Inspired by the shape of a paper weight, today is my take on Valentine’s day….
Author Agnès McLaughlin
The cockerel : French symbol
Ok, everybody knows this is the Chinese year of the rooster but it is also the French national symbol…why ? Here is a bit of history :
THE FRENCH ROOSTER
In the Middle Ages, the Gallic Rooster was widely used as a religious symbol, the sign of hope and faith. It was during the Renaissance that the rooster began to be associated with the emerging French nation. Under the Valois and the Bourbon kings, the royal effigy was often accompanied by this animal, meant to stand for France, in engravings and on coins.
Although still a minor emblem, the rooster could be found at both the Louvre and Versailles.
Although still a minor emblem, the rooster could be found at both the Louvre and Versailles.
Back at the English Book Centre in Valbonne
After an Autumn break, I am back with fresh new original paintings at the English Book Centre in Valbonne village. The paintings feature the shop and its beloved mascot Maggie the dog as well as Valbonne and its surroundings.
Scarecrows
I was walking up the street of a Hampshire town early Autumn last year, when I saw these lovely scarecrows for sale just outside of a shop pavement. Not only did they look very cute and not at all scary ….but also not too expensive ! Would they frighten birds away in a field… that is another story. Anyway, I took several pictures of them and decided they would make a perfect subject for a painting.
7 day challenge #WorldWatercolorGroup Day 7
This is my last day for the 7 day challenge with the WorldWaterColorGroup. I set out at the beginning to do a portrait every day inspired by cutouts from magazines or newspapers with one exception : today. This final one is a painting I did last year. As I was finishing this portrait it reminded me of the famous painting “Aristide Bruant” by Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, obviously just the scarf and the hat were the link…
I found this experience of daily painting very uplifting. I limited the size of each portrait by using my sketchbook with a maximum spread when both pages used of 26cm(10″)by 21cm(8″). Because of the relatively small size of each painting, it was feasible to sketch daily time wise. I enjoyed all the feedback and felt really part of a great community of artists family and friends. Big thank you to everyone for you support !
7 day challenge #WorldWatercolorGroup day 6
Another actor from the past : the very much loved Ronnie Barker. I just could not resist his funny stare… I used a 2B pencil and watercolour and played with the 7 day challenge sign integrating it into the painting.
7 day challenge #WorldWatercolorGroup day 5
I found a black and white picture of the actress Carol Bouquet. I particularly liked her posture and the light shining onto her face. I really enjoy this challenge as it makes me paint everyday. I feel very much motivated because of the daily deadline on Facebook. It is challenging though because when I start painting I am never sure of the result…
7 day challenge #WorldWatercolorGroup Day 4
Today I chose to paint the extraordinary British actor Sir John Hurt who died last week.
Not only he was a remarkable actor but I thought an amazing portrait subject to paint. I did this sketch very loose with pencil and watercolour in my moleskine sketchbook.
7 day challenge #WorldWatercolorGroup Day 3
I simply used today a 2B pencil and watercolour. I noticed that doing a wash on this Moleskine sketchbook, the paint stays longer on the surface compared to the cold pressed 300gr Arches watercolour paper for instance.The advantage is it leaves more time to move the paint around, a bit like on a cold pressed paper. The drawback is the paint once dried is more difficult to lift… I liked the imposing hat for this portrait !
7 day challenge WorldWatercolorGroup day2
Today I have decided to use a pentel brush pen to give a different feel to the sketch and paint bright colours. I really like to use black and white photos as they give you tonal values as well as more scope for your imagination.
Hobby Sketcher 