Lingering-in-the-summer sun-sketches

I find that I am always doing nothing most of the time or everything at the same time. When this happens, I feel that at no time am I doing a good job in anything that I do and always need more time.  Every time , I wish I could decide on doing only one thing at a time. Maybe that way, I at least could do something right, some of the time.

I hope now that I haven’t forgotten something this time, so that you can at least understand everything I’m saying, for if I have left out anything important, you will of course still know nothing at all at any given time.

…intended to be vintage Citroen…

I am in a phase where I am now doing everything at the same time: I am putting up a post here on Africantapestry, I have also updated Myfrenchkitchen, which means I have done some real cooking and kitchen fiddling for a change,  Nothing extraordinary, BUT it is cool and  healthy!

I have played around with my camera too and updated Coin Perdu, a mountain home, where we drift in and out of nature and restoration in  Corréze.

Not forgetting my plein air painting of hay stacks and bales and tractors…and sketching under the bistro umbrellas of people lingering around in the sun …and a cute little vintage Citroen posing. Just for me.

Some of the sketches worked, some turned out completely distorted – the Citroen is unrecognizable and the people in the second sketch resemble figures from Lord of the rings. But…Fun nonetheless.

So. Let’s ride the tide while it is high and do either something, or anything and everything all at the same time!

…lingering sun seekers…

…distorted sun seekers…

All sketches in done in moleskine in pen and wartercolour

Lastly: If you drop by here, please check that you are in my linklist – I have only come to realize how many people I don’t have in my linklist, now that the superblog is down…and of course it wasn’t intentional!  So please leave me your link in the comments or in an email ! C’mon, don’t be shy..yye!

Waiting and sketching in Beaulieu

We arrived in Puy d’Arnac where we’ll be staying for the rest of the summer and longer. Still struggling with internet connection, we are using a GPRS mobile card, but reception is a nightmare;  I can feel myself aging while waiting for downloads. I suppose it only leaves me more time to paint and sketch…and work on the house. Forgive me for not visiting and commenting much, as images and large files are impossible to open without getting thrown off internet.  As it is,it took me 2 days to get this post on Africantapestry! We were promised by France telecom to have a fixed line connection by August. It remains to be seen. Life has to be accepted here as it is…nothing gets done today, for tomorrow is another day.

Dancing to the tune, I spent a morning at le marché in Beaulieu, waiting for Hartman who took off with the remorque to load building material. I bought fresh apricots and sweet cherries, du vin, saucisson and crusty baguette, which soon seduced me into nibbling. I sipped a coffee and took out my long-time-not-used-sketchbook. I felt quite productive.

…marché a beaulieu…

sketch in pen and watercolour in moleskine

With still no sign of Hartman and his remorque, I continued with my heavy load…and baguette…and sketchbook…onto la place de l’eglise where a busload of tourists arrived shortly after, pretending to listen to the babbling guide. He, Monsieur le guide, was so bedazzled by his own performance that he continually stepped onto my toes and my half eaten baguette in his effort to be theatrical.  I was sitting on the low wall, trying my best to capture the anitiquites opposite the church. We were obviously in each other’s way….I was there first though.

…antiquités…

sketch in pen and watercolour in moleskine

Sketching down the road

I was inspired to walk down the road earlier this evening to do some sketching, even if it could be only one.

My inspiration? Miguel from Free(k)hand. He’s been showing his sketchbooks lately and I love them all! The sizes appeal to me too, even though I prefer bigger sketchbooks.  Looking at his pocketsize, makes me want to try working smaller in sketching too. It makes for quicker sketching, carries easier, and is more subtle and  inobtrusive I think. Now if only I could get my sketches to look like Miguel’s… He is so nifty with his pen. Drop in at Free(k)hand and see his latest posts with his sketchbooks.

I only had time for one sketch down the road…a little chapel attached to an old house. Next time I’ll do the house.

