Oil pastel over acrylic on canvas. 24x30". Plus some pencil.

This is what an outside French market looks like. It is on an old square in Aix-en-Provence, France, built by the Romans.

I first started sketching on location in Aix, in this very location. Not much has changed…it's still hot, the French still love their flowers, the buildings are still old and weathered. I didn't know how to paint at that time…colour scared me. I was in my fifth year of art college and didn't know how to work with colour. I started with black, cobalt blue and raw umber.

And now, I teach it.

The French love red.