Signac paints Clafoutis

 

                                       Photo by Jill Colonna
When you waste time on Instagram dreaming of Capri, you can also get ideas for the next Paris letter! Jill Colonna showed her easy cherry clafoutis. 

Jill made me want to paint it. And July is always cherry time 🍒 in France.

                 I was going to bake a clafouti but I ran out of eggs and had the wrong pan. Instead I mailed your letters💌📮

Luckily Gerard Mulot had individual clafoutis. I got 3 to paint, of course. 

Don’t they make you think of dots and Pointillism? And of Damien Hirst’s cherry blossoms?

It seemed like a good idea to go see the Pointillist Signac exhibition at Musee Jacquemart-Andre. And its been extended to July 26th🎉 🤸🏾‍♀️

Leçon/lesson time: We are going to have to talk about neo-Impressionnismes.

Signac was influenced by Impressionnists Monet (who wasn’t). But even more so by Seurat, who started Pointillism.  Here’s a nice simple video explaining DIY Pointillism. Why should you care? Because more than Impressionism, Pointillismes  took painting much further and influenced painters like Mondrian, Damien Hurst, Chuck Close, Alex Katz. Not to forget Matisse. 

Its all about Optical color. Instead of mixing 2 colors on your palette or on the canvas or paper, you put separate dots of color down next to each other. Your eye and brain will mix them together and INTENSIFY the color in a nutshell.

Granted this is a rather laborious way to paint. A lot of planning and science is involved…knowing the color wheel, color theory and planning ahead! The Neo-Impressionists did not go outside and paint ‘en pleine air’ like the outdoorsy Impressionists in their sunhats. They wasted away in their studios. But they got tremendous color effects and changed painting forever.

Later years Signac discovered the joy and ease of watercolor. He got to travel often every summer to Saint Tropez, plus visit Venice. 

He was sponsored by Monoprix’s owner, Gaston Levy to paint all the French ports. 

What was supposed to be a 3 month project, became 3 years. 

By the way if you want dotty glasses to get in the right frame of mind Galerie Lafayette has them.

I came home from the Signac show and thought I’d try my hand at a bit of cherry watercolor Pointillism. Easier than baking a cake. Please stay safe and cool Western and Canadian PBers🙏 Here’s a rainbow🌈  song I just discovered this weekend. If you’re not into art history 🎨 just play the song and go buy a letter ☺️❤️🍒🤸🏾‍♀️🐻🌸🌈🎨📮✏️🇫🇷💌💋🗺