Stairway to heaven

I was immediately attracted to this scene because of the strong shaft of morning light coming between the buildings and illuminating the hanging baskets and bits of greenery. I started it on location, it was fine early on, but as the morning progressed more and more people climbed up the long steep path which leads to the hamlet of les Fontanettes. The path was so narrow I had to keep moving out of the way to let people past, and I was standing in the doorway of a house where I was sure the local resident had gone to work, so after getting the basics in place I retreated to the solitude of my studio with sketches and reference photos. I much prefer being in the great outdoors, but sometimes the location is simply untenable.





These old buildings crowd together, their roofs almost touching in places. They form part of the original village of Pralognan, which developed as a via point on the route from Italy into France for transporting salt. It originally was part of Italy belonging to the Ducs of Savoie. Higher up this path, some 30 minutes hard slog, is a tiny hamlet only accessible in the summer, and much painted by me over the years, then onward and upward to the Vanoise Pass into Italy. Only a (relatively) short distance for the intrepid trekker, but a long way by road as there are a lot of very high pointy mountains and unfriendly terrain to go round.

Rue d'Eblet, Stairway to Heaven
Oils on canvas
27x35cms






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Pralognan la Vanoise