By plastering walls using different materials and pigments, I came to abstract painting. I learned about plastering at OKHRA, a cooperative in the small village of Roussillon. There I buy most of the pigments I use.
When plastering a wall, I always prepare some colour examples, trying out different mixtures and shades, experimenting with different binders and opacity. I mostly use mineral pigments such as iron oxides in red, green, black and ultramarine (Lapislazuli) and earth pigments like ochres, sienna, umber. In "Deep Blue" I also used a plant based pigment, Indigo. Some pigments are suitable for transparent paints, others for opaque paints, like ochre.
The colours of the South of France, were the sun shines brightly but the light is soft and diffused, are subtle like the leafs on an olive tree and intensive like an ochre wall in bright sun.
Yellow and red ochre are parts of houses, fabrics, and the earth and contrasts wonderfully with the blue sky š
I mostly mix and layer these ochres. The colours changing their appearance from vibrant to mute depending on the amount of light surrounding.
Even around Fitou are some places were long time ago pigments and gypsum were mined, and itās still beautiful to see the fading colours of these forgotten places.
