ARTIST RESIDENCY - FRANCE

ARTIST RESIDENCY: CHÂTEAU D’ORQUEVAUX

Artist-in-residence at Château d’Orquevaux in Champagne-Ardenne, France, Summer 2025

My residency at Château d’Orquevaux marked a new evolution of my painting practice. After learning oil painting through traditional Old Master techniques, I arrived in France wanting to break many of the rules I had just learned—to paint faster, work more intuitively, and let go of the perfectionism that had shaped much of my earlier work.

I set myself a goal of completing one painting each day, forcing myself to make decisions quickly and trust instinct over precision. By the end of the residency, I had achieved it. Working from the landscape, objects, and atmosphere around me, I leaned into expressive color, visible line, layered texture, and imperfect marks rather than correcting or refining them away.

The experience fundamentally loosened the way I paint, establishing a more intuitive visual language that continues to influence my work today.