Descent From Beynac

an abstract accordion book

I’ve been home from my trip to France now for two days and have recovered enough from jet lag to form coherent sentences again, so thought I could share a bit of work that I did there and the inspiration for it.

Our first excursion was to Beynac-et-Cazenac, a medieval village with a stunning view of the surrounding Dordogne region. Our host dropped us at the top near the chateau where Richard the Lionheart lived for a bit after capturing the town in a daring climb in the 12th century. We explored the village, ramparts, and shops, then made our way down the nearly 1,000 foot descent to the river below.

Let me tell you how happy I was that the day was dry and sunny because the entire way was paved with rough cobblestone and in some places the angle was about 25-30 degrees. It was freakin’ steep! Wet or dewy, it would have been an exciting, or perhaps fatal, slide down.

In the company of a new friend, I made my way past quaint cottages and mossy stone walls, in wonder at the intricate iron work of gates and charming tucked-away gardens peeking through archways.

I was so inspired by the day that I decided to use it as the basis for my accordion book, one of the projects our group worked on throughout our 10 day retreat. My book is meant to be viewed vertically rather than horizontally as one would usually, to remind me of that long descent from hilltop to river valley, but it was difficult to photograph it in that orientation, so here it is horizontally.

Beynac-et-Cazenac

I created this with acrylic paints applied with a brush and scraped and moved the wet paint with a credit card, along with water-soluble graphite and charcoal. I had planned to add architectural elements to further describe the vertical, but liked the abstract so much that I decided it was finished.

We were rewarded with a picnic lunch here at the end of our journey.

Having a story behind this piece makes it so very special to me. What a great way to make a memory last. I can’t finish here without highly recommending Perigord Retreats if you are considering an arty vacation. The food is some of the best I’ve had, the accommodations are perfectly clean and comfortable, and staff are top notch professionals.

Looking at these images in detail reminds me of the caves we ventured into at Gourdon, but that’s a story for another day.