…down the road…

sketch in pen and watercolour, Fabriano watercolour sketchbook, CP, 20×14cm

Painting poppies

When the poppie came into bloom a few weeks ago, I was highly excited. Been counting 365 and a quarter days for them to reappear.

Las year they were spectacular! I spent days with my camera next to these fields, planning to take out the brush and sketchbook next,  but before I knew it, there were only a few late bloomers still standing…

Too late for a painting. Too late for a sketch. Next year is after all, another day.

…poppyfields of Vernou, 2008…

Next year showed up.

This time I had my act together. My easel was packed. My tubes were sqeezed. The oil was ready to swirl. Until I came to the poppy fields of last year. Not a poppy in sight! Instead, the wheat fields were covering every square inch as far as the eye could see. I drove around a whole morning in search of poppies to paint, heavily disappointed in myself for not taking an opportunity when it blatantly flashed itself to me!

I finally came upon a few poppies here and there, but nothing close to the spectacular drama I had seen last year. It was nonetheless an opportunity and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice!

…poppie field in Vernou, 2009…

I parked myself in the midst of the wheat field, in bright sun and delighted in capturing the even brighter burst of reds at the end of the field. My painting doesn’t really meet my expectations and I can’t even blame the poppies of 2009! Hopefully there is another year of poppies waiting for me; or even better, many years!

Life gave me a last reminder about opportunities and all those life – talking stuff, when I packed up and wanted to leave. I backed up into a ditch on the narrow farm road and it took me some thirty minutes and some broken and bent taillights connections… and wheely skidding… and exciting vocabulary to get the point.

…la matinée rouge…

oil on canvas, 41×33cm (16″x13″)

…detail: click on image to enlarge…

..

Sketches on a perfect Friday.

Today was a productive Friday, artwise. Early this morning I took off to paint the poppies plein air. Took the car to Midas for serice.  While Hartman saw to the oiling and fixing, I had 2 hours on my hand, so I walked to the art store to buy Liquin.

They weren’t open yet, so I continued walking to Biocoop, where I always buy my turps – pressed from orange peel. On my way there, I passed by a farm with some geese and remembered that this WALK could serve as my “Sketchercise” contribution  for this Friday.

…attitude…

I usually carry a rotring pen and moleskine in my bag, as well as my compact watercolour palette and brush.

So. Took out the molekine and pen and asked the geese to hold still. They refused and left. Now my sketches look odd.

Sulking, I continued on to the Biocoop, just to find they were not open yet. Everything closes up between noon and 14:00 and sometimes even up until 14:30. The further south you go, the later the reopening in the afternoon…maybe 15:00, but most likely 16:00.

Anyway! I turned on my heels and walked all the way back to  the art store, passing the geese again. Being a bit more sensitive in my approach, I managed to squiggle a few lines before they noticed me and swaggled off.  I shrugged my houlders and turned to a wild rose/prickly rose.

…a second try…

With my art and bio stuff heavy on my arm and my feet burning from wearing light sandals not fit for walking, I limped off to the nearest bistro for a coffee and water. After a walk up en down of roughly 4 km, I met up with Hartman, plonked in the car, stopped off at the boucherie for a medium rare steak over hot coals for dinner tonight, and kicked off the sandals to let my sorry blisters breathe.

The sun was still invitingly high in the sky. Along with Hartman on our bikes, we set off in  search of a plein air painting spot by the Loire for tomorrow morning, since the sun had promised to be present this weekend. I stole a quick sketch of a fisherman with his back to me. He smiled at me, thinking I was sketching the Loire.

…an unsuspecting fisherman…

I found my painting spot for tomorrow, we enjoyed our peach and Coke, I gave Liandri a lift home on my bike, we lit up the fire, opened a red wine and scorched our steak. A perfect day.

Sketching faces in bistro

With the rain falling non-stop for this whole week, I just couldn’t get to go painting the poppies in the fields like I’ve been burning to do! And now I fear by the time the rains tops, there will be no poppies left! Well, at least we have bistros with some faces to sketch…

Sketches done in rotring pen in moleskine

…faces, instead of poppies…