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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

Cafe chaud-001

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

old shoes0001until tomorrow..

Ronelle

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EDM-art 12 & 13: Steps and latest purchase.

I visited our children in Toulouse this week. La villa rose, it is called, because of the typical red brick of the architecture. The fountains, quite different to those in Paris, have a charm that entices you to sit on the steps and eat your sandwich. Or watch the people go by. Or sit opposite the fountain and watch the people sitting on the steps. Life is always interesting around a fountain.

..la fontaine a la place de la Trinité.

watercolor and dip pen with Sennelier ink in S&B sketchbook

escalier fontaine0001

..coffee tables next to la fontaine on place de la Trinité..

watercolor and dip pen with Sennelier ink in S&B sketchbook

coffeetables0001Opposite the fountain is a tiny shop with  the very appropriate name, La Fontaine De Boulou. This is where I spoiled myself with something summery…a large necklace and an even larger ring; I love large jewellery and since I don’t have loads of jewellery I figured it was time for a splurge.  These 2 pieces are from the createur Parisien, Dominique Denaive who makes gorgeous  jewellery. Now I am waiting for the occasion to wear them…” Mon cheri, will you take me to dinner?…”

..necklace & ring Dominique Denaive..

watercolor and dip pen with Sennelier ink in S&B sketchbook

bijoux

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EDM-art 11: Hats, caps & other headgear.

Meet Madame de Pompadour. While resorting our house, our temporary “bathroom corner” in the barn is fairly rough. Think old wagon wheel rim, huge old zinc tub, old wooden ladder for towels, old white linen for a curtain, 2 old wooden doors attached to another for a screen and an old mirror. And Madame Pompadour. She adds a bit of fantasy and romance to an otherwise rustic, country corner. She stands elegantly next to an old long mirror. It befits her.

Mme pompadour

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EDM-art 9: An interesting label.

I find labels fascinating. So much so that you will often find me in the alcohol section of the supermarket. That is where the most interesting labels are to be found. I don’t even drink alcohol, except for my glass of red wine in winter or rosé wine in summer and champagne when I feel chic. I can spend a whole morning in  the alcohol aisle scanning top to bottom, browsing the beautiful bottles and the labels, like you would books in a bookstore and yes, I do sometimes succumb to buying a bottle of “I don’t know what‘ just because of the label. Especially the beer bottles. The labels are fantastic! When I am asked to buy beer, I always choose the bottles with the prettiest label, irrespective of instructions as to which brand I should buy. After all, isn’t it good to test new grounds?Then it turns out at home to be the most awful beer.  As if I care, I don’t drink it! Now I am not asked to buy beer any more.

..2014 Mille et une pierre rosé wine from our area..

watercolour and J. Herbin inks in Daler rowney sketchbook, 21X29.7 cm

label on rose winesee you tomorrow with the theme…something you can turn on/off..

Ronelle

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EDM art 8: Handles.

I first considered sketching my seductive love handles in a mirror and I even started, but in fear of having my grotesque image become viral on internet, I thought the better of it. So I stuck to an ordinary door handle. On the stable door. Our 2 year old filly loves this handle and discovered that it is a great scratching tool for her nozzle and head and everything which can reach so far. She also discovered that she can open it. She fits her nose right under the latch and with a quick swift she lifts and pushes at the same time, making the door swing backwards. And then of course she just casually steps out as if this is normal everyday routine and hits the road. Fortunately the door has swollen now from all the rain and gets stuck at the bottom. She couldn’t yet figure that one out. To her utter dismay, I might add.

..Dumêla and the stable door handle..

watercolour and nib pen and J. Herbin inks in Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook, 22.9×15.2 cm

Dumela and the stable door handle

à demain avec “something with an interesting label”.

Ronelle

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EDM art 6: Bristles

Some time during my school years I read a book on Frans Laarmans, an office clerk who decided to quit his job and start his own company. Full of optimism he started planning; his office equipment, all the tools he needed such as printing paper, letter heads, pens, everything he thought a successful busniness should have in his office. He was so frantically busy setting up all that office, that he never got around to what is really important, his business. This book made such an impression on me. So when I walk into an art store, picking up another watercolour brush or oil brush, or pen, I stop and ask myself…do I need it? Will it really turn me into the legendary artist of the 21st century?  Well, you all know THAT answer, because we are all at some time or another a Frans Laarmans, acquiring  one art tool after the other.In the end it comes down not to the amount of bristles you have, but to doing what needs to be done. But maybe…just maybe that Kolinksy brush in the art store will make my art soar…

..bristles on an art table..

watercolour and dip pen with ink in Daler rowney skatchbook, 21X29.7 cm

bristles-brushesà demain

Ronelle