From my sketchbook : The other day, at the hairdresser’s , while waiting for my hair to be done, I was given a nice cup of tea served in an interesting tea set : The teapot and the mug were catching my attention because of their colourful texture as well as the reflection of the handle in the wooden framed mirror. I took a picture for reference as I did not have my sketchbook with me.
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…
I love the smell of fresh coffee beans being ground in an old coffee grinder like this one which reminds me of my childhood.
The appeal for this subject was to have different textures made with watercolour techniques like stipling for the ground coffee and the effect of old metal with its reflective characteristic.
I did a quick painting of poppies without preliminary drawing just to use the last 20 minutes of a watercolour session… The result is obviously sketchy but was fun to do.
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.
Light and flowers are very much the theme at the moment with the beginning of spring.
I used salt to give a sparkling effect at the top right hand side just to give more shine in the picture. Daffodils are great for their graphic contour and I like the sharpness of their forms.
Last weekend we were in Paris. We went to the Palais Chaillot opposite the Eiffel tower to see an exhibition about Art Nouveau, but when we got there, we were told that the exhibition had been on 3 years ago…Big disappointment…. as on the internet the year of the advertised exhibition was not mentioned ! So as we were there, standing in front of ” la Cité de l’Architecture “, we got in to discover an amazing building with high ceilings and a fantastic view of the Eiffel tower.The figure standing in the foreground is me looking out of the window and admiring the amazing view well worth the trouble of getting to the wrong exhibition ! Plus the reflected light from the windows made an interesting subject for the painting.What you see on the walls and the right hand side are replica of pieces of masonry made of plaster.
A very classical theme done in a modern style . I was inspired by the picture taken of a still life set up at the Hangar art centre (near Grasse) by Pim the art teacher. It was originally destined to be used during a drawing class. I approached it as a set of objects with bright and transparent colours. The light shining through was the real subject for me.
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.
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.
Hobby Sketcher 