We have two Comtois cart horses. They are magnificent animals with their honey coloured skin and long flowing blonde manes.

We have two Comtois cart horses. They are magnificent animals with their honey coloured skin and long flowing blonde manes.
I still feel unsafe and weird to venture off in public, so most of my sketching is done at home. These two sketches are of our house and the old bread oven which is now being used as a garden shed.
Four a pain(old bread oven), watercolour in Stillman and birn sketchbook
Our house, watercolour in Stillman and birn sketchbook
I have been in a deep and long rut art wise, struggling to find my mojo. I started slowly back with some fruit sketches and today I took on a street in Bealieu. I am still far too tight and high strung in my brush strokes but at least I completed the sketch. I think I can start thinking about finding my form again.
Four flat peaches, watercolour in Stillman and birn sketchbook
Street in Beaulieu, watercolour in Stillman and Birn sketchbook
I have decided to join Inktober this year. A whole month of using mainly ink. I haven’t sketched in such a long time and I can feel the stiffness of my arm, the laziness in my observation and even my artistic interpretation is rusty. So this Inktober will be a good challenge to get back into the groove.
Inktober 1: Ring. “Keyrings” Lamy fountain pen and watercolor in stillman and birn sketchbook.
Inktober 2: Mindless. “Skull”. Pigment liner and wash in Stillman and birn sketchbook.
Inktober 3: Bait. “Rouget barbet”. Lamy fountain pen and watercolor in Stillman and birn sketchbook.
Some subject are painted again and again and they never look the same, like sunflowers. I have done sunflowers in 2007, then in 2010, 2011, 2014 and now again. they are just wondeful to paint/sketch…the colour alone gives me huge kick when slapping it onto the paper. Sometimes my painting/sketching didn’t work, but I enjoyed painting sunflowers every time. So, before the season runs out, I need to get some sunflowers done in oil…looking forward to that.
Sunflower 1: Watercolour and pen, watercolour block, 30x30cm
Sunflower 2: Watercolour and pen, watercolour block, 3030cm
à bientôt
Ronell
The agapanthus in my garden are blooming profusely and beautiful in their blues ad whites. To my amazement I realized yesterday i haven’t painted any agapanthus yet. I gave it three attempts. The first attempt is probably still the best , even though it is not what I am after. Most of the time that I try two or more attempts of the same subject, I find that the first attempt is the best.I have experienced it so many times. I think it is probably an instinctive reaction to what you see for the first time in front of you..in order to capture that is…and as we all know… first, spontaneous reactions are always instinctive.
Agapanthus 1: Not great composition, but the first attempt and probably the best of three.
Agapanthus 2: The values way too dark and the overall effect too messy.
Agapanthus 3: Third attempt and I think it turned out the second best of the three efforts. I quite like the lightness of the blooms, but the overall effect is a bit stiff.
Until next time
Ronell