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Summer berries.

My August postcard to Charlene – 1150 words was done on walk around Coin Perdu. At the moment the berries are plentiful and the birds are having a ball.

I chose to do the drawing of berries for Charlene on some papyrus. I love old papers, old scripts, old books, old letters …it has a charm that we don’t find anymore in our contemporary life. The papyrus is definitely not easy to write or draw on and I have a renewed respect for the patience and dedication , not forgetting the love someone puts into a beautiful writing. I’m thinking here of my friend Dana…drop by Ginger parasol to see the beautiful cards she designs and writes!

..watercolor and pen on papyrus…

…envelope…

…some berry sketches of previous posts…

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Sketch of a market day in Beaulieu sur dordogne.

I took today off…apart from making my bed, I decide I am doing nothing else today. In terms of working that is. So I dressed myself pretty, put on some make up, which I haven’t done in ages. A dash of perfume…well OK, that I do every day, even when feeding the horses. But you know what I mean. A day where I ignore all kinds of  “must do” lists and let the day run free. Yes, I know, I’m fortunate to be able to do it.

…market day in Beaulieu sur Dordogne…

pen and watercolor on Fabriano watercolor paper, HP, 18x24cm

So I took off to Beaulieu, not to open my gallery, on the contrary, I hung a notice…”gone painting” on the door. which is of course not the truth. I had many coffees, chatted with friend and foe, shopped at the market, ate a delicious “flamiche au saumon”, I paged through the cote Sud and cote Est and Cote Ouest, found inspiration and new ideas, and yes. I caught a sketch. Of the market. While sipping my third coffee.

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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…

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More paintings from Provence.

Our first outing was to this lovely spot and we planned on all doing gouache. Except for me – I had a real bad hair day and nothing worked that day…Robyn gave me such encouragement and comfort that day…she’s very special. The gouache you see here, was done here in Correze from the little watercolor I did on the spot. It isn’t quite what would normally make me jump in the air from joy, but seeing that it came from an already hesitant little watercolor, I think I  will now yield and validate it as OK.

…vineyard and cherry orchard…

gouache on paper.

 

…the original watercolor sketch, vineyards and cherry orchard..

…pen and watercolor in sketchbook…

Our first outing all three together and we painted the same spot.  Sarah hadn’t arrived yet, so you can see mine and Robyn’s at the bottom with Katherine’s to the right.(mine in watercolor and the other two in gouache…see them on ‘Four go painting in Provence.‘)

Sarah’s painting of the same spot a few days later is on her post Farm and cherry orchard afternoon.

This was very early…6:30 in the morning. Sunrise. But it actually works more as a sunset painting!

…sunrise, sunset…

watercolor on Fabriano watercolor paper

So I tried again here in my gallery to get a more early morning feel, which wasn’t a success either. But I learned in this process and that is important. I learned a LOT on this very short trip…maybe I will share it later…

...sunrise…

watercolor on Fabriano watercolor paper

And to finish off…a sketch of a terrace in the little village Bédoin, while having a diabolo cassis at the  café opposite.

…a terrace in Bédoin…

pencil and watercolor  in sketchbook

To follow: Oil and gouache studies.

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Sketching the one and only road through Puy d’Arnac

With only one narrow road passing through it, Puy d’Arnac is our tiny village where mostly old people still reside.  They themselves don’t think it is that pretty, but I suppose living in a place for years and years result in one not seeing the beauty any more. Then someone new comes along and through those new eyes they can recognize all that is beautiful again.

…the only road through Puy d’Arnac..

early afternoon

done in watercolor, pencil and pen on Arches watercolor pad HP, 18x26cm

When sitting here and sketching, a gentle old lady walked towards me with her walking cane.  She couldn’t imagine how I could find this little village quaint enough to paint and how I can find the old people living here beautiful. (A project I’ll share later). I showed her the second drawing, done the afternoon before…and she exclaimed how beautiful my painting was! I told her it is her “ugly” little village she sees on the paper. Then we started talking about beauty and age. My opinion had always been that age has a beauty far removed from the beauty of this world. To me it lies in the quietude of a life time’s experiences, a life lived by the forces of  nature. When we’re at the age this old lady is, we’re not of this world any more, but we enter that world of fragility and tenderness, knowledge, a world of acceptance and admission and smiling  wisdom. How can that not be beautiful? She smiled that fragile smile, which I hoped she would see that evening in her mirror, and when she finally walked away, I think I saw her walk just that little bit more up straight…

…the only road through Puy d’Arnac 2…

late afternoon

done in watercolor, pencil and pen on Arches watercolor pad HP, 18x26cm

…the only road through Puy d”Arnac 3…

midday

done in gouche, pen and pencil on brown paper, 26x26cm

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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.