Two sketches from today…Two scenes for plein air oil paintings.
In “green hills” I didn’t do well on the dark shadowing under the trees…far too warm and not receding – because I once again didn’t stop when enough is enough and continued fiddling! Just hope I’ll do better in the uocoming oil painting!
…green hills..
…old breadoven…
both sketches in pen and watercolor in watercolor sketchbook, 19x20cm (7,5 “x7,9”)
…until next time…
Ronelle
I had a few things to do in Beaulieu centre ville and after walking up and down in the sun and heat, I sat down at Les Voyageurs for a coffee and cool glass of water and made a quick sketch of the center of town. I will probably sketch much better if I sketch slower and pay more attention, but I can’t sketch slow. I get bored too quick and want to move on. So my sketches will always be quirky. But now I am off for my painting “sur le motif“, as plein air painting is called here in France.
I used pencil, after fumbling through my whole bag for a pen and only found pencil after pencil. I prefer doing architectural sketches with pen.
…Beaulieu Centre ville…
Sketch done in pencil and wash in watercolor sketchbook, 25×15,3cm.
W are living a whole saga of chickens, running for a few months now, but that is a story for some other day. For now, here are Tartelette and Omelette, the latest addition to the chicken chronicles. They are two Bantam de Pèkin, porcelain chickens, and SOOO cute! Now being fully adapted and taken ino the Van Wyk household, they reign alongside the cats. In our home, the humans take second spot in the limelight. Here they are just lazing in the barn by my feet. It was raining outside. They don’t like to get wet. And the barn is comfortable.
Th cows roaming the hills have a beauty all of their own. With their velvety brown eyes and long lashes, they love attention and eagerly respond to “vient, vient!” hoping for a delicacy, which is quite often the case…a branch of poplars held out to them, or soft green grass.
The bottom sketch is done on a different day, in a different sketchbook where the paper has more texture. Some of the cows look rather like dogs…or bulls…or even rabbits? Let’s just say I’m out of practice(sic)…
All sketches done with rotring pen and watercolor in CP watercolour sketchbooks(400g/m²), 26x18cm and 25×15.3cm.
until next time..!
Ronelle.
In spring the wildflowers are just beautiful. At Coin Perdu, the hills are covered yellow Pissenlits, ( dandelions). On my sketchercise walk, I normally only take a pen or pencil, but since this was a long but leisurely walk, I took my watercolour paints as well. Put on my straw hat, walking boots and wandered into the hills, losing myself in the sun and flora.
All sketches done in my Coin Perdu garden journal with pencil and watercolor.
…buttercup and dock…
…dandelions…
…our wine crate table top which greeted my on my return…
…the latest addition to our family…Petronella and Stephanie…
I’ve started my garden at Coin Perdu. We are still working on the house, so I am limited to where I can garden for the moment. A rock garden close by the barn we’re living in for the moment works good. It also serves as a little lay in garden where plants can with for their permanent place in the garden. It was hard work, since it is a little grass covered hill that I had to dig out, remove the grass, lay down big bolders, fill with rocks, treat the soil, add compost and all necessary, leave it to settle and then plant some plants. It still needs work, but for now it is filled with plants loving sun and rocky corners and it has steps that lead up to a little corner on the hill where a bench waits patiently for someone to sit and admire my handiwork…? It is adjacent to the old pigsty, that will soon become my laundry room and the bench will be a welcome repose from all the washing that needs attention on a farm!
The top sketch is of bags with compost and soil and stuff(I don’ t have my own yet!) and some plants from the pepinier(I don’t have my own hothouse yet!). the second sketch is the rock garden, just competed this morning.
Having the youngest daughter finishing her studies in Caen.., had us renting a truck and taking off in the directionof Caen to empty her apartement and bring it back home. Another chapter finished. She starts in Paris next week for a long “stage” and then we’ll take on another chapter, who knows where. Always an exciting life when you have kids – it never stops!
Sketch in rotring pen and watercolour in watercolor sketchbook, 15.3x25cm.
When all was packed and we waited for the estate agent to come over for the “etat de lieu” – checking that we didn’t steal the ceiling or the shower etc…I sat on the windowsill of an empty apartment and scribbled a sketch of the building opposite her window, as well as the pigeons of Rue St Martin, trying their best to hide from the pouring rain and the cold. Not much in terms of great sketching, but at least some pen to paper!
sketch in pencil in wartercolor sketchbook, 15,3x25cm.
Africantapestry 