When neighbors Laura Radwell and David Barclay touched base one day earlier this year, neither of the two anticipated working with each other in the French countryside in the following months.
Yet the Northampton painters found themselves In France this fall through the Chateau d’Orquevaux Artist Residency — and during their time there, they say, they cultivated experiences and skills not to pad their resumes but to develop their art and themselves.
“For the time you’re there, you’re able to focus exclusively on your art, which makes it an intensive experience, free from all the distractions one normally has,” said Barclay in a recent interview. “It’s an opportunity to experiment, produce a lot of work, to try new things, and to try new techniques.”
Chateau d’Orquevaux, which dates to the 18th century, is in the village of Orquevaux in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, about 190 miles southeast of Paris. Since he acquired the property from his father in 2016, Israeli-American businessman and former artist Ziggy Attias has turned the aging building into a place for artists to work free of the constraints of day-to-day life.
Housing up to 12 people at a time, the chateau provides artists and writers with a room and a studio, as well as common space for group showings, for two to four weeks. Food and other supplies are available in Orquevaux village, just down the hill from the chateau; the chateau’s grounds and the area’s picturesque landscape make for fine walking, too, Radwell and Barclay say.
According to a report earlier this year on Pressreader.com, a UK website, Attias now spends most of his time in Orquevaux and has been buying a number of properties in the area, with plans to turn them into a museum, a performance center, multiple artist studios, and even a sculpture garden — ideally, in the process, helping the town, which has been losing population, to flourish again.
Barclay learned about the residency through coincidence: Attias’ nephew, Henry Attias, hails from Northampton. After Henry Attias told Barclay about his cousin’s program, Barclay quickly applied. He also talked about the program with Radwell, who only began immersing herself in painting in the last few years, and encouraged her to apply, too.
When Barclay was accepted — one of just 80 artists selected in 2018 from more than 250 applicants from 24 countries — Radwell also applied. She won a two-week slot in November, during part of the four-week period for which Barclay had been accepted, and the two friends embarked on their unique and shared journeys to Chateau d’Orquevaux.
Until his retirement from his position as head fundraiser at Historic Deerfield last year, Barclay only considered himself a “weekend painter.” He began painting in 2003 and used as much of his free time as possible for his art. Even with limited time, he says he was able to get his work into galleries in Vermont, California and Connecticut.
Hoping to expand his painting after his retirement, Barclay researched various residencies until coming across Chateau d’Orquevaux. His acceptance to the program sparked a three-month sojourn in Europe — one at Chateau d’Orquevaux, and the other two traveling with his wife, who had also retired recently.
For Barclay, Chateau d’Orquevaux’s remoteness was a retirement gift in itself. “The location made it easier to stay focused on what we came there to do,” he said. “There’s not much to go see, but it’s a really beautiful, rural setting. “
Before Radwell became a full-time painter, she also had another career, running a communications business for over 30 years; her company focused on branding, visual identity and marketing campaigns. She would hire writers, photographers, designers and other freelancers for various projects, and at some point began sitting in with the graphic designers to see what it was all about.
She was blown away by that experience.
“I’ve always believed that I had a definite inner artist,” Radwell said. “When the computer came about and design was computerized, I was so fascinated that I taught myself how to do it. I got to work with color and form and shape and space, so it was very much in alignment with the visual person I am.”
Eventually, Radwell pulled the plug on her business and ventured full time into the art world. That decision led in turn to her residency at Chateau d’Orquevaux, which, like Barclay, she calls a unique experience.
“I could roll out of bed and be free of all the constraints and responsibilities that home entails, which is a great, huge gift, “ she said. “I came home with a total of almost 20 pieces.”
In fact, both painters say they had major breakthroughs while in France. Barclay sought to improve his painting technique, and he feels he succeeded. For her part, Radwell deviated from her focus on abstract landscapes and experimented with looser abstractions.
The chateau really did lack all constraints, including those that come with an exhibit. While there were no deadlines or criteria to fulfill, there was an open studio session at the end of each two-week period so that artists had the chance to see what others at the residency had completed.
“The atmosphere there was always very positive,” said Barclay. “We didn’t do critiques. Comments that were made were always encouraging and always positive. I can say I never heard a negative word from any artist about any other artist’s work the entire time I was there.”
“The dynamic was very open and receptive,” Radwell agreed. “I thought it was kind of magical. I felt accepted, rejuvenated, restored and inspired. I haven’t been doing this type of fine art for a long time, so it was very affirming for me.”
Her one regret: that she didn’t apply for a longer residency. “Within 10 minutes of arriving at the chateau, I knew choosing two weeks over four was a big mistake,” she said. “I was kicking myself.”
One compensation was that being in France made it easy for her to visit a son and her grandchildren in Berlin, Germany.
The two artists say their time at Chateau d’Orqueaux has given them tangible and intangible rewards alike; the skills they acquired were equally as valuable as the work they brought home, and their experiences changed their outlooks on life.
“When I was there, I started feeling like, ‘I hope I live until 100, because I have so much more to do,’ ” said Radwell. “I had not been feeling that way before I left.”