watercolour – Page 31 – Africantapestry

Posted on July 30, 2008July 30, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen · 21 Comments

Hydrangeas and awards

The hydrangeas in my garden are supposed to be blue, but the soil doesn’t play along. They start out with tints of blue and then turn a dark, bright pink, almost red. It makes for a very pinkish/reddish painting, but at least I had fun doing it.

This was done with watercolour on Fabriano artistico, HP extra white, 23×30,5 cm.

…hydrangeas, red and blue…

I also want to thank Mark from Paper Raven Art, Pamyla from Musings and Maggie from Scquiltaddict, for this award. I really appreciate it.

Like everybody else, I also would like to pass it on to so many people and since I feel I can’t stop at five names, I decided that I would this time like to pass it on to Cathy G at Asketchintime, who does beautiful art, experiments with all kinds of media, who often tries new directions, new techiniques, new approaches. She is an inspiration as well as a supportive friend. No obligations Cathy!

Posted on July 21, 2008September 4, 2011 by Myfrenchkitchen · 23 Comments

A french market scene.

Everydbody in our exchange group had already seen this scene posted on our FPP blog, and I just wanted to add it here too. It was my contribution in Vivien’s book a while back. She ended her drawing with a lovely, soft, perfectly drawn feather and I picked up the feather cue from her. See Lindsay‘s creative continuation from here, posted on FPP by Robyn, and unfortunately you’ll have to wait a while to see how Robyn continued…but pop in at our FPP blog – the books are getting LONG and EXCITING and VERY creative.

I have seen all of us getting looser and looser, more original, more creative, more daring, trying new materials and mediums, playing with collages, pasting and glueing, going for beautiful realisms to beautiful abstracts, pushing and challenging ourselves.

A sketchbook exchange is a wonderful way to move a bit away from what we do normally in our art, “our signature work” so to speak and try out something different, still putting our own “signature” on whatever we do…pushing the envelope. I think that when this sketchbook exchange project is done, we’ll all look back, and discover that apart from the fun we’ve had, we will have learnt new ways, techniques and creative playing-around , grown in directions we wouldn’t otherwise have discovered…I know I will.

…a french market scene…

Posted on July 12, 2008July 12, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen · 12 Comments

Sketches of quartier Blanqui in Tours.

I went into Tours today with a very low level of energy, trying to snap out of it. I succeeded in getting four sketches done, albeit a bit crooked. Even made a mistake in the spelling of “boutique”, didn’t really finish sketching rue avisseau and abandonned the lovely old church halfway…next time.

Blanqui is a tiny quartier, very quant, with only a boulangerie and poissonerie, a small family restaurant, a bar for café et journal, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a market and old houses, which are mostly now appartements.

…la boutique de mon pére..

…rue blanqui, 34 et 32…

…rue avisseau…

…la mére et l’enfant…

All sketches done in sketchbook with pencil, pen and watercolour.

Posted on July 9, 2008July 9, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen · 7 Comments

Glen’s flowerbook at Ronell

You can see more of Glen’s book, which is all about flowers, at Flying Pictures Project. I have just added my paper and splatters, thus completing the 3’rd contribution and it is now going off to Lindsay.

…glen’s flowerbook…

Posted on June 26, 2008June 26, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen · 14 Comments

Sketchbook exchange sketches

Now that our Flying Pictures Project is a little further down the road and everybody involved had already seen my first sketches posted on our blog FPP, AND since I don’t have much in the form of sketches to post here, AND I haven’t been around much, I thought it good to post my first sketches that were sent off in May. With my theme being “rainbow moments”, I took the first subjects that came into my view that gave me joy and this is what shaped the first two and half pages in my book that went off to Lindsay, and has just landed at Robyn. So, four more stops, before it arrives back home.

Edited: To see Lindsay’s beautiful addition in oil pastel, see our Flying Pictures Project .

All sketches done in our handmade concertina sketchbooks with rotring pen, pencil and watercolour.

Posted on June 25, 2008June 25, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen · 13 Comments

Sketches from Dordogne and Perigord, France

We just came back from visiting the Dordogne area in France. The first sketch was done in Brantôme, while we were lunching on a baguette and saucisson among the ducks next to La Dronne.

…lunch with the ducks…

There are many “pigeonniers”, circular or square in the Périgord and Quercy. Before 1798 it would be only the owners of plenty of land, who were fortunate enough to own pigeonniers…used for fertilizer. They were elegantly attached to houses or were loose standing and elevated to prevent humidity.