PIED-NOIR

Jules is a Pied-noir. That means he's a Frenchman from Algeria, but he's lived in Mezin so long that he's now considered Mezinais.
You will find him watching petanque almost every day of the week.
He sits with a group of friends who form what is called the gallerie.
They know everything there is to know about petanque. All the rules, all the strategies, all the tactics. They consider themselves experts on every aspect of the game. They make comments, usually very loudly, at every possible point in the play.
Needless to say, they rarely actually get down from their ivory towers to play.

PATRICK

This is Patrick from the Bar du Commerce in Mézin.
He speaks good English, which is not that common around here.
I took the photograph on the terrace of the bar just as Parick was finishing work. Hence the broad smile, probably.
He's number ten (or thereabouts) in the Portrait of a Village series I'm working on.

THIS IS NOEL

No prizes for guessing his birthday.
His wife, Jacqui, commissioned the portrait.
He wasn't so sure he wanted it done.
But he relented when I told him even the Queen has had her portrait done by an Australian.

SAY HELLO TO MARIO

This is Mario. He has a fabulous memory for numbers, and he can remember the birthdays of everyone in the village.
Mario lives at a CAT residence in Mezin.
His portrait will be one of the thirty or so that I hope to have for my exhibition "Mezinaise et autres Portraits".

NICOLE

This is Nicole.
She runs a small bar in Mézin. It's called Le Bon Coin.
Her ex husband is often there in the morning playing belote with his mates. I've painted his portrait too.
I was fascinated by the shadows of her very elegant glasses on her very elegant face.
She was very gracious about me taking her photo so that I could do her portrait.
So here it is.

JEAN-CLAUDE (WITH DRIPS)

This is a protrait of Jean-Claude, one of the village wags.
It's fresh off the easel, and still wet in parts. (Now that's impetuous for you.)
He is divorced, retired, a grandfather and an excellent petanqueur or boules player.
He also gets on very well with his ex-wife and, when he's not playing petanque, he's in her bar playing belote with his mates.
As part of my village characters series (exhibition details in due course), I was attracted by his rugged good looks and mischievous smile.
I am happy with the portrait I did from a photo I took in the square. And I even like the drips, although almost no one else does. They're there in an attempt to show that:
1. Although striving for a likeness, I am always aware that it is paint I'm using.
2. They demonstrate that chance plays an important role in painting. (Not an original idea, I'm afraid - Francis Bacon said it many, many times.)
Sorry for the lecture, but quite a few people have asked.

For more information on painting portraits, please click on the following link and then go to 'Art Holidays':
ray@johnstonesinfrance.com

Or you can use the La Petite Galerie link at top right.

MAIRE OF MEZIN

This is a painting of our Maire.
In France the maire wears a "double casquette" (two hats) because he is an agent of l’Etat (the state) as well as being an agent of the commune.
Confused?
So am I.
Best look it up on Wiki if you're really interested.
Anyway, I did the painting from a photograph in the local paper.