I was framed! There was some social excitement here yesterday, in Gaillac to be more precise. I had the very rare pleasure of seeing one of my photographs looking very smart, beautifully mounted and framed.
The prize giving for the photographic competition Concours Photos 2015, the subject was « Le jardin de tous les plaisirs » organised by the Médiation projets et publics Service Culture – Ville de Gaillac.
I had the pleasure of meeting most of the fellow competitors and the gallant crew who organised the event.
Together with the lovely book they gave me, « 365 Étincelles » by François Cassingena-Trevedy (ISBN 978-2-35631-072-9), of landscape photography.
A nice bonus is a written invitation to exhibit for one month “dans un lieu culturel de la ville de Gaillac avant fin 2016”.
I was asked ‘how soon can you put on an exhibition‘ ?
I replied, I’m a bit busy with my Bordeaux wine villages project however I have enough framed paintings for 3 exhibitions, what would you like, how many and when ?
We decided two of the staff will visit my studio & gallery in the very near future to discuss a selection of paintings and maybe a few photographs to be exhibited in the near future.
The staff also expressed an interest in my Bordeaux wine village project being applied to the Gaillac region.
To that end I was introduced to the photographer Juli Lecomte (www.jlphotographies.jimdo.com ) who is also working on a ‘wine’ project’.
Many of you good people reading this will know that wine was cultivated around Gaillac since at least as early as Phonecian times, mostly consumed localy, the surplas being and shipped down river to Bordeaux for onward sale hence my large painting created last year,« The port of Gaillac 1863 » as an impression of the river trade in its heyday.
Gaillac has never achieved the renown of Bordeaux.
Gaillac is remote beautiful area and country town very, ‘old SW France’ at the navigable head of the caprisious river Tarn.
I’d be very pleased to add a little luster via my work to enhance the reputation of Gaillac wines and Gaillac people.
That said, there are 13 th century records in the Tower of London stating ‘the king enjoyed the Gaillac and would like some more’.
That’s not a bad recommendation ?
My especial thanks go to Joëlle Bault, of the Médiation projets et publics Service Culture – Ville de Gaillac and my ‘French sister’ Helene Ancelet who between them encouraged, organised and generally made ship shape my photograph and ensured I arrived presentable, on time for the presentation.
