The Jura

SESSION II : July 10-21, 2011

The HAUT-JURA is one of France’s most beautiful landscapes, yet it is almost unknown to American travelers,
apart from PAINTING IN FRANCE participants, who have visted the region since 1983.


Mont Blanc viewed from the Haut-Jura.

There, Martine welcomes visitors to her childhood summer home, the 19th-century farmhouse called
“LA CLEF DES CHAMPS” (the key to the fields), here rendered by artist JOAN SEBASTIAN POE:

It is located in the hamlet of LA SERRA, across the valley from the picturesque village of LES BOUCHOUX.
The village and surrounding countryside have been the subject of many of
Seymour’s paintings.

LA SERRA is only 60 miles from cosmopolitan Geneva. Yet the countryside seems almost
untouched by the modern era. The terrain is perfect for painting, with an endless variety of inspiring views
that change at nearly every turn, from craggy cliff faces to alpine meadows carpeted in wildflowers:

to deep mountain streams, to expansive fields punctuated by massive, red-roofed farm houses. At night,
the sky is aglow (pictured by LEE ANN HUNTINGTON) and often the only sound you hear is the ringing of cowbells :

In the Jura, the painting course slows down from the fast-paced visit to Paris, so that we can leisurely
explore the landscape and take the time needed to create more developed paintings. Participants stay in
log cabin lodges near the village of LA PESSE, known for its cross-country skiing and dog sleds :

For excursions, we will visit ANNECY, with its colorful architecture, canals, and pristine lake :

We may also visit GENEVA, and paint in the medieval town of YVOIRE along the lake, here depicted by MARILYN FRASER :

BABA (BARBARA SISSON) takes her turn preparing dinner, a still-life of cheese and fruit :

In the background, the stone sink is a favorite motif of our fellow artists, like LESI COHAN :

Seymour advises BARBARA QUARTRONE on how approach the magnificent landscape for painting:

LE CRÊT DE CHALAM (1,548m/5,079ft), a two- to three-hour hike from your log cabin :

LES REMPARTS DE SAINT-CLAUDE, protection wall built in the 9th or 10th century. Above the wall is
the open market, with fresh produce every Saturday :

JOAN and MARY LEE show their renderings of the view from the terrace:

1994 PAINTING IN FRANCE with the Concord Art Association, Massachusetts, at “La Roche d’Orvaz,”
where two natural rock formations face each other :

For more pictures of the Jura, visit the GALLERY page and click on “Jura.”