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People sketches in ink in a bistro in Tours..and a postcard.

I’ve picked up my pen again. If one stays on a break for too long, you can lose the desire to return. It is like that with everything in life. At some stage you need to apply some discipline to get going again.

For the first time in along while, I have done some sketches while having coffee in a bistro in Tours. My favorite way of doing it, is with contour lines. If I don’t watch it, I’ll do everything in contour fashion. I love it.

Some of the sketches worked, others didn’t. But it is always like that. Not every sketch is a success. I’m happy with the sketch of the three men at the top and I’m happy with the two men to the left in the bottom sketch. Unfortunately the child and man to the right didn’t work out.

I have also received my first postcard from Albrecht in Germany. Please visit A postcard from albrecht in Germany to see the post on his postcard.

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A few sketches in December

A few sketches of December…a leisurely walk by the Loire, some faces in a bar and a shed in a friends garden.

…a shed in a friend’s garden…

.. sketchbook 15,3×25 cm, watercolor and pen…

…bare tree at the loire…

..sketchbook 15,3×25 cm, watercolor and pen..

…faces in a bar…

..sketchbook 15.3 x25cm, watercolor and rotring pen..

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Garden sketches in December 2010

I stuck my nose out in the cold today…just outside the atelier and sketched the Jack Frost plant, whitered from the frost and the dry iris sculptures and a tree and shrub, struggling to hold onto some last colour.

..whithering Jack Frost(Brunnera macrophylla)..
..Plum tree..

 

..Dry Siberian iris pods..

…à la prochaine…

Ronelle

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Autumn sketches II..leaves and Marie-Christine’s cheetah.

Picking up leaves on my walk by the Loire resulted in autumn sketches number II during our art afternoon earlier today.  This is what I did, while Marie-Christine continued working on her cheetah.

All my sketches were done in pencil, pen and watercolor sketchbook, 19x20cm

…yellows in autumn…


…reds in autumn…


With her permission, I photographed Marie-Christine’s painting this afternoon, to show the stage where it is at now…far from finished of course. It is an old painting that she is reworking: keeping the cheetah, and started changing the background, wanting to work towards a warm African feel with heavy skies. Looks good to me already so far!

..Marie-christine’s cheetah in progress…

oil on canvas

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Sketching in Beaulieu.

Poor Africantapestry is in some abandonment. Not completely, but just enough to make her feel a bit lonely. I hope (how many times have I said this already??) to get back to frantic activity soon….one day….hopefully very soon…!! So, to all those who follow in such good spirit, thank you for your patience and loyalty and hang in there, I’ll be back with gusto soon…one day….hopefully very soon!

About two weeks ago, I went sketchersizing by the Loire at our Loire house and stopped only once for this pencil sketch, which I then added some ink lines to with an ever so slightly wash, because the pencil was too hard to get some feeling into the sketch.

…sketchersizing by the Loire…

sketch done in pencil pen and light wash in watercolor sketchbook, 26x18cm

I went sketchersizing here in Beaulieu a few days ago and sat down just when the morning market started packing up  for the day. I enjoyed a deca allongé at Les voyageurs with a view on the place and the marché.

If interested in seeing some photos of the medieval town of Beaulieu, you can visit The Charming character of Beaulieu sur dordogne at Myfrenchkitchen.

…sketchersizing in Beaulieu sur dordogne…

sketch done in pen and watercolor in watercolor sketchbook, 26x18cm..

à la prochaine!..

Ronelle


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Sketching in Vouvray

Well, never too late to be back…or something like that…

I went sketching just in time yesterday. It was beautful and sunny with clear skies and warm. to suddenly fall upon today where we have one of the coldest days I have experienced so far this winter..we have the blue skies, but icy icy cold with a wind that slices us relentlessly in juliennes!

After a long time of no sketching, I found myself back in that corner where I fixate on detail and try to put too much on to the paper. So my objective for the next few weeks will be to get back into only capturing the necessary, sketch faster and not worry about doing it right!

It is good to be back…!

…vouvray 1…

So, Yesterday. I stopped across the river Loire at Vouvray, a quaint village with houses set into the cliffs next to the Loire. Parking my car in the sun, flinging open the door, basking in the warmth of the sun, I did these two sketches at the same spot. Just moving my focus on with the road. With the first sketch, Vouvray 1,  I used my new bottle of black  ink to draw with, not realizing I bought water soluble ink. So when I washed with the watercolour, all the ink just flooded all over. With the second sketch, Vouvray 2,  I just fell back on my rotring tikkky graphich pen to draw with and then added my wash of water color.

…vouvray 2 – further down rue du petit coteau..

Both sketches in pen and watercolor in watercolor sketchbook, 15,3 x 25cm.