CSU Summer Arts 2016: The Rise of Modernist Painting in Provence
By Katrina Rocha
This three and a half week stay in Nice, France was truly a dream come true for me. It was my first experience flying, and the first time I’ve left California, but the decision to study abroad was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I only wish I could have stayed longer. My journey began on July 12, 2016. The flight was long, but there were plenty of snacks to eat and movies to watch. The course also provided us with readings that I was able to flip through on my 13+ hour flight.
When I finally arrived, I was in awe of how colorful the entire city was. I was an honor to to experience this light that had inspired so many amazing artists. We spent plenty of time exploring the city and soaking up French culture. Within a week we had navigated the entire small city and some of the surrounding areas. We split our time between school, the beach, and museums. Most of our museum trips were accompanied by plein air sessions, where we used gouache for quick on-location-studies and, later, acrylics for paintings we completed in the studio.
Throughout the course we studied modernist painters who focused on capturing the moment by quickly painting simple color and light relationships. This technique clarifies what is most important in your subject (spending too much time on small details can cause you to lose sight of what initially engaged your interest).
During our two day break, I took a mini vacation to Paris to visit the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. The museums were crawling with tourists taking selfies, so it felt a little more like Disneyland than a museum. Despite the crowds, I was truly moved by all of the amazing artwork I saw. Many of the works that I had spent time studying in school were finally right there in front of me, and I could hardly believe it.
By the end of the course, the staff had put together a group show to share the work we had created over the summer. It was fascinating to see how each student grew and changed over the course of the trip. The amount of color and light in our artwork was more intense than any of us had expected.
This dream trip became a reality with the help of the CSU Summer Arts funding and the CSUF Dean's Student Opportunity Fund Award. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world of art and culture. I have learned so much about painting that I would have never explored on my own. It was refreshing to try different techniques to understand how other artists interpreted what they saw; it has changed my perspective on art. I am extremely lucky and grateful to have had this opportunity.
