Chateau Orquevaux artist residency in France
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” - Eleanor Roosevelt
In 2020 I applied for an artist residency at the Chateau Orqueveaux International Artists and Writers Residence. I dreamt BIG and I applied. Why not? What a thrill it was to receive the letter saying that I was accepted into the program and awarded the The Denis Diderot Grant toward the cost of the residency.
Of course I had to wait THREE years before getting on the schedule since the residency had a backlog of accepted artists who were all patiently waiting for the pandemic restrictions to lift.
The wait was worth it.
I finally attended my two week residency at Chateau Orqueveaux in July 2023.
I’m so happy to have a chance to share some of my photos and thoughts from my time in Orquevaux in this post.
Since my trip, a lot of people have asked me questions about what an artist residency entails. So let me just start here. Some have assumed it was some sort of workshop or instructional course, which it is not. Those are valuable of course, but this is really just the opposite. It’s a break from rigorous learning or external expectation.
So then it begs the question, is an artist residency just a vacation? No, not in the least. The time spent is extremely purposeful and designed to enhance the creative experience of each individual artist resident.
Specifically, I found that this particular residency in Orqueveaux had the following essential components:
unapologetic space to observe, think, and create
This is in the form of one’s own bedroom AND
a separate private studio for EACH artist
acres of property to explore
chance to spend significant time getting to know artists from around the world
how they think, how they work and live, what inspires them
opportunity to be inspired by timeless beauty and nature
tall ceilings, romantic windows, ponds, waterfalls, goats, wildflowers - I think you get the point
physically and mentally nourishing environment - food, fresh air, and freedom from every day responsibilities
all meals cooked daily by the chateau’s very own Chef Marie
fruit, meat, cheeses, dairy from local region and a “Wine cave” open daily for artists to share a bottle over evening sketching or dinner
tremendous hospitality as if you were a treasured guest
While the time was mostly unstructured, there were some optional activities peppered in throughout the 2 weeks. While I took a break from Google calendars and alarm clocks, we did have a chalk board with some suggested items for participation. Here’s an example of one of the “busy” days:
But for the most part, I took walks in nature, engaged in interesting conversations, napped, journaled, and well… painted, painted, painted. Here are a few photos to share with you to get a sense of how it all went.
Gorgeous morning light. Time for coffee. The french presses were always going…
I wish I could include photos of all the artists in this post without making it way too long, but here are just a few happy photos of artists to give you a sense of it.
Some of the artists had their own studios in the renovated stables and I just loved to see them working through their windows at night.
I kept my own windows open as much as I could. There was something so romantic about those older windows with their beautiful hardware. My studio was in the Chateau itself with a phenomenal view of the property, pond, and village. The studio was directly above my bedroom, so I had the same view from both rooms and I can’t complain one bit about that. In fact, those views inspired much of my painting palette. I was a bit obsessed with the muted greens of the trees and pond and how these tones affected the atmosphere of the region and the interior light.
Yet, while I was in my studio mixing the colors inspired by my surroundings, other artist were drawing inspiration from found objects, personal narratives, historical writings, and the architecture of nearby castles. A wonderful reminder that we are all on our own personal journey and our differences make us unique and interesting. The art we make is a reflection of who we are and invites curiosity about our interests, insecurities, relationships, and dreams. Our art is its own window into our humanity. Whoa that’s deep.
In other news, there were chickens, goats, a cat named Dusty, and lots of cows (not pictured).
Some more images before I wrap this up…
Breakfast spread plus daily chocolate croissants…
Our wonderful hosts Ziggy and Beulah. Their story is incredible…
I just love this photo. New friends of all ages and from all over the world…
And here’s one of me at my easel sketching in the first layer of a composition.
We enjoyed our food and our long, lingering chats…
Artists - if you have an opportunity to join an art residency or if you are wondering if it will benefit you, the answer is YES!
Apply, Apply, Apply!
I made a few little paintings. Mostly sketches and studies like this small portrait of one of the residents. One of my paintings is staying in the permanent collection of Gallery Diderot in Orquevaux so that’s pretty cool. More importantly, the lessons, inspiration, and community that resulted will benefit my art making for a very long time.
