continue our dialogue when back in our own studios. I
value enormously the global connection one has by
keeping a journal such as this. You are suddenly talking
with other like-minded people, and it’s incredibly
inspiring to hear about their art journeys. I am much
more focussed because of it. I am a member of the Sydney
Sketch Club, and International SketchCrawl, and this
keeps me in touch with other local artists as well. It
fascinates me to see how totally differently we each
approach the same subject. Many of these sketches are
available in the Studio, others stay in my sketch book
as inspiration. I also belong to Survive France Network
to be in touch with the Trausse Minervois region and
keep up with what’s happening in the art world there,
Original paintings are for sale so please feel free to
ask about sketches or paintings you see here. If you’d
like to email me, erin@erinhill.com.au
http://www.erinhill.com.au/
http://erinhillmyblog.com/ ErinHillArt.

Travel Journal
…….ErinHill……. The French Escapade Working on 'Soft
light of Chelieu'' Glenys at Jardin Pinaud Niki
discussing Fauvism It was a very different week from
Italy, but exhilarating. Jackie takes us to a huge old
Gite – large oldmansion with heaps of bedrooms, enormous
dining room, squeaky stairs and a family dog – Coqin-
who found the painting spot pictured above for me! He
really wanted me to go there. Every other day we would
take off for some gorgeous location and every other, we
could paint in and around the local village. This was
where we went to Chantal’s garden, and where Glenys did
an excellent piece – again. In fact the locals are so
friendly now and offering their own gardens or
directions to Chateau Virieu, or drinks etc. In the
evening we liked to show some of the work done that day,
and you can see Niki with her fauve style oil pastels,
with ‘wee little twig’ lines learned from Connie of
Scotland. Dinner was 4 courses prepared by a local chef
who cooked for the Vuitton family for several years- so
an after dinner walk straight up the hill, with Coqin
leading was an essential for some of us. Our home in
Chelieu After painting ‘The Crooked House’ I had a
delicious salad at Hotel Pascal and decided to paint the
view there. Marianne the owner was so intrigued that she
came to have a look and then wanted to buy it, so I gave
in and agreed. They are now the proud owners of one of
my new style paintings. And there is our home. What a
great spot. Views over the farms, birds singing, chooks
chooking, irises irising and all the classic rural
France sights and sounds. AAAaaah. You can bring your
own group of 8 painters as we did, or an art teacher can
bring a group of 7. We are looking at doing Provence
with Jackie in a couple of years. Absolutely had a ball
and will benefit from this for years. ©ErinHill2010 the
clocktower a little along from the toll houses, and not
get burnt to a frazzle. Somehow about 4 pm everyone
ended up in the cafe overlooking the view below and
ordering crisp vin blanc or gelato. Such a rewarding day.
Your head just spins with all the history in these
little towns. You can see it and feel it. ©ErinHill2010
▶ View 2 Comments New softer Watercolours, Original
Watercolour, Plein Aire in French Jardin Chantal’s
Jardin in Virieu In Gorgeous places to stay, Painting in
France, Plein air painting on May 30, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Jardin & Cat La Maison Pinaud On this day we were
invited to paint in the garden of Mme and M Pinaud. She
speaks some English so was telling us she was
disappointed that the blooms were not out. We’ve had
snow here until quite recently she explained, so
everything is still to flower. For us it was fine. The
settings were so lovely with mature trees setting it
off. I wanted an intimate subject after all the
architecture I seemed to be doing lately, so the old
barn with lilac irises next to the rust red ones suited
me. I had shade under the cherry trees ( not quite ready
for me to pig out on) and Paloma the white fluffy cat
was there at my feet. I felt I was in a nursery rhyme.
Today I felt like a green layer followed by a pink. Then
sponged away where the highlights might be. The charcoal
pencil sketch took place while the paper dried in the
sun. Lunch was our favourite spread of baguette,
selected cheese and pate, fruit and drinks. Wine for
those who feel it enhances their painting. We sat out in
the open together soaking in the atmosphere and the
rooftops and spires in view. This is the life. The
second painting is a detail of the old 17th century
home, towards one of the doors and the comings and
goings around it. This time a pink layer followed by
green. Again Paloma keeps a yellow eye on things. That
is M Pinaud in his green overalls wheelbarrowing things
around. Chantal is in the doorway. M Pinaud is also a
photographer who decided we were worthy subjects for his
impressive camera, and with our minds elsewhere no doubt
some candid expressions. The group shot he set up is off
to the local newspaper as it’s big news for such a tiny
town to have international painters working round and
about. At 6pm on the dot we walked 2 doors away to the
glorious home and museum of Louis Fournier, to taste his
walnut wine. The girls decided it was pretty nice and
similar to a fruity but dry sherry. He is a historian
not only of his own family here, but of Jongkind, a
painter who lived and painted in Virieu at the start of
the Impressionist movement. He signed a copy of his book
‘Virieu en Dauphine’ a history of the region. I liked it
because of the Virieu paintings by both Jongkind and
Pierre Giacomino. We realised how much good comes from
doing what we do – visiting a little village painting
what we feel and sharing with the locals. Louis is very
enthusiastic about the history and local art life and to
encourage visitors from far and wide to visit Virieu. If
Jackie hadn’t chosen the town for our base, none of this
would have happened. Now there is a real focus for the
locals and they are so excited. Who would have thought.
©ErinHill2010.

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