Window dressing in Southern France

Because I paint a lot of murals of France, I took lots of reference photos while I was there.  I seem to have had a fixation on shutters.  Here are a few of the more interesting shutter shots...

It's very rare to see a house without shutters

Shutters aren't just for decoration.  Most of these buildings  date from  about the time the Mayflower sailed to the New World, so air conditioning isn't exactly easy to install.  Shutters block the sun, keeping interiors cool.

Love the hinges!

White shutters show off this fanciful dragon sign bracket

The pelmet is an unusual touch.

Lucie the mouse looks up a street adorned with many colors of shutters.  

Uh-oh!  Quick, back against the wall...

These kitties are pleased to find their third-floor shutters open, especially with a tempting little mouse down below!

Back at La Cascade, our teacher Dayle leans out the window of the studio, to see what's taking us so long.

My favorite shuttered windows.