Nobody can resist the charm and poetry of the Provencal landscapes of Elisabeth Estivalet, a painter whose transcendent evocations of Provence are winning not ecstatic praise but also prizes and honors wherever they are shown. And no one who has seen Estivalet's works is surprised by her growing international reputation.

Under her touch, light and color achieve a subtle harmony that speaks of the perfect mastery of her medium - of her art. It is quality of light and color that Cézanne himself was extolling when he chided others for painting only likenesses of nature, instead of a portion of nature itself. And "a portion of nature itself" is precisely what Estivalet brings to light in her luminous canvases - that portion which seems to embody the poise and serenity of gently rolling hills, sun-swept villages and the pleasures of winding country roads. These are the hills, villages and roads of Estivalet's beloved adopted Provence, a home she made hers in 1978, when she moved form Poland, her native land.

Though trained in philosophy and economics, Estivalet found in the countryside of Provence the inspiration that ignited her longstanding passion for painting and she set to work to master the uncompromising medium of oil paint. Working strictly with a palette knife, she soon began to create canvases of such poetic beauty, that galleries, collectors and juries, in France and abroad were singing her praises and honoring her efforts with prizes and exhibitions. Gold medals and first prizes for painting followed in rapid order - from the international arts shows of Nyons, Cassis, Mallemort de Provence, Cavaillon, Rive de Giers, Saint Chamond, and Teil, among others - and collectors from around the world began seeking out her work to add to their collections. As a result, Estivalet's paintings can now be found in collections worldwide, from the U.S., Switzerland, France and Germany, to South America, Japan and Australia.