A Painting Holiday in the Dordogne

January 10, 2008

paintPainting France is a painting and drawing holiday in the beautiful Dordogne, where we provide friendly expert guidance for students of all abilities. We have excellent accommodation and facilities. Throughout the course you will dine in style with fine French cuisine and regional wines, our Painting Holidays in the Dordogne are excellent value even with the £ to € exchange rate.

Imagine being shown the professional painting techniques that will, in just a few hours move your works of art up to a new higher level. If you are just starting we will encourage you and give you an artistic confidence that will help you get more enjoyment from this fantastic pursuit.

You will not need to bring any artists equipment with you on your painting holiday in the Dordogne as we have supplies of all the basic materials, which are included in your painting package. If you are already a committed artist and prefer a particular type of brush, paint or a special brand of water-colour paper, feel free to bring them with you. All tuition is in English on your Painting Holiday in the Dordogne.

We are situated in the Dordogne South West France department 24 and is run from ‘Franquettes ‘ which is the home and art studio of English painter Richard Harby and his wife Sally.

Franquettes is near the village of Nabirat in the beautiful Dordogne region of France. Nabirat is famous for its annual strawberry fair (Fete de Fraises) where the year’s production of strawberries is celebrated in the creation of a giant strawberry tart which is displayed in the village square. The medieval town of Domme is just a 10 minute drive away and has been one of our painting locations on previous courses. From its elevated position Domme has one of France’s most spectacular views over the river Dordogne giving an almost aerial view of the fantastic countryside below. A trip to Sarlat, the historic market town of the area is a must with is quaint alleys and cobbled streets. Busy shops, art galleries and restaurants abound and there is usually a variety of entertaining street performers. We are only 10 minutes from the Dordogne river canoe hire and the boating lake at Grolejac.

For more info please visit : www.painting-france.co.uk

 

Written by admin · Filed Under Activities, Art & Literature 

Timeline

November 2, 2007

Timeline

Combining time travel, archaeological exploration, and a power struggle in medieval Dordogne, this action-packed story will grab your attention from the very first page.

ITC, a company located in the New Mexico desert, is at the forefront of the new science of quantum technology. It has secretly developed a means of transporting humans back in time. In the Dordogne region of southwest France, a team of company-sponsored archaeologists and historians is unearthing the remains of a medieval castle, village, and monastery with the goal of developing a major tourist attraction. The words “HELP ME” followed by “4/7/1357″ written in ink and on paper used in the 14th century are found at the site. It seems that Professor Johnston, the team leader, demanded that he be transported back to the settlement, and obviously he is in danger there. A rescue effort is launched, and five people are transported back to April 1357: two escorts from ITC and three historians from the Dordogne project. Their time machine allows them 37 hours for the rescue, but within minutes of their arrival, the escorts are killed by a band of horsemen. The three survivors set out to find the missing man, and their race against time results in a gripping tale. YAs will be fascinated by this juxtaposition of modern-day physics with details of a medieval siege.

If you have ever been to the Dordogne, and have visited Beynac and Castelnaud you MUST read this book and watch the DVD.

Written by admin · Filed Under Art & Literature 

Deadly Slipper by Michelle Wan

November 1, 2007

Deadly Slipper by Michelle Wan

Published by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard.

The Dordogne in spring – what could be lovelier or more peaceful, the air filled with the promise of summer and wild flowers blossoming in the hedgerows ? Read the Deadly Slipper and you may feel differently about this wonderful region of ours.

“For the first time in her life, she had an inkling of her sister’s mind, the passion that ruled true amateurs, motivating them to spend countless hours bending at the waist, as Julian had said, all for the sake of discovering and documenting the existence of a single flower or the breeding ground of a particular species.”

 Beatrice “Bede” Dunn became fascinated with wild orchids when she got a summer job with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. They sent her to the Bruce Peninsula to map orchids. She spent three months there, wandering around the woodlands, doing some serious hiking and camping-out. When she returned in the fall with fifty rolls of film, she had a new avocation – wild orchid hunting. Bede became passionate about “documenting the existence of a single flower or the breeding ground of a particular species.” In 1984 she and her boyfriend, Scott, went on a hiking holiday in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. When it began to rain, the couple had an argument about whether to leave their camp and seek shelter elsewhere or to stay put. Bede was adamant about remaining and so she did – alone. When Scott returned two days later the tent and their things were still at the campsite, but Bede was gone, along with her camera, backpack, Michelin guide and a book on wildflowers and orchids. No one ever saw the young woman again. After a massive search and investigation, which garnered much publicity, no evidence of foul play was discovered, no body, no crime scene.

Mara Dunn, Bede’s identical twin, has never resigned herself to the loss of her sister. She moved to the Dordogne after her divorce became final and went into the interior design business, all the while maintaining contact with the police. Nothing concrete, however, was found concerning the disappearance. During an antique hunting expedition in a near-by town, Mara discovered an old Canon camera in a pile of junk. She noticed it immediately, even though the case was mildewed and worn, because it was identical to the cameras her parents had given her and her sister for their high school graduation. She was sure it was the camera her sister had traveled to France with. Inside the case the initials “B. D.” were written, and inside the camera was an undeveloped roll of film. Damaged by time and dampness, but still viable, thirty-four photographs were revealed upon development, of wild orchids and a dovecote, taken in what appears to be the local landscape. Mara is convinced the photographs document her sibling’s final days.

Now, almost twenty years after Bede vanished, Mara, with the photographs in hand, makes yet another effort to find her sister, or her remains. Julian Wood is an English expatriate living in Dordogne and an expert on wild orchids. He is also the author of “Wildflowers of the Dordogne/ Fleurs sauvages de la Dordogne,” and the man Mara wants to assist her. She asks him to help her retrace her sister’s footsteps using the photographs as a guide. Julian is skeptical about turning up anything new on the missing person. He doesn’t really want to get involved and he doesn’t care much for pushy, intense women. Besides, the police have copies of the photographs and don’t seem very excited by them. When Julian views the final picture though, he becomes agitated and as motivated to begin a search as Mara, but for different reasons. The photo is of a Cypripedium – Sabot de Venus in French, sometimes called Lady’s Slipper in English. And since this rare wild orchid does not grow in the Dordogne, or anywhere in Europe, he has his own mystery to unravel – if he decides to become involved with Mara and her investigation.

Not only is Deadly Slipper a good literary mystery, it is really a fun book to read. Filled with an exotic cast of characters – from the local bogeyman and his mother, who is even scarier than her son, to the bizarre Sauvignac family, (the local nobility), to Julian Wood’s fanatic orchid hunting nemesis and competitor, and the regulars down at Chez Nous, the town’s cafe/bar/gourmet restaurant, plus a French police inspector and his lads, these personages all enrich the narrative. The horticulture tidbits are fascinating, and I’m no gardener. The description of food, wine, the gorgeous countryside – c’est tres magnifique! The setting IS France! There is even some romancing going on in between gruesome discoveries. You cannot go wrong, especially if you’re looking for something different in sleuthing.

Written by admin · Filed Under Art & Literature