Tag #Provence

Friends and and their 2 dogs at Café des Arcades Valbonne

Agnès McLaughlin 4 Comments

2 dogs café des arcades

This is a commissioned painting as a farewell present for someone ‘s friend leaving Valbonne.

I went to the Cafe des Arcades as an incognito tourist taking pictures of the friend in question while she was having a drink at one of the tables. This friend did not know me so could not have guessed why I was around taking photos. It was such fun and exciting !

The painting will be a total surprise as a gift and will go to Australia!

I hope this sunny scene will trigger  happy memories  of some good time spent with friends in the buzzing village of Valbonne.

In the past year I have done other commissioned paintings one of which went to Singapore. I am so pleased that my watercolours find homes all over the world!

 

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Less is more

Agnès McLaughlin Leave a comment

Caussols

A very loose sketch with just a pen and a very quick wash done during our “coffee outing” in the mountains. You can see that the lines are sometimes not in the right place and of course with a pen you can’t erase these lines. A splash of paint and a fast gesture drawing give a spontaneity that you can’t obtain when you pre-draw with a pencil and erase the lines before inking.

Classic car the MG and its romantic story

Agnès McLaughlin 3 Comments

MG

This MG has a particular personal story for me as I was driven in it to the Town Hall first then to the church in a hilly Provençal village on my wedding day  ! I did a painting of that particular church in my blog last year if you want to get the feeling of the place … At the time, the MG had a warm yellow ochre coat and later, after having been sold  to a member of the family, was transformed with this beautiful British Racing Green colour which makes it even more appealing. I took a picture of it in the sunshine and you can see the reflection of the sun in the changing green tones. I like the effect of watercolour in its shadow still imbued with light.  Doing that painting was a real travel in time for me and reminded me of a very happy event indeed…

The buzz in Valbonne in the early Spring

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café des arcades

The Place Des Arcades in Valbonne Village is buzzing with people having a good time and enjoying the unbroken sunshine. This scene is from the terrace of the Café Des Arcades representing the buzz in the village in an early Spring weekend. You can almost hear the sound of people chatting and enjoying themselves. Not only a sunny spot to sit and have a meal or a drink, this place is a major meeting point for all the Valbonnais and the visiting tourists all year round.

Blue glazed terracota pots

Agnès McLaughlin 2 Comments

blueandwhite-pots

I remain with a still life subject for this post : Today , it is mainly about reflections and texture. I used salt in the wash to obtain the grainy feel of the blue glazed terracotta pot. I was inspired by one of my watercolour books which I keep referring to, for some ideas about techniques and to achieve certain effects. I hope this one is convincing…

Valbonne autumnal light.

Agnès McLaughlin 2 Comments

valbonne-entrance

The trees have lost their leaves and  give a lovely calligraphic quality to a painting. I chose to paint the access to Valbonne village framed in the foreground by winter branches inviting the eyes to follow the entrance to a narrow street. In spite of approaching Xmas, the light is still very strong and and gives a warm feeling to everything it touches.

Featured as a Guest Artist in doodlewash.com #WorldWatercolorGroup

Agnès McLaughlin 1 Comment

 

Hello dear Artists Friends and Kindred Spirits, I have been invited as a guest artist to be featured in the blog DOODLEWASH.com which is part of the global movement created by Charlie O’Shields #WorldWatercolorGroup

Find the article here : https://doodlewash.com/2016/11/11/guest-doodlewash-hobby-sketcher/

It is all about community and connecting artists. There are over 20000 members sharing their passion of watercolour on line. What a great honour and opportunity to be part of such fantastic group you created Charlie…many thanks

A perfect French scene…

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chezchristinejpg

We were having coffee at “chez Christine” in Provence and a friend who joined us said : “look Agnès, wouldn’t that be a perfect scene for your sketches with two symbols of French country life, the 2CV and a cyclist in one go!” “Yes of course” I replied, all is missing is someone appearing with a baguette and wearing a béret !