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Montgolfière en France

I’ve had the exciting opportunity recently to go hot air ballooning in Fontainebleau. We took off on the grounds of the chateau and landed some hours later in a farmer’s field. We were treated to champagne by candlelight after landing which couldn’t have been more perfect!

I did two sketches from photos afterwards. I didn’t even consider sketching there, I was too afraid of being left behind, because once the balloon was up and billowing, there was no time for fancy stuff. It was grab your legs and climb that basket. Besides it is far more exciting watching the balloon lift and blow and bulge.

If you’re interested in seeing some pictures you can go to Myfrenchkitchen, where I’ve put up some pics of the whole process and the trip, the amazing sunset, smooth landing and our great crew.

Both these sketches were done on Fabriano artistico block(30x23cm) with pen and watercolour.

…stretching the toile…

…almost there…

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Luxembourg in Nina’s book

Our international sketchbook exchange is nearing its end with only two more laps to go. I hate endings…unless I know there is something new to fill its place. Any suggestions? Anyone out th..e..ere..???

Here is/was my contribution to Nina’s(Ninajohansen.se) book. See her Polychromatic behaviour, where you can have a look at her cover and how it looks right after turning over that cover. It feels like yesterday that our FPP(Flying pictures project) took off, but it has already been almost 5 months. I decided to add scenes from le  Jardin du Luxembourg in Nina’s book, a regular stop of mine to relax with a book whenever I’m in Paris. It’s one of my favourite places, with its colours, it’s water, its children, its sailboats, its shadows, and…its chairs. I’m fascinated by their chairs, standing in a “polychromatic” disorder all over. So I took my camera to Paris one day and just shot scenes all over the garden. Back home I printed them in black and white, pasted them onto Fabriano artistico and stretched the black and white scenes in colour over onto my paper. I thought that could be called polychromatic behaviour?

…the whole 21/2 pages…

…taking over from Vivien’s (Painting prints and stuff)brush and coloured pencils…

…close-ups…

…the end of my pages and off to Lindsay ( Non-linear-arts)…

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Hydrangeas and awards

The hydrangeas in my garden are supposed to be blue, but the soil doesn’t play along. They start out with tints of blue and then turn a dark, bright pink, almost red. It makes for a very pinkish/reddish painting, but at least I had fun doing it.

This was done with watercolour on Fabriano artistico, HP extra white, 23×30,5 cm.

…hydrangeas, red and blue…

I also want to thank Mark from Paper Raven Art, Pamyla from Musings and Maggie from Scquiltaddict, for this award. I really appreciate it.

Like everybody else, I also would like to pass it on to so many people and since I feel I can’t stop at five names, I decided that I would this time like to pass it on to Cathy G at Asketchintime, who does beautiful art, experiments with all kinds of media, who often tries new directions, new techiniques, new approaches. She is an inspiration as well as a supportive friend. No obligations Cathy!

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Sketchbook exchange sketches

Now that our Flying Pictures Project is a little further down the road and everybody involved had already seen my first sketches posted on our blog FPP, AND since I don’t have much in the form of sketches to post here, AND I haven’t been around much, I thought it good to post my first sketches that were sent off in May. With my theme being “rainbow moments”, I took the first subjects that came into my view that gave me joy and this is what shaped the first two and half pages in my book that went off to Lindsay, and has just landed at Robyn.  So, four more stops, before it arrives back home.

Edited: To see Lindsay’s beautiful addition in oil pastel, see our Flying Pictures Project .

All sketches done in our handmade concertina sketchbooks with rotring pen, pencil and watercolour.

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Sketching in the vineyards

I love the vinyeards. They have all been recently snipped and pruned and trimmed, looking neat and well coiffed. Their stark woody trunks, attractively darkened by the rain, are given center stage in settings of gay springflowers.

I did several sketches. The first ones are still waiting for the art fairy to make them presentable, like Casey always says… These are of the last ones, after I started realizing I cannot fit a whole vinyeard onto my page! I always find nature intimidating, thinking I can create the whole universe on a single page. …”It’s elementary my dear Ronell, simplify, simplify”….

All sketches done in pen and watercolour on Fabrano Artistico watercolour paper.

 

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The red tulip

Like last year, this single red tulip once again made its appearance in my all white and blue  garden. And like last year, I accept it and welcome it. It has become quite a game and I’m amused by the tulip’s proudness and dedication to defeat me. It reminds me of a guy I once knew at university who wouldn’t give up either.

 

He was madly in love with me, completely, head over heels..and yes, he was sort of cute too, I thought at that stage. I was staying in a hostel for girls on campus, fourth floor out of six, overlooking beautifully tended campus gardens. And he was staying in a hostel for boys, way off, on the other side of the campus. That’s how it was those days. No men allowed in the girls’ hostels and vice versa, which made for very exciting experiences! Except of course, for visiting hours in the lounge downstairs.

Very regularly, he would show up at my hostel, long after visiting hours, on nights when the moon was showing off in the sky and the stars were sparkling impatiently with anticipation. With his guitar and a red rose and his best friend, I would be charmed with unashamedly beautiful love songs from the garden under my window. Their strong, deep melodious voices, trained from years of singing, had every girl hanging out their windows along with me, losing ourselves in the charm and romance of “old world courting” from down below.  Beautiful beautiful brown eyes, would always be on the list of songs and their voices would fade away in the distance with Goodnight ladies. My red rose, always stolen from an overflowing garden somewhere, would be left on the windowsill downstairs at the front door, for the hostel had already firmly been locked up for the night.

And so it happened that he got caught one night while stealing my red rose. He unfortunately chose the garden of the Professor of engineering, with whom he was very well acquainted…! He was allowed the rose, but had to work the Professor’s compost heap for two weekends. For a while, it was slow on the rose-serenading-scene and we all missed it..all the ladies, that is. Then one night there he was again, with a stolen red rose and guitar and his best friend. The cute guy I once knew. And who I still know. He is my husband.