I found the British painter, Julian Merrow Smith, via the NYTimes a few years back and blogged him here: Postcards from Provence. Inspired by Duane Keiser's "A Painting a Day" site, and his move to southern France in 2004, Julian has been painting and posting every day since from his home in Crillon le Brave, a tiny Provençal hill village at the foot of the Mont Ventoux...
Call it paintblogging or whatever you want, not only are his paintings stunning (and small, they are all painted on gessoed postcards), they are available for purchase immediately via auction (for the original) or as a print. Prices range from $50-$90 for a print and in the hundreds for the originals...but you have to WIN the auction, which makes it all the more interesting.
In a world where art has become largely machine-made, the daily arrival of Julian's work, fresh from his easel, is inspiration in itself. But Postcards from Provence is also a tremendous "will exercise," and simply viewing his work may prompt you to get artistic yourself and/or resume your own daily practice.
I urge you to check him out at his website, which has another name:
>> www.shiftinglight.com
And here's his main site:
>> Stillives.com
(ReEdited from 2008-06-24 - MGR)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
A painting a day?? That is pretty impressive even if it is only postcard size. Makes me want to be a little more productive with my days! They would look nice displayed as a set.
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My sister must have seen the same NY Times article a few years back. She is a delighted owner of one of the daily paintings...it is a beautiful work of art.
Mary Nolte
www.kaleidoscopecolorconsulting.com
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I am fortunate enough to own 4 of Julien's works. Unfortunately, they've gone up in price in the past year and I can only afford them on a rare occasion. I bought an orange and you can almost smell it. Truly beautiful.
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Beautiful work. Great project!
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