Interview with author Penny Allen  

Author and artist Penny Allen talks about her life and work in Brittany

 1. What do you like most about Brittany?

I like the feeling of being out on a limb, almost like being on an island and yet connected up to the rest of Europe so you feel it is easy to travel elsewhere too. I like the pride of Bretons in their language and culture and the fact that they do still hold onto it - it's not just for the tourists.

I love the greenness of it and the wetness, like other Celtic hinterlands. The streams and rivers, the forests, hills and valleys. And the coastline is by far the most interesting in France with wonderful beaches and cliff walks.

2. Where is your ideal day out destination?

Hard to pin-point just one. For days out at the beach I like to include a trip to a market, so Plouha on a Thursday and then the cliff walk above Palus Plage, or Plestin-les-Greves on a Sunday and then the big sandy beach and the walks on the cliffs to either side of if. Or, maybe best of all, Audierne on a Saturday and then a walk along the wild coast, avoiding Pointe du Raz and the tourists.

3. Where do you get your inspiration for writing?

From a great deal of hard work.

4. What's the best walk you've had in Brittany?

Again, hard to say. I love the walk along the river from la Roche Derrien and all the wild life including the birds on the muddy estuary. And the river Leff at Lanvollon crossing the bridge at the abandoned mill. And another favourite river walk, from Plancoet up river to the coast and back.

5. Does the landscape inspire you artistically?

Yes, it does and there is some remarkable Breton art although much, too, that is derivative and scarcely more than bad copies of much better pictures. I like to paint and draw trees and there are still plenty around, although deforestation is happening at an alarming rate. I love the mists in the valleys, particularly for photography and I often do pen and ink drawings of buildings, usually medieval ones. I have also drawn and painted the calvaries and thought of making a collection of photographs of them, possibly for a book, but I am sure other people could do that a lot better than I could. I have also done some pastel pictures from Celtic designs.

6. What are your current projects?

I have just finished two books. 'No Place for Dreamers' is an account of my ten years in Brittany and 'The Fertile Imagination' is a book about the brain from a mythological point of view. The hamlet I have been restoring with my partner, Steve, is nearing completion and we are currently building a library to house all my books which have been suffering badly over these years. I can't wait to see it done. We are running courses here and hope to expand next year. For this year, the Tai Chi and Meditation course will take place in July. I am about to dig a veg plot and we will soon be making a rose garden. Steve has been hybridising roses over several years and he is planting many of his vigorous climbers in the banks to scramble over the trees.

And I am keen to get down to some serious painting, landscapes and portraits and a continuation of the series I started some time ago of paintings based on Virgin and Child themes.