Improbable Palmier

I travel quite regularly up to Nantes in northern France to see my son. The city has an amazing diversity of architecture, where new and old sit side by side. Often the views that interest me are the one I come across by chance. This unlikely view was from my bedroom window in one of the city’s oldest hotels. The stark modern flat roofed apartment and its improbable palm tree glowed in the late afternoon september sun as if having landed from outer space onto the only available space amongst the older buildings. The clear blue sky just added to the ‘Californian’ feel and the juxtaposition of this and the surrounding architecture begged me to paint it.

This work was made using several glazes of colour to produce a richness and depth of colour and light. It is painted on stretched linen canvas and the sides are finished with a black linen tape and ready to hang without need of a frame unless desired.