The bay of the historical Cote d’Azur town of Villefranche-sur-Mer has a special place in my heart. I have spent a vast amount of time over the last 12 years in this part of the world and the bay has always been of great importance to me. The bay, coupled with the climate and the light, have been a great source of fuel and inspiration to both my art and my imagination. It has given me so much in this respect.
My painting is a homage and gesture of gratitude to this unique source of inspiration. When I painted the bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer, I did so in my own style with a special emphasis on capturing the spirit and essence of this place. In the same way that Vincent Van Gogh brought alive the spirit, electricity and subtle colours in his famous landscape paintings created in the towns of Arles and Saint-Remy-de-Provence in the south of France, I strove to also achieve this in this painting.
In this painting, I wanted to execute the brilliance, clarity and different hues of blue of the bay with all the myriad of different boats and yachts that seem to have an almost permanent presence in the bay, especially in the summer season. And this brings a new energy and dynamism to the bay. The surrounding hills also have their own special energy. They strongly complement the bay and in the realms of colour alone, have more earthy, rustic and primordial hues. They support and ground the allure and glamour of the bay.
Text by NIcholas Peart
(c)All Rights Reserved
27th July 2024
Image: Nicholas Peart, “The Bay Of Villefranche-sur-Mer”, oil on canvas
Latitude Post 