"La Bicyclette", 12x16, oil on board-paintings of Lacoste, Provence, palette knife, bicycle, A Good Year

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"La Bicyclette", 12x16, oil on board (Note- Please click on the image in order to see the impasto clearly.)

A modern day bicycle, sits against a crumbling wall in an ancient village in Provence. Numbering under 500 inhabitants, the streets of Lacoste are deserted right now,  as  it's that magical time of day when Provencal folk either nap, eat, drink, argue in a pub or have sex, "under the roof".

La Bicyclette waits patiently for the return of its owner who will meander down the cobblestone paths  any minute now, smiling at a distant memory and emerging with his face slightly flushed after polishing off a bottle of old red straight from the vineyard of Max Skinner, and which he imbibed alfresco-style at the lovely Cafe de France in the heart of the village.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then go watch "A Good Year" with Russell Crowe and the stunningly beautiful Marion Cotillard. You'll fall in love with Provence and it's ancient villages, and crumbling walls and purple valleys nestled in the heart of the Luberon and in the shadow of the Vaucluse.

Lacoste is truly ancient, crumbling, mysterious and exotic all at once. Forget the Marquis de Sade and his crumbling castle; the view from the Cafe de France of the Luberon valley and the neighboring village of Bonnieux is enough to make your heart do somersaults, as is most of the scenery in the area.

I painted this quickly with a palette knife, listening to a combo of "shuffled" music on Pandora that included Cafe France, Rod Stewart and the Gypsy Kings. The only thing missing was a bottle of old red.