Villa Victoria
The hillside north of the old section of Menton contains several amazing old villas and former hotels. Much of the city’s architecture is classic Belle Époque, in the color palette of the French Riviera. The yellow “Palace of the Riviera” in the foreground was converted into apartments decades ago — we stayed in a second floor apartment last winter. The Villa Victoria — named for Queen Victoria, who often traveled to the south of France — rises in the background.
I was fascinated by the architecture from this perspective. For this piece, I wanted to capture some of the architectural details in finer detail — so pencil, pen and ink work for the iron work, windows, and shutters. But I went with oil pastels to capture the color and texture of a Mediterranean scene.
Inspiration: 37 Avenue Riviera, Menton
