Cave Paintings at Cougnac and Pechmerle

France: Cougnac and Pechmerle Caves-  Go and GO SOON!

A page from my trip journal...

Sometimes the things you see on a vacation are a complete surprise. These caves were fantastically surprising!  The definition of great art for me, is a painting that intrigues me, with mystery or a sense of story that draws me in and captivates me. These caves and their paintings have all that and more...  

Talk about other-worldly!  The caves of France are incredible and a MUST SEE, as far as I'm concerned.  Cougnac caves are near Le Vieux Couvent in Frayssinet, which was our home base.  Pechmerle is also nearby. Once I experienced the Cougnac caves, I vowed to see as many others as possible.  Thankfully, a small group of us took another trip and made the effort to see Pechmerle while in France.  Thanks to Karlyn Holman for helping us to make that arrangement!  It was another moving glimpse into our connection with artists from our ancient past.

Cougnac Caves-


The idea of artists painting in caves is not news.  We've all heard about it, but experiencing it is another thing entirely!  I thought the drawings would be like frescoes or decorations which might be found just inside the door or cave entrance.  Well I couldn't have been more wrong!  First of all, there's no door.  Second of all, it was an incredible effort just to make your way to the place where the first artists created  their paintings.


The artists who decorated the walls of ancient caves were painting with saliva and ground minerals approximately 25-30,000 years ago! Imagine that...it's awe inspiring and difficult to even comprehend.  What that means is that art was an impulse and a form of expression present in our earliest ancestors.  Homo sapiens were vying for domination of the humanoid species, but Cromagnun man (and woman!) may have been among the first artists.  In fact, published research from 2013 indicates that the MAJORITY of cave painters were female! How about that?! We didn't hear about the female artists during our tours of the caves, but my research confirms this factoid. Since handprints were often found as part of the imagery in the caves, researchers have done analysis and come to the conclusion that over 60% of the paintings were likely done by females.   GO GIRLS!  (look for this research described in publications dated October-2013 including Smithsonian magazine and elsewhere)



Some of the images are wild, and make you wonder if they might represent fantasy creatures.  Many are images of now extinct animals. You'll find wooly Mammoths, and deer with huge "moose-like" horns, as well as spotted horses in these ancient paintings.
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Scientists speculate that these leopard spotted horses may actually have been in existence during these paleolithic times!  Maybe early relatives of appaloosa or paint breeds? (my non-scientific speculation) 


One of the artists may have even been an early relative of Kilroy (just kidding!).  Like the Kilroy graffiti which GI's left behind at places they visited, there is an odd geometric/avian symbol found in a few different ancient cave sites in France.  Some of the sites are more than 30 Km apart from one another.  This means that one artist got around to various sites, or that various artists found meaning in  that same symbol.  That meaning has been lost to us over the thousands of years since it was made, but here it is below:

The art is obviously practiced, and was done without photos or real subjects for reference.  To create these images, we all agreed that the paintings we viewed were not the work of a novice.  The artist had obviously painted these images many times in order to be so certain with their lines.  Sometimes the contours of the rock would be used to advantage of the image.


It was not possible to peek around the corner and see their subject either...there was no running outside to get a look at what they were painting.  The sites where they painted were often circuitous,treacherous  routes which were only reached by winding your way through stalagmites and stalactite  riddled passages and multiple tunnels, often about half a football field underground.  That seems to rule out the idea of a carcass being nearby for reference.  These images were done from memory.  Impressive!

Each painting must have been executed by the light of a small hand held oil lamp made out of rock.  I kept thinking...what if they ran out of oil?  How would they ever find their way out?  No one would ever hear you if you called for help.  The pathway was treacherous, filled with stalagmites and stalactites.  The path was also winding and a long distance from the surface in order to get to the chambers where they painted. No rope would be long enough to mark the trail.  Cave bears inhabited the caves, so if you got past them and didn't break your neck on the way, you had better be sure you didn't run out of oil!  Finding your way out would have taken more than a trail of bread crumbs!  Yikes!

stalactites drip limestone from above and form the stalagmite below

The caves are in danger of contamination from visitors.  Our breath and the contamination from our fingers introduce changes which threaten the environment of the caves.The real Lescaux caves have been closed to visitors, and all you can see now is an exacting replica.  I've heard it's wonderful, but seeing the real thing at Cougnac and Pechmerle may be something future generations may not be able to do.

That's why I say, "GO!", and "GO SOON!"  Enjoy these photos, but understand that they DO NOT do the real experience any justice. The environment is mystical and imparts a sense of the supernatural to these ancient works of art.  I found myself wondering if Gaudi may have visited these caves and been inspired to create his drippy style of architecture found in the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona...What do you think??

We could not take photos of the art while in the caves, but we could photograph the rock formations.  My photos of the rocks were done while I was underground, but my only record from the cave paintings are the quick sketches I did while in their presence.   Thankfully, the internet allows me to share these photos of the actual cave paintings here.  I used my sketches of the images while in the caves in order to do a painting which was inspired by all that I saw.   A photo of that painting is below.   I can't wait to introduce this subject to my students as an interesting and playful lesson for us to paint together in the studio when I get back home...

