Summer sunflowers.

Our July here in France was spent under umbrellas. Rain. Morning, noon and night. Not enough to lift the drought but enough to deprive us of of summer. No, I don’t complain. I’m fully aware that if I were in charge, the apocalypse would be immediate.

But there is  still a way to enjoy summer. Of course! Sunflowers!

…envelope…

…front page of card to vivien…

…inside page of card to Vivien…

Paintings from Provence

My week in Provence ended far too soon and it went by far too quick. I managed to do a few, not nearly as much as I planned, because typically Ronell, I forgot half of my art stuff at home. I left my very important oil canvases, boards and large watercolor pads by the door to pack them last and that’s where they still were while I as in Provence. Finding an art store proved to be harder than imagined  and so I ended up borrowing two canvas papers from Katherine…can one borrow a paper/canvas…?

To start off with: all of the following are sketches done around Les Couguieux, where we stayed.

…the blue shutters of les couguieux…

watercolor and pen on watercolor paper

…hameau des couguieux

pen and wash on watercolor paper

…the terrace at les couguieux…

pen and wash on watercolor paper

…still life with cups and lemon…

pen and wash on watercolor paper

To follow: landscapes in watercolor and gouache

 

A garden sketch at coin Perdu.

Is it fair to say in April that it is too hot to work? We have a blistering afternoon here at Coin Perdu and it REALLY is hot in the sun. No complaints from me though. I took a break to do some sketches of the olive trees and a few other nick-nacks waiting to be planted in the garden…on a cooler day!

...gardening at Coin Perdu…

watercolor and pen on Fabriano artistico watercolor block HP, 18x26cm.

Garden sketches from February

February was a busy month and I didsn’t get around to doing much art. I did succeed on doing a garden sketch and a drawing of Tartelette ad Omelette,  on a reasonably nice February afternoon.

I feel happy with the drawing, which was first done as a sketch and then developed further into a drawing. The cloches were done afterwards, rather lazily and not much effort or desire went into this sketch.

…Tartelette et Omelette…

…sanguine and charcoal drawing on paper, 24×20 cm…

..Two garden cloches…

…charcoal sketch on paper, 24x20cm…

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..

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