Be at peace with life, stay faithfull to your hopes and keep a smile on your face.
sketches in an old book
A while back I bought this lovely handmade book. It has the look of an old book with handmade paper pages. The cover had me immediately think of ink sketches, particularly olf etch-like drawings…statues, architecture…all things I love to sketch. I’ve started doing some statues in it…the paper isn’t very forgiving and not ideal for sketching and it doesn’t take watercolour at all, but maybe it only adds to the “ancient” look that I’m after. In any case this book is not about art, but about a look – I am looking forward to see it one day when it is done, filled with ink drawings, thick and used! by then, it might be REALLY old…
I use only ink and a pen with nibs and afterwards I wash gently with a little ink and water to just add a shadow and a stain here and there. The book is 11.5 x 17cm and I found it at Les milles feuilles in Paris.
…an old touch…
…statue 1-St sulpice…
…statue 2-…
…statue 3- chateau de vincennes…
…statue 4-chateau de vincennes…
Sketching in tours
A few sketches from Tours and around Montlouis. The last leaves have fallen, the weather is turning real chilly and everybody is cuddling in the bars around the counter with loud conversations and strong espressos. Winter is finally here.
a week or so ago, I was also in a café, Les trois écritoires, with an espresso, waiting for my Torrefaction to open so I could stock up on coffee, which is the first sketch. On Place Plumereau, is the restaurant Leonard de vinci, where I sketched as crooked as it was cold and miserable. Some tough leaves in the third sketch, refusing to give way to winter and lastly, on another day, one of the many vinyeards of Montlouis. Voilà!
…torrefaction et au nom de la rose…
…last bit of colour…
…leonard de vinci en centre ville…
…vignobles de montlouis sur loire…
All sketches done in pen and watercolour in sketchbook
In a sketching phase.
I am in a sketching phase. And especially scenes, not things or objects. Scenes like buildings and architecture, streets, les places, small shops. I don’t think I’m particularly good at these type of “scenes”, but I’m having fun! I sometimes feel I will never be a proper artist. I feel too much like a changeling for I have too many phases. Maybe it is the winter. Or the atmosphere in the streets, the lights coming from buildings, the reflection of streetlamps…how can I work alone in my atelier when there is the smell of coffee and hot chocolate in the bars, the intimate talks around candles, the festivity of people with shopping bags in the streets, the creeping deeper into your woolen hat and coat…
Some last sketches from Paris: The first from le jardin du luxembourg with its hordes of trees and chairs.
…trees in jardin du luxembourg…
…a corner of st Sulpice and a sentier off rue des archives…
…la fontaine de st. sulpice…
All sketches done in pen/pencil and watercolour in sketchbook (15.3x25cm)
Food sketches and a book on dining and painting
I’ve said this before…if all else fails, paint food. It really works. Whether it is the sensuality of food, or the colours or the health aspect or hunger or satisfaction or all of it together…painting food is a delight. It has been so for ages as you will see further down below. I had some poivrons cornes de boeuf and some pak choy. Both greens which is good practice in the greens once again.
…green peppers…
…pak choy…
…Sketches done in moleskine with rotring pen and watercolour….
When Katherine visited in October, she and her sister and niece came over for dinner on their last night in France. (See both her sites at Travels with a sketchbook and Making a mark – where she has some interesting facts in her latest post on Technorati.)
Apart from the bottle of champagne they brought which we décapitée (beheaded) Napolean style, they brought me this beautiful book too – Boire et Manger, which they bought at Chateau Chenonceau. I have read it from front to back and back to front again. I love symbols and mythology and traditions and of course everything that has to do with food and art and this little book has it all.
It is all about the traditions and symbols showing up in old works of art, throughout the ages; how artists chose to paint certain food and scenes, involving food for their symbolism, to depict the traditions and cultures and habits – in short, life during their time.
I want to share some of it with you. Different examples can be seen at Myfrenchkitchen.
…BOIRE ET MANGER…
.. bacchus adolescente:Le caravage(1596-1597)…
…la chanteuse des rues; édouard manet (1862)…
Cherries – meaning: Passion of Christ, fruit of paradise
- One of the first portraits of Victorine Meurent, who was one of Manet’s favourite models until 1875.
- The cherry was a symbol of love, becasue of its deep red colour and round voluptiousness that reminded of the curves of the feminine body.
- All the sensuality in this scenes evolves around the woman bringing the sweet cherries to her mouth.
…la céne: Jacopo Bassano ( 1546-1548)…
Lamb – meaning: sacrificial victim.
- The lamb signifies the sacrifice of Christ.
- A fruit, resembling the apple, signifies the original sin.
- Next to Judas lies the knife, symbol of the treason which would follow.
- With his left hand, Jesus Christ himself points to the lamb which is a symbol of his own sacrifice.
…le jambon: édouard manet (1875-1878)…
Meat ; conserved/dried: ham taken from the porc, signifies gluttony sin.
- French dried ham had a strong international culinary meaning for Manet, because of its ancient gallic imports and long French tradions.
- In the 19th century the ham became a commercial product and thus also made its appearance in the city bourgeoise home after being traditionally country fare.
- In the rich Parisien home the ham would be served on nothing less than silver plattters, giving the ham a “worthiness”.
…scéne de cuisine: Frans Snyders (1630-1640)…
Porc and wild boar: sin of the flesh.
- Frans Snyders was a student of Rubens and specialized in refined commissios, usually overladen scenes of buffet tables with exquisite food.
- The head of the boar was very sought after and seen in this “hunting” painting could be evidence of a commission by some articrat.
- The lobster was already at that stage seen as one for the more rare sea foods, giving it an importance on the refined table.
- The little detail of the dog only sniffing the game, hints on aspects of respect.
- The presence of the artichokes is an indication of the choice of the painter to include only exquisite foods.
Just some sketches….and a vendange in Vouvray.
Every year I paint these clementines from la Corse. See last year’s sketches at CLementines.
…clementines from Corsica…
Sketch done in moleskine with pen and watercolour
The next two sketches were done a while ago. I just sketched some things around me – a container in the living room with brushes and pens and stuff and part of a bookshelf. I try very hard to keep the bookshelf, neat, but I am starting to think we will never have neat bookshelves.
..brushes and pens…
…disorder…
Sketches done in Moleskine with rotring artist pen and water wash.
On Myfrenckitchen, I have posted some photo’s of a vendange in Vouvray that we did in Octobre. Good freinds have a bio vineyard where the harvesting is still done by hand. On one Saturday during the harvest period in October, all their family and friends get together for a day of grape harvesting. It was hard work, but a fun day, with a delicious lunch, many laughs and jokes and a messy grape fight towards the end of the day. I only took photos, because I didn’t want to hide from the work behind my sketchbook! you can see some photo’s here at Pears in red wine and a wine harvest.
Africantapestry 