Ancient Apparitions -Watercolor, acrylic gesso, ink on paper  11X15 $300
Rebecca Zdybel

Let me hear from you! I look forward to your comments.

Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor
Art Lessons in all media
Myrtle Beach, SC
rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

Spread Light, Share Love, DO Art!

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Art on the Fly- Thoughts on being an Art Adventurer

I'm off on another adventure!  Once again I'll be trying to make art on the road...or in this case, on the fly.  I've just arrived in Greece after an overnight flight.  I'm sitting in the cafe' enjoying a few minutes of free WiFi and a cappuccino.  I'm again reminded of how great a cup of cappuccino can taste!  Europeans have got the formula, or perhaps the right machines for great coffee.  I'm feeling pretty rested despite light sleep on the plane.

I had almost an entire day to kill prior to meeting my group in Athens at the Aegean Airlines counter.  I'm thinking I may use today as a time to do some drawing and perhaps just try to capture quick sketches here at the airport.  There are a lot of interesting faces here...

I've decided to not expect myself to create a lot of finished work while here.  I am going to try to capture moments through sketches and quick studies.  I hope loosening up will allow me to be more free and less inhibited.  That pressure to do "great things" can be stifling, and I had a bit of that feeling on my last trip.

Waiting to begin until you can do something great is a sure way to never get anywhere...

Those of us with perfectionist instincts can fall prey to that kind of trap if we're not careful.  When I first began doing art, I wouldn't start a painting until I knew where I was going to hang it!  How silly that seems now, but I'm sure someone out there can relate.  Thankfully, I've moved past that kind of mindset, but every once in a while I have to fight for the right to just jump in and do something simply for the fun of it.

We all have to begin somewhere...

Those of us who come to art later in life have to sometimes be willing to set aside the sense of competence and accomplishment we have achieved in other realms of our life.  There's almost a need to surrender our egos to the process of exploring something new and very challenging.  If we are going to learn new things as adults, we have to be willing to play around and perhaps fail occasionally.  Ironically, I've found that some of my best work has resulted from just giving myself permission to play around and have fun.  When I have joy in the process it tends to show up in the painting.  As a result, I'm all about encouraging my students to HAVE FUN and paint what interests them.  It's a formula that has worked for me, and I'd predict it would work for you too.


You may or may not know about my recent trip to Tuscany May 2013.  While there, I painted and drew my way around Tuscany and Cinque Terre with an art group led by my friend and mentor, Karlyn Holman.  I had lots of fun, sketching here and there, and painting when possible.  I loved what I did, but didn't have a lot of "finished" work upon coming home.  Prior to leaving on this trip, I did some work on a few of those sketches and had fun bringing a few of them across the finish line.

Here are a few of the watercolors and paintings which have resulted from my adventure in Tuscany.


In the painting I call “Bubble Boys”  I tried to capture a sense of light from the left and use it to shine a spotlight on the main characters of the drama I was trying to create.  The scene was a quiet corner in Castellina.  The young boy and the old man were in a separate location in the same town.  I had been charmed by their interaction and took some photos of them.   Later, I decided to merge them as characters into my scene after I’d drawn the location as I’d found it.  The scene was originally without people.  After assessing the drawing, it felt lifeless and so I placed the exchange between these two into the scene.  The result is this painting.  

Sketch done on location with figures inserted later

Bubble Boys
Watercolor and Ink on Paper
11X15

The villa pictured in this scene was very near San Fedele.  By pure chance, I ended up perched atop a ruin of a celtic altar in order to capture the scene.  The whole experience was magical...on a Tuscan hillside by myself and in the midst of all this greenery.  This painting begs the question:  when is the painting complete?  Sometimes the answer is, “when I’ve said all I have to say on the subject”.  I’m not sure if this one is complete...I still am tempted to inject an image of the fawn that visited me at the end of my time there, but for now, this painting is at least a remembrance of my magical moment at Villa Casa Nova.

Villa Casa Nova, Chianti

 The rooftops of Siena were not altogether evident in walking around town, but after photographing my way through the city I found that some cropping and zooming allowed me to focus in on some of the abstract patterns found above the rooflines.  There is a lot going on above the street level as you can see...wires, dishes, balconies, terraces, antennae, and more.  It was fun to treat them as patterns and make that the focus of this painting.

Rooftops of Siena

I was able to gain permission from the photographer to paint this aerial view of Porto Venere in Cinque Terre pictured below.  We met while on a ferry boat shuttling between the towns which form the Cinque Terre.  She and her book of photographs were lovely.  In painting it, I used a bit of collage to create a sense of the texture in the hills.  What I was really going after was the sense of the dramatic setting for the church at the entrance to the harbor and the steep incline on these precipitous cliffs.  I think the perspective of the composition helps get my point across.  It’s incredible that people have lived their lives for so many centuries perched on the sides of these cliffs. I’m hoping this piece conveys  some of my sense of wonder at the beauty and the ruggedness of the area.

