Front Row Seat

50 × 70 cm
Acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas

€900

In peak summer season on the French Riviera, the best spots on the beach are worth getting up early for. And this woman clearly knows.

Inspired by the beautiful Mediterranean bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Côte d'Azur, Front Row Seat is an original beach painting that captures the art of claiming your own little piece of paradise.

Just beyond the old town of Villefranche and its lively harbour, the sandy beach first reveals itself from above: a spectacular sweep of turquoise blue water against the Mediterranean coastline, seen from the elevated street. Then comes the reality of summer: navigating a beach packed like sardines, looking for that elusive patch of sand to call your own. Beneath a striped beach umbrella, a woman in a red swimsuit has found the perfect spot to hide, relax and escape the crowds.

She knows the rule: the early bird gets a front row seat. And beach rule #1? Nobody gets to block the view. Prime beachfront real estate, secured.

I approached the composition like a carefully cropped photograph, deliberately editing out the crowds to create an illusion of solitude amid the summer chaos. But there's a little ambiguity to the scene. Is she alone, or are those her kids splashing in the water? Is she waiting for someone, or enjoying a day of complete anonymity? Just a woman, her striped beach umbrella, a flash of red, and endless shades of Mediterranean blue water. The rest is left to the imagination.

A contemporary coastal painting about summer on the Côte d'Azur, the luxury of a little personal space, and the art of doing absolutely nothing.

Pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés.