The hot sand
We took our leave late in the summer of 2018 and crossed France diagonally to discover a fine sand beach on the Quiberon peninsula. We were there for a week and determined to rest as much as possible. We quickly spotted a beach that suited us perfectly both for the view it offered and for its remote and uncrowded appearance during this off-season period.
This extensive area of fine sand had a rather unique built environment typical of the region. Faced with this landscape and this proximity of individual houses which lined this strip of coastline, the sketchbook never left me. From the first hours, a few meters from us, a solitary lady of a certain age had taken her place discreetly, on the already warm sand.
His posture, his image, his slightly old-fashioned elegance aroused my curiosity. The second day, she was also there, but so focused on my sketch of surrounding houses, I had not seen her take her place. His posture, his image, his slightly outdated elegance remained identical to the day before. One would have thought that she had not been absent as she sent back an image consistent with the previous day. It was impossible for me to let the next day pass without seeing his arrival and the appropriation of his usual space.
The ritual and the image of this lady intrigued me, I IMAGINED A WHOLE STORY, as if to better try to understand her world through her attitudes and gestures. The next day, having been on the lookout for some time, the silhouette of this lady called out to me from afar. The sketchbook awaited my first draft but above all it was necessary for me to be able to capture part of its personality through its approach and its installation ritual.
She approached with an agile and rhythmic step, weighed down by her folding chair and an enormous wicker basket. She crosses the fine stone edge which demarcates the beach area from the urban and mineral part. She advanced about ten meters on the sand towards the sea and stopped at the usual place with the almost technological precision of a GPS adjusted by coordinates. She set up her folding chair with a blue canvas perfectly stretched over the aluminum structure, the wicker basket which contained a few accessories such as the orange-red floor mat, the sunscreen and the magazines would quickly take place under the the seat of the chair to form with the moccasin type shoes only a very compact unit capable of limiting its footprint as much as possible on the ground.
A satchel bag in heavily striped fabric that had helped carry a cushion and the terry toweling towel was going to fit under the front of the chair. she took off her mid-length dress which she put in the striped bag and adjusted her thin blue striped top. She took her place in her chair with an agility that disabused her corpulence. Once seated, she adjusted her pair of dark, enveloping glasses which gave her the look of a Hollywood star.
The harmonization of the striped textures, the presence of a few discreet jewels, the lipstick in conjunction with the nail polish and the floor mat, brought a hidden and very particular elegance to this painting. She alternated between observing the summer visitors within reach and browsing the magazines she had carefully placed under her chair. Back from my leave, the painting took shape thanks to the sketch made on site and I invite you to share this moment by discovering it here.