Birds Eye View- Porto Venere, Cinque Terre

Our home base in Tuscany was the restored former monastery of San Fedele.  Such a romantic place!  That was the intention of this painting...to capture the romance of the location there.  I decided to give the wrought iron fence some prominence and push the lighting to create a sense of warmth.  I hope these paintings give you an idea of how wonderful it can be to augment your travels by capturing your memories through photography, drawing  and painting. That's why I'm on another art oriented trip...I can't get enough!

San Fedele, Chianti

As for Tuscany, I can’t wait to go back!  Showing San Fedele and the Chianti area to friends and students who may want to join me is next on my bucket list!  Let me know if you’d like to be part of our adventure in Sept 2014!!!  Cost is $2695 per person and includes art and cooking lessons, double occupancy room, two meals per day and all transportation from the airport and around the area to local sites I feel l will be conducive to painting, drawing, and photography.   

Please contact me if you're interested and I'll fill you in on all the fun details!  rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

My Greek Adventure will continue for the next couple of weeks.  

Our First Stop:  the Island of Lesbos!  I can't wait to learn more and paint my way around this ancient and beautiful country!  Here's a taste of one of my first Greek photos...lots more to come!  Stay tuned...

Molyvos: on the Island of Lesbos, Greece

Rebecca Zdybel

Artist/ Art Instructor

Myrtle Beach, SC

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Seeing It Like It Is: Getting In Touch with Our Right Brains

Strengthening our connection to our Right-Brains: a fun foundation for Watercolor!

How can we improve our ability to render our subjects more accurately and more artistically?

Our stored images of things get in the way of our capacity to truly see that which is right in front of us.  Sometimes this can be a good thing...like when my husband continues to see me as the adorable 18 year old girl he once met, and as a result, he glosses over the little things that have changed over the years (like sagging body parts and crows feet.  =)  This same phenomenon of glossing over reality is not quite as positive when you try to see something as an artist...really see it, as it is in the moment.  Our stored images and our symbols for things will often be substituted by our pushy left-brains for the real appearance of something.  Our left-brains get in the way of really spending time and dwelling on the details of our subjects.  Our left-brains are used to being in charge in the modern world- they keep us on schedule by processing time, store symbols, process speech, and allow us to quickly sort through the chaotic information that crowds our senses on a daily basis.  Bottom line:  our left-brains are used to being in charge and don't move out of the way to let our right-brains take over without a fight.  

Promoting the connection with your right-brain is something I think is worth your time as an artist.  Our right-brains are essential in artistic pursuits. Raising your consciousness of how that right-brain connection feels can take practice.  Have you ever felt as if you completely lost track of time while doing something artistic?  Have you ever had trouble carrying on a conversation or keeping track of conversation as you've been engrossed in writing or some other task you loved?  These are symptoms of being in a "right-brain dominant" mode of thinking.  It can be a state which very much resembles a high...and which is associated with a feeling of contentment or bliss.  I've found that art is a wonderful substitute for that blissful state, and it's a whole lot healthier than some of the other ways of seeking that condition!  It can even be a facilitator for meditation.  Try playing inspirational music or inspirational books while working on your art, and you might find a wonderful way to inject content into your art and meditation into your process. 

One quick and easy exercise for moving your left brain aside and developing some right-brain muscle is doing contour drawing.  This term simply refers to the process of drawing without looking at the paper on which you are making your marks, and keeping your eyes focused on the subject you are trying to render.  Blind contour drawing is done without looking at your paper at all.   You can modify that slightly, by only periodically looking at your paper in order to reorient yourself when you get lost.  Both are really good ways to make yourself slow down and SEE your subject. It's incredible how hard it can be!  When I do this, I invariably feel my left brain's impatience with the process.  I begin to think of all the things I should be doing, all the time that is passing, all the reasons why I should hurry up and just get it over with already!  Then as I continue the process, I feel a relaxation of awareness and an unveiling of details that were previously missed when I looked before.  Nuanced shapes and contour changes become apparent.  It is really cool!! 

One of my favorite new techniques of late is using a pen called the Elegant Writer.  It's a calligraphy marker.  Karlyn Holman referenced this in one of her books, and so I tried it and LOVED it!!  I brought the pens into class the other day and shared them with my students, and it was so gratifying to see their reactions and witness the cool paintings that resulted from their usage!!  They used contour drawings of images as the foundations for their watercolors, and here are some of the incredible examples of what resulted in that class period...a couple of these have been developed even further since this class, but I don't have photos yet.  Perhaps I'll post them in a another blog.  I hope the photos below can inspire you!  If you've never given contour drawing a try, I encourage you to spend a little time with it and let me know how it goes.  I'd love to hear from you about your experiences...

If you're interested in reading more on subjects of this sort I would recommend Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.  link to purchase Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art Lessons
Spread Light, Share Love, DO Art!

Feel free to share this blog post on your own blog or website, but I ask that you you include:

Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/