From the collection of:
Jacobs Collection at Georgetown College || VAM Home

Although it looks like there’s a storm on the horizon, artist Evelyne Boren has nonetheless captured the serene beauty of rural France in this landscape. The vivacity of the colors in Provence, France belies the watercolor medium with which the artist worked.

About the Artist

Born in Munich, Germany, in 1939, Evelyne Boren immigrated to the United States in 1958. During the 1960s, she worked as an underwater stuntwoman in the movie industry before becoming a full-time professional artist. Boren is now known internationally for her impressionistic watercolors and oils.

Boren travels extensively; most of her 2,500 artworks were painted in various European countries or, later, in Mexico. On location, she allows herself enough time to “become intoxicated by the scene” before beginning to paint. Typically, she starts her work outdoors and then finalizes the painting in her studio. Working rapidly, she brings out the prismatic reflection that lies just below the surface of the land, sky, and water she is painting. Boren aims for controlled spontaneity. While her work evokes a sense of nostalgia—a desire to return to a perfect place or experience that perhaps never existed—it also reflects her signature joie de vivre.

Classroom Ideas

Discussion: This painting is a good example of the use of color and value. Note how Boren dilutes the intense colors to change the value. By looking at her use of color and value, can you guess what time of day it is? What season? What effect does the strongly horizontal composition have on the mood and/or appearance of the work? Do you think watercolor is an appropriate medium for this piece? Why?

Activity: How does Provence, France compare to other landscape paintings in the Kentucky Virtual Art Museum? Look at the different styles in which the landscapes are rendered. Are there others rendered in an impressionistic style? Select a location in your town or near your school and quickly sketch what you see. Use watercolors to re-create the landscape in an impressionistic style.

Link

See more works by Evelyne Boren at the artist’s web site.
[www.evelyneboren.com/gallery.htm]