I did this sketch a few weeks back, at the height of my struggle to do art period, but I am glad I completed it since it got me started on my way back to sketching.
Teapot and cup, watercolour in Stillman and Birn sketchbook.
A teapot sketch.
February art: Café life.
February is a month in which many stores, restaurants and cafés close for a fortnight, taking their break before spring arrives with all its liveliness. Not much is happening in the mostly grey month of February. Everybody is cocooning and taking Prozac in front of their daylight lamps. Schools are also closed for a fortnight and the whole world goes skiing in February. Tradition. Except…this year is not a great skiing year with snow only on the highest peaks.
In the one café that is open during this month, I enjoyed my coffee and croissant. It is better than Prozac at least. It was stock full of people, being the only bar open in town, with everybody looking for a counter to lean on with their petit noir. I am not a counter girl, I prefer a table and a large one at that for all my clutter.
It is actually great sketching wise, when there are so many people in a bar. Nobody notices you giving him/her the infernal sketching glare, so drawing people is much more relaxed.
Streetview opposite café de la Poste in Bretenoux…Just a building across from Cafe de la Poste. I had my young German shepherd, Lindiwe with me who got impatient and I had to speed up the sketching.
Watercolor and Pilot Prera pen in Stillman & birn sketchbook, 22X14.5cm
Café life 1, 2 3: In PMU, we all call it Cécile’s bar, life was busy and noisy and sketching went great. The only problem was that my pen got empty and it got more and more difficult to make nice dark lines.
Pilot Prera pen in Stillman & Birn sketchbook, 22×14.5cm
February art: Café sketching.
One of my favorite paces to lunge for my sketchbook, is in Cafe Douceur in Beaulieu sur Dordogne. Such a welcoming lieu, you keep drinking coffee just to have an excuse to linger longer.
coffee corner in Cafe Douceur
Ink and a wash in Stillman & Birn sketchbook, 14X22cm
Coffee at Voyageurs
Pen and watercolour in Stillman & birn sketchbook, 14X22cm
Sketching faces in St Céré
Pen and watercolour washes in moleskine, 22X14cm
EDM-art 12 & 13: Something used everyday and something to throw/give away.
I am not person of routine, except for early mornings. Nothing dare interfere with my routine of waking up, walking over to the coffee machine, staring absently at my coffee dripping in my cup, finding my chair and slowly sipping my coffee while my brain and body connects. Once my cup of waking up coffee is empty, my idle mode has shifted into gear and I can take on the day. Don’t mess with my early morning routine.
..every day pottery cup for espresso..
watercolour and dip pen with Sennelier ink in S&B sketchbook, 22.9×15.2 cm
Mon cheri has the habit of wearing shoes until it isn’t recognizable as shoes any more. Not his fancy pansy shoes, but his working shoes here on the farm. He says they become comfortable and he can wear them all over. I buy him a new pair of working boots, just to see him wearing his old worn ones. So I slip away to his shoes in the night and carry them off to the bin and hide them deep, deep under all the other garbage and I can only sigh my relief once the bin has been emptied. I of course plead innocent when he searches all over for his shoes. But I know that he knows that I know.
..throwing out old shoes..
watercolour and dip pen with Sennelier ink in S&B sketchbook, 22.9×15.2 cm
until tomorrow..
Ronelle
Africantapestry 