The first day we arrived, we were driving up this beautiful hill and when we saw an apricot colored house at the end of the road. Dave did not hesitate to play a joke on us and say that the house belonged to two grumpy old people that we should be careful not to anger.
A minute later it was revealed to us that the house was actually our house! Hence the two old people were Jen and Dave. We would then learn later that his performance would not be the last.
On our first excursion we cruised all the way around Mt. Saint Victoire. Along the way we had a picnic and visited a dear friend of Dave’s named Monique.
We took many pictures of the beautiful scenery and sketched Mt. Saint Victoire from the vantage point of this cute little town, Le Tholonet.
As the week progressed we learned how to paint in “plein air”. Our first plein air was in our own backyard where we had a perfect view of “La Tête”.
La Tête du Marquis is the small mountain we hiked within the first hours of our arrival. Some of us groaned about the looming hike, but in the end we all had a great time and saw the beauty of the earth. This is something that is very much in common with all the events of Euro. Within the first week, the group had already developed a connection that I know we’ll never forget.
We are constantly telling jokes and making each other laugh.
We happily applaud Johnny whenever he finishes up his lovely performance on the guitar. We compromise and we take care of each other, and one of the best things about this group, is that we are always lifting each other up. If one thinks that their painting is not looking good, we are sure to remind them of their beauty and of how that beauty transmits through their paintbrush onto canvas.
This is a wonderful environment and I couldn’t be happier to be here. I can speak for all of us, as we all expressed at different times, our thankfulness for this program and the drastic limiting of WiFi time in order to keep us in the moment. It’s a magical place, and I can’t wait for my canvas. - Hailey '19
