Postcard from Provence

Paintings by Julian Merrow-Smith

  • Signed copies
  • 160 pages
  • Format:10"x8½"
  • Softback
  • ISBN:978-2-9534500-0-2
  • $29.95
  • (book weight is nearly 1kg - Worldwide shipping is 19.95)

Some reviews from Amazon

  • Rating:   The Real Deal
  • “Provence in the South of France has long been a dreamlike destination for those of us who live a distant elsewhere. Little wonder the bookshelves dedicated to this region are stacked high. Do a simple Amazon search for 'art in Provence' and you face a flood of titles, all cashing in on 'brand Provence' with their lavender covers and nods to Cezanne. While sifting through them you'll be reminded of a busy tourist shop where cheap trinkets and chocolate box souvenirs fill the shelves. It can be disheartening...
    Until you come across Julian Merrow-Smith's 'Postcards from Provence - Paintings by Julian Merrow-Smith'.
    This book is the real deal. That's because Julian Merrow-Smith is the real deal - a contemporary painter of serious talent, living and working in the South of France.
    'Postcards from Provence' is Merrow-Smith's first book. It presents over 140 of his works - still life, portraiture and landscapes - supposedly tracking through the course of a year. Summer fields and winter orchards populate the pages along with cosy domestic details, a dish of olives, a cat asleep. These paintings represent simple moments, a truthful glimpse of here and there, providing a wonderful sense of place. In our busy world, this is the quiet and hidden Provence we dream of - and there's not a tourist in sight.
    The illustrations are full colour, presented with great care and positioned to compliment each other. The layout is smart with sufficient description and supporting text. Published by Red Ochre Press, its sturdy bounding, decent stock and fine print quality make it a handsome book which deserves contemplation, a glass of French wine and a quiet place to take it in.
    The South of France will continue to be a dreamlike destination as long as books like this fan the flames of our imagination.
  • Rating:   Postcards that mean something
  • “Postcard from Provence is not a how to book. You will find no instructions on how to mix a green for the grass and another for the far trees. You will not find how to apply your mediums or use a No. 8 flat brush. No history of realism or impressionism is given, no mention of this school of painting or that one. What you will find is just simply art. Art for its own sake. Simple, realistic art that tells its own story. A road in the country, a clove of garlic standing alone in shadow, two fish on a table and more that conveys a mood, am emotion, an atmosphere of the subject and the place. This book even smells of art. The reproductions are so wonderful they carry the aroma of printer's ink. You want to touch the surface to feel the impasto effect of the knife and brush for art is tactile to all the senses. You can learn much from this book as from any good art book of paintings. It is a given that copying the works of the Masters will teach and improve an art student. Julian is a master in his own right and has much to teach. I have enjoyed and learned much from his book. I highly recommend this book to any student of art that is interested in studying and learning realistic representational art. I recommend it to everyone else to just set down and quietly enjoy a moment with art that will touch you.”
  • Rating:   Two great books to have for you library.
  • “very clever idea to send these to friends and have a lovely pic to look at every day. I paint and would like very much to do plein air as it captures so much of the light, if you know how to paint well as Julian certainly does. It is funny ( odd) that I had the book "Cherries from Chauvet's Orchard" and was reading it when the other book was ordered and I had no idea that they were to go together until I saw the cover painting of the blooming tree inside the "Postcard from Provence " book. I did not realize that the the Provence book would just be pics of paintings and so it was great to find the book with the text that dovetails with the paintings. Thank you for inspiration!!! ”
  • Rating:   0utstanding quality.
  • “ Insiping”
  • Rating:   What is a little time for yourself worth?
  • “Beautiful reproductions of daily meditations in oil.”