watercolour – Page 27 – Africantapestry

Posted on August 27, 2009August 27, 2009 by Myfrenchkitchen · 10 Comments

Walk and sketch 1

With a little bit of time on my hands I put on my heavy hiking boots..urgh.. and took off for a walk. All the flowers on shrubs have made room for berries of all colours. Since I am in the process of noting all the fauna and flora in this area, I dragged along my sketching palette, which is boringly still the same as you’ll see in this link, except that my sketchbook might be the small moleskine or the normal one…watercolour of course. I like the paper of the watercolour moleskine.

Tokala and Aiyani tailed along, until they realized to their horror that we were going further than normal. That had them plonk down under the apple tree, all the while complaining about my imbecility. On my promise to give them joghurt back home, they sulkily agreed to wait under the apple tree. I kept my promise.

…prunellier and aubepine…

…bramble, stinging nettle and dock leaves…

All sketches done in rotring pen and watercolour in watercolour moleskine.

Posted on August 11, 2009August 11, 2009 by Myfrenchkitchen · 18 Comments

Sketching some things..

Maree passed the Kreative blogger award on this way a few weeks ago…THANKS! – and now I have to tell seven things about myself. I don’t have seven interesting things to tell, but I can name hundreds of things that I love that give me joy in this lifetime. So I’ll name a few of them.

Apart from loving my family, I adore my cats, Tokala and Ayiani. They are highly intelligent, as you’ll see from the sketch, and they teach me how to be humble and considerate andhow to respect others’ time and place. I know they see me as a very intelligent creature and recognise my superiority to them. They laugh at all my funny talk and come immediately when I call. I never feel like a fool around them. They hasten to fulfill my every will. I am royalty in their presence.

I adore being a plein air painter. I never really loved landscapes, until I went out and did my first one, which was a complete blooper by the way. But the process of plein air means much more to me than the result. Sic. Of course I’m lying! I love an awesome result! I don’t want to do it just for fun. I want to be extraordinary! I want to be gooood! That is why I go out there again and again. In search of that high that comes with the process . In search of the experience. In search of that complete knock-out that will one day come with a stunning result…hopefully.

I love my bicycle. I look quaint and adorable. My backside rests small and dainty on the saddle. I don’t wobble and I don’t bobble. The uphills are SOO easy and the downhills have people fleeing from me. It says that I am in command. I feel powerful. When I was 5 years old, I ran away from home with my bicycle and a clean cotton panty in my little suitcase. I decided the corner of my street was far enough away from home. Not much has changed. I still wear cotton and my bicycle still takes me away from home. To every corner I choose.

In my next lifetime I am going to be a professional photographer. They make a lot of money and never have to work. They never go hungry. And they are always well dressed. They always travel in style and see the world. And it is all fun. For that they get money again. And they look professional with all their equipment. Everybody has respect for someone who carries a lot of stuff. They immediately think that person must be good. I want to be goood. And it counts in my favour that I’m trigger happy. So I will be a photographer. After all, I’m not scared of animals. Or people. Sic.

I can name many more…Africa holds my roots, France holds my heart…travelling to far-off places was invented for me…listening to other people’s stories of their lives enriches me…nature gives me space to breathe…our mountain home sets me free…

Let’s stop here. Life is too short to only name the things we love. Let’s go do it.

I am passing this award on to:

Cathy at Cards and stuff– she is a lovely french Madame, now living in South Africa and does extraordianary African art and just had an exhibition a hwhile ago of stunning African portraits!

Cecily at Butterflyhands – she is a good friend of many many years and her blog is fairly new, but I know her talent and skills from way back and I have always admired it.

Posted on July 6, 2009July 7, 2009 by Myfrenchkitchen · 11 Comments

Lingering-in-the-summer sun-sketches

I find that I am always doing nothing most of the time or everything at the same time. When this happens, I feel that at no time am I doing a good job in anything that I do and always need more time. Every time , I wish I could decide on doing only one thing at a time. Maybe that way, I at least could do something right, some of the time.

…intended to be vintage Citroen…

I am in a phase where I am now doing everything at the same time: I am putting up a post here on Africantapestry, I have also updated Myfrenchkitchen, which means I have done some real cooking and kitchen fiddling for a change, Nothing extraordinary, BUT it is cool and healthy!

I have played around with my camera too and updated Coin Perdu, a mountain home, where we drift in and out of nature and restoration in Corréze.

