THE PAINTING SCHOOL OF MONTMIRAL

We will start with a faithful friend whom we have known ever since he came to Montmiral to participate in our opening season in 1988. This is Hugh Moore and when he arrives in the summer of 2008, it will be his twentieth visit. This is the record, although there are a number of others not so far behind. Hugh, like many of our students has an extremely busy life, which leaves him little time for himself. Thus, his annual visit to Montmiral is his only extended chance to pursue his passion for painting. In the email quoted below, sent in 2001, he refers to his pleasure in meeting two of our younger students who came from the USA - Clay from Texas and Suzanne from Massachusetts. As both of them are featured below, Hugh's email provides an introduction to what follows.

HUGH MOORE - Church of England Vicar, London, England

SUZANNE VANDAMARK came as a graduate student in landscape architecture at Cornell University, USA. Like most of the architects, who have come here, she felt a need to develop her freehand drawing skills

CLAY PARTEN is a tennis coach from Texas, USA, who has decided to devote more time to his long-standing love of painting, with a view to a career change. He felt moved to write the following piece about his visit to Montmiral.

MICHAEL BRIERLY is a carpenter/cabinet maker from Australia who, though discovering painting relatively recently, has become completely passionate about it. He came to Montmiral to decide whether he had the talent to make a career as an artist. In addition to Michael, the photo contains PAULA REASON, an architect from London, England, who is featured next, and myself.

Dear Francis,
I am now on a train running from Granada to Barcelona and with the 13 hours that lay ahead, I thought it would be a good opportunity to write down my thoughts and express thanks for the the time at Montmiral. The problem is it's rather difficult knowing where to begin and how to express, through the inherent limitations of words, the awakening I underwent. Perhaps it's best to keep it "simple".
Francis, my two weeks in Montmiral and the opportunity to immerse myself in painting and to learn you're invaluable principles were immensely worthwhile and exactly what I needed.
I guess the main thing I learnt was how to describe and understand with a paintbrush the natural world that I love so much. I hope to develop those skills further and that one-day my paintings will be able to transfer the vibrant peace and tranquillity that I see around me onto a canvas or paper.
Francis, I love spending time outdoors hiking, biking, climbing, running, mountaineering and paddling, and I am happiest when walking through fields of alpine wild flowers. This passion for nature is the reason for my pursuit of forestry as a career, but unfortunately the understanding and connection to life that I gained through science has left me with little true satisfaction. Curiously enough, however, these two weeks at Montmiral painting the sunflowers, St. Jerome and the grass fields made me feel so complete. I experienced the same pure exhilaration and spiritual contentment that I feel in the alpine. Thus, as a result, I am now trying to determine if there's anyway I can take a year off and go to a painting school.
Anyway, Francis, I wanted to express my thanks for your time and the experience and to communicate how important that short, two-week period was. My visit opened a door in my life and I have no desire to turn back. Once again thanks. I will return to Montmiral one day.
Take care and all the best.
Jennifer.

SARAH EDELSTEIN is from Berkeley, California, USA. After working in health education and then film production, Sarah decided to explore painting more seriously. She came to Montmiral, hoping to get a good start. Several of our students have been in a somewhat similar situation. Sarah wrote the following letter to one of them.

Hello,
Happy to talk with you about Montmiral. I was in a similar transition period when I came to the Painting School last September 2001. I turned 33 years old in Montmiral (a great birthday present!), stayed for two sessions and loved it. I have little formal art training, but art school has been a dream of mine for years. I learned a lot by going to Montmiral and started to gain confidence in my painting efforts.
Francis' teaching style is quite unique. He lets the students take the lead and approach him when they need help. He also checks up on you to see how things are going while you are painting outside or in the studio. One usually works on one's own, although he will sometimes get a group together that is interested in color, for example, and give his Color Talk. I liked this mixture of doing my painting, meeting with Francis, and talking with other students during mealtimes. It was a good combination of my own work, individual instruction, and group solidarity. The dynamics of the group are of course dependent on who is there. Some people seem to click with Francis' teaching style more than others. His approach to painting and drawing is different from most other courses from what I hear. For example, he includes information from research that he has done on how the brain processes visual input. Some people get a bit lost in the science aspect, but it all relates to painting. If one can be open to what he has to teach, one can learn a great deal. He really cares about his students and wants each person to gain as much as possible from their time at the school.
As for the village, it's a lovely place to spend time. It is very small and safe. I often took long walks in the countryside, enjoying the farms and fields and trees and fresh air. The people who live in the village are quite accustomed to all the painters around, so they don't often interrupt you while you work outside. The architecture is old and beautiful, quite different from the USA of course.
You don't need to know French to be there, although it's always nice to chat with people if you do speak some French. If you want to see some of the region, a few sightseeing trips are usually offered each session, depending on the students' interest. Francis takes everyone to the fascinating Toulouse-Lautrec Museum in the nearby cathedral city of Albi.
Quite a large percentage of the students are a bit older than you or me. This was fine with me. I became pals with the two other youngsters in their late 20s and early 30s, as well as with some of the other folks whose ages were 50, 60, and 70 something. It all depends on the person. I found that our interest in art bound us together quite strongly. It's a bit hard to summarise all I learned, but I'm happy to tell you more if you want to ask specifics. It was an excellent experience for me.
Cheers,
Sarah