“Regarde la lumière,” Remi and I will often call out to one another these days. We are talking about that last shot of good gold that bounces off the rooftop visible from both of our desks separated by a thin wall. We have the same view and more often than not, the same point of view too.
Last night after a moment of mutual silent admiring, I fed Ben quickly, grabbed my camera and wrapped myself up like a moving mummy to head out into the cold.
You see, I have been under the weather. Not to worry, I haven’t succumbed yet to the terrible rounds of flu treason that have been roaming the earth but I am fighting off a what they call here a gastro or stomach bug. As a result of some of our more exotic travels to precarious places, I like to think that I have an iron skillet stomach but I still succumb to waves of grogginess, ones that leave me slightly separated, as if I were looking at the world behind the branches of a barren tree…
or on the other side of bars that are nothing like a prison…
…for it can be pleasant not to fight it, this sweet sleep-walking…
…following light’s lure…
…and soft fade of winter.
I stop to regard a captured star…
Ben sits on top of my feet patient and looking out.
The longer we stay, the more my eyes calm…rough forms turn elegant…
…and I wonder at those monuments that I have looked upon a thousand times before.
At the lights last whisper, I listen and turn to look down the old cardo, this same Roman road.
The trees.
They protect.
Give comfort.
And somehow are more beautiful to me on this winter’s evening than ever a summer day.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend…
Bonjour, I just joined your blog. You show Arles very beautifully.
Beautiful. Once I started the music, I scrolled back and enjoyed the pictures again to music. delightful. Feel better….soon.
J'aime tes arbres, Heather! Congratulations to you, mon amie. You have just won one of the books in my blog's 2nd anniversary Giveaway! Félicitations! Please email me your postal address so I can forward it to you. A bientôt! Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Heather, even in an altered state being affected by what the "iron skillet" didn't catch, your camera's angle didn't miss a thing. I don't know what is my favorite part, the photos or you musings…good thing I don't have to choose, love both as always.
xo Amelia
So beautiful…
dearest heather
visiting and showing a little *concernedlook* from sunny california – did the Gastro develop? are you felled by the Flu too?
do tell.
sending healing thoughts from the land of milk and honey (actually two products that nobody probably touches here anymore apart from us 😉
_tg x
I love these pictures – so peaceful, and such beautiful light and shapes! Earlier in the week I snapped a picture of a tree against the deep pink sunrise sky and sent it to my honey – I agree that the winter trees can be so beautiful! And wow – I don't remember the last time you had a photo of the arena! What a beautiful winter snapshot of Arles! I hope you are feeling better!
Dear Heather,
Well, as ever, it seems we have a lot of shared tastes….I just read "And somehow are more beautiful to me on this winter's evening than ever a summer day".
For the past ten years, the majority of my paintings and drawings are of winter trees&landscapes. Very, very few of them depict high summer, and perhaps none of them depict "autmun glory!" (in which I'm not in the least interested, although I've been constantly told by dealers and gallery owners to "Do More Fall!!! People LOVE autumn leaves!".
A woman came here back in the Sumnmer to look into buying some landscapes. This was when i'd just moved in and pictures were stacked everywhere along walls and stairlandings. She kept furrowing her brow and pursing her lips, and she finally said "OH….I don't know….don't you have anything that's….prettier??? do you have any beach scenes?"
I told her that I didn't and didn't….but could give her the names of two painters who, indeed, DID do a lot of "Autumn's Glory!" and lighthouse&flipflops pictures. This made her very relievedly-happy, and I was happy to send her on to two friends of mine who are,indeed, good painters (just of things that don't particularly interest me).
That enocunter reminded me of another time when a woman (I do, actually, have male clients, but they never make a point of coming by the "studio"), having seen some of my portraits of men, wanted to buy some. she came to look at what I had in the house and, after half an hour, turned to me and seriously said "These are all just…wonderful, I guess….but what's with all these handsome men with that "UNOBTAINABLE" "look in their eyes?"
I thought that was an amusing comment and told her that (1) I didn't know and (2) her instincts were probably correct. I did love that "I guess.." business.
Level best as Ever,
david Terry
http://www.davidterryart.com
I'm delighted that you wrapped yourself up as a moving mummy to venture outside and take these photos because they are beautiful! (as always)
And that flu or whatever it is that's traveling around France has got me down. I fought it and fought it but I have no fight left in me and it's left me with (get this)… laryngitis! I CAN'T TALK! But at least I can type 🙂 x
Lovely photos today, Heather. Skies and trees are my favorite thing to photograph and look at. Gotta keep looking up! Hope you are feeling better by now.