Not forgetting my plein air painting of hay stacks and bales and tractors…and sketching under the bistro umbrellas of people lingering around in the sun …and a cute little vintage Citroen posing. Just for me.

Some of the sketches worked, some turned out completely distorted – the Citroen is unrecognizable and the people in the second sketch resemble figures from Lord of the rings. But…Fun nonetheless.

So. Let’s ride the tide while it is high and do either something, or anything and everything all at the same time!

…lingering sun seekers…

…distorted sun seekers…

All sketches in done in moleskine in pen and wartercolour

Lastly: If you drop by here, please check that you are in my linklist – I have only come to realize how many people I don’t have in my linklist, now that the superblog is down…and of course it wasn’t intentional! So please leave me your link in the comments or in an email ! C’mon, don’t be shy..yye!

Posted on June 27, 2009June 27, 2009 by Myfrenchkitchen · 12 Comments

Waiting and sketching in Beaulieu

We arrived in Puy d’Arnac where we’ll be staying for the rest of the summer and longer. Still struggling with internet connection, we are using a GPRS mobile card, but reception is a nightmare; I can feel myself aging while waiting for downloads. I suppose it only leaves me more time to paint and sketch…and work on the house. Forgive me for not visiting and commenting much, as images and large files are impossible to open without getting thrown off internet. As it is,it took me 2 days to get this post on Africantapestry! We were promised by France telecom to have a fixed line connection by August. It remains to be seen. Life has to be accepted here as it is…nothing gets done today, for tomorrow is another day.

Dancing to the tune, I spent a morning at le marché in Beaulieu, waiting for Hartman who took off with the remorque to load building material. I bought fresh apricots and sweet cherries, du vin, saucisson and crusty baguette, which soon seduced me into nibbling. I sipped a coffee and took out my long-time-not-used-sketchbook. I felt quite productive.

…marché a beaulieu…

sketch in pen and watercolour in moleskine

With still no sign of Hartman and his remorque, I continued with my heavy load…and baguette…and sketchbook…onto la place de l’eglise where a busload of tourists arrived shortly after, pretending to listen to the babbling guide. He, Monsieur le guide, was so bedazzled by his own performance that he continually stepped onto my toes and my half eaten baguette in his effort to be theatrical. I was sitting on the low wall, trying my best to capture the anitiquites opposite the church. We were obviously in each other’s way….I was there first though.

…antiquités…

sketch in pen and watercolour in moleskine

Posted on June 18, 2009June 18, 2009 by Myfrenchkitchen · 15 Comments

Sketching down the road

I was inspired to walk down the road earlier this evening to do some sketching, even if it could be only one.

My inspiration? Miguel from Free(k)hand. He’s been showing his sketchbooks lately and I love them all! The sizes appeal to me too, even though I prefer bigger sketchbooks. Looking at his pocketsize, makes me want to try working smaller in sketching too. It makes for quicker sketching, carries easier, and is more subtle and inobtrusive I think. Now if only I could get my sketches to look like Miguel’s… He is so nifty with his pen. Drop in at Free(k)hand and see his latest posts with his sketchbooks.

I only had time for one sketch down the road…a little chapel attached to an old house. Next time I’ll do the house.

…down the road…

sketch in pen and watercolour, Fabriano watercolour sketchbook, CP, 20x14cm

Posted on April 22, 2009April 27, 2009 by Myfrenchkitchen · 15 Comments

Earth day – respect, care and joy.

Today is earth day. Some garden sketches as my contribution.

All sketches done in moleskine with rotring pen and watercolour.

…tulips…

*Create a garden that is ecologically friendly. Ban pesticides. Plant combinations of plants and herbs and certain weeds for natural pest control. Learn to live with a few weeds and some chewed up leaves. Promote insect life by planting flowers that atttract them – lavenders, feverfews, buddleias, lilas, roses, honeysuckle… Take care of birds with available waterbaths, nesting houses, perches… Keep containers all around the garden to catch the rainwater with which you can water plants. Create a “strong” garden by not over watering your plants, much like you would train a young tree to bend with the wind, thus forcing it to grow strong. Use the water you rince your salads or other foods in the kitchen with, to water your potplants. Plant herbs to use in your cooking, for medicine, for the household. Ban chemicals from the kitchen and visit Gramma for tips on natural household products. There are info and tips all over internet and books galore on how to live as close as ecologically friendly as we can today, without going to extremes and freaking out on “bio”. Just a little effort already helps a lot.