Provence Artist: Grigore Dontu
My favourite provence artist that sells in Provençal markets is undoubtedly Grigore Dontu. This handsome Moldovian is a little camera shy (the mysterious silent type); however, since I see him so often (as I wander the markets so often) we’ve come to know each other. Last year, when my mum visited Provence she wanted an oil painting as a souvenir. I brought her to provence artist Grigore.
The 2 paintings we bought. The one in back is of the famous Café de France made famous for many reasons but most memorable to Brits as the haunt of Keith Floyd. The one in front is a square typical of beautiful Aix en Provence.
Grigore spends his time painting market scenes and the various picturesque villages of his adopted country. I think his paintings are the perfect souvenir because he paints the scenes I most associate with Provence. He lives in Aix en Provence and presents his work at the Isle sur la Sorgue, Saint Rémy de Provence and Lourmarin markets.
Grigore paints while waiting for customers at the market.
His Style
The uses bright colours and his style is reminiscent of impressionism. I love how you can see his brush strokes. With a trained eye, you’ll, unfortunately, notice a lot of acrylic paintings for sale at markets of Provencal scenes imported from factories in China. Méfiez-vous! (be aware). This is quite upsetting when you see the passion that artists like Grigore have for their work. He comes from a family of artists where even his wife and son are painters.
His paintings range from the size of postcards to 30×50 inches or more. His oil paintings are reasonably priced; they range anywhere from 100 – 700 euros.
Grigore sends his work all over the world for sale. If you like any of the images here, I can arrange with him for a painting to be sent to you. Otherwise, you can find him at the market!
Don’t you just love an artist’s palette?
