Day 580-One Last Chateau Gaillard

February 2, 2016January 31, 2016Leave a comment

I sat on the corner in Les Andelys watching my cruising companions hiking up the hill from which “many don’t return” according to my new friend Gus’ husband Bob. Gus and Bob have done the Paris to Normandy cruise several times annually.

This painting was done wet on wet and is one of my favorite paintings to date. I felt like I was finally getting Charles Reid!!

Since hill hikes make my asthma go crazy I elected to draw while they hiked. Les Andelys is just a charming tiny village. A cute row of shops. A church dating to 1200! Half timber buildings.

What’s not to love?! And Richard the Lionhearted walked these streets. Fascinating to me with our young American history.

Once again same colors.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 578 – Chateau Gaillard

January 31, 2016February 5, 2016Leave a comment

I drew Chateau Gaillard several times while we were in Les Andelys. It sits high above the Seine Valley dominating the river and the quintessential French village at its base.

Richard the Lionhearted built it to control access to Normandy via the Seine around 1180-1200. No housing could be built until the Chateau aka castle was finished in a record ten years. Imagine a French winter in what tents?! Or sleeping outside for ten years?!

The second son of Henry II of England spent most of his life in Normandy even when he became king of England.

Legendary characters in Bristish history surround King Richard from his parents Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitane to Robin Hood who came to his aide.

The machinations of Richards younger brother, Eleanor’s favorite son -the notorious King John Lackland, and the infamous Sheriff of Nottingham who had the Germans kidnap and held him for ransom on his return from the crusades in the Holy Land are the stuff of many movies.

So there it’s sits wrapped in legend glowing in the French sun begging to be drawn. And I did.

This was drawn sitting in the warm lounge of the Viking Pride. Talk about cushy urban sketching!! Does not get any better!! Comfy chair, feet up, huge glass windows with incredible views and a glass of wine! What more could you ask for??!

Colors used – DS Green apatite, dioxzine purple, Quin gold Quin red orange. The castle is Winsor yellow and cerulean with raw umber and yellow ochre.

Read more about the Chateau at http://lesandelys.com/chateau-gaillard/

Thanks for reading.

Margaret off to enjoy this gorgeous 70 day.

Xxx

Day 576 – How many Gargoyles?!

January 29, 2016January 30, 2016Leave a comment

At St Mclou Rouen. St McClou is not a very tall cathedral so the gargoyles are close enough to the ground so that you can see them.

Drawn from a bench in front of the Cathedral. If you look closely in this picture you will see the gargoyles sticking out of the cathedral.

They also bristle from the left side and climb down the peaks. Eek! Fancy drain spouts.

Colors used Cobalt cerulean and burnt umber. Drawn with a Kuretake brush pen.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 574 Place de la Concorde

January 27, 2016Leave a comment

The perfect ending to a gorgeous fall day exploring Paris, the Louvre and the Orangerie. Sitting with my feet propped on a bench overlooking the place de la Concorde Parisians swirling around us walking dogs and enjoying the late afternoon sun I had to draw the scene in front of me.

The tall ornate fantastical gold leafed street lights all by themselves were amazing. Nothing like that in Georgia or South Carolina. Add in fountains and statues and obelisks, the hustle and bustle of city life. Time to draw!

Madame guillotine who used to reign over the Concorde has been replaced with beautiful fountains statues the obelisk and the fantastic lamppost on the left. The Concorde is so vast that the cars and bus near the fountain were tiny. It’s truly an enormous vast open space near the Louvre.

The obelisk is one that Napoleon brought back from Eygpt on his conquests.

Can you find the Jack Russell in the sketch? Who knew they were all ver Paris. Such an English dog for a Parisian to own. I even met one in Rouen walking his mistress one early morning.

Colors used winsor yellow and Quin gold, Andrews turquoise from cheap joes, Holbein marine blue and the usual suspects. Quin red orange, burnt umber and sienna. Inathrodone, Quin magenta Quin coral Inathrodone Quin magenta.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret off to paint. Xxx

Day 574 Place de la Concorde

January 27, 20162 Comments

The obelisk is one that Napoleon brought back from Eygpt on his conquests.

Can you find the Jack Russell in the sketch? Who knew they were all ver Paris. Such an English dog for a Parisian to own. I even met one in Rouen walking his mistress one early morning.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret off to paint. Xxx

Day 569 – Rolling down the River -Moisson

January 23, 2016Leave a comment

I was really into the sketch out the window by the time we got to Moisson. Or should I say floated by Moisson.

If you go there you won’t see this exact landscape started with the church and kept adding interesting houses as we passed them. The foreground trees were added last.

A fun challenge to see how quickly you could draw the passing buildings.

Odd now that I think about it we didn’t see people in the landscape. Or maybe I was so fascinated with the unique character of the buildings I didn’t notice the people?

The trees lining the riverbank were often a frothy light green and always loaded with mistletoe. As one of our guides said ” We French like to kiss a lot so we leave the mistletoe in the trees.”

Colors used Apatite green and hookers. The apatite green granulates into lovely purples and Browns. Quin gold and red orange in the rusty trees. Winsor yellow to lighten the greens. Greys are burnt sienna and cerulean or Inathrodone. Blacks Inathrodone and burnt umber. Sky water blues cerulean.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret watching the grey muddy Savannah River rush by during another deluge. Xxx

Day 568 – The Seine at Mericourt

January 22, 2016January 22, 2016Leave a comment

There are huge locks at Mericourt to let the boats sail the shallow Seine River. Everybody on the boat was up top to get a good view of our trip thru the locks. Did you knw it’s a good way to get a bath? As you pass under the lock gate it drenches you with the water accumulated as its raised from the river.

Again a compilation of houses. Mostly from Mericourt and Roche Guyon.

There was almost a disaster. There was a big black blob of ink fell on it in the pine grove. Eeeekkkk. I managed to save it by watering the blob down and painting the pines dark. Can you find it??

The locks.

When painting these it’s necessary to use a lot of negative painting and contrasting colors to get the light buildings to show up. They can get lost on the riverbank if you don’t.

TIP: I check values by using my phone camera and turning the painting black and white. You will see if you have lights and darks or if everything is painted in a midtone which is what most people tend to do.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret whose hoping the Savannah doesn’t flood Augusta again with all this rain. Xxx

Day 566 -Quai Grenelle / Radio France

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016Leave a comment

Quai Grenelle / Radio France building as the sun was setting. It does that early in Paris because it sits at such a northern latitude. That said the walk along the quai was bustling with people going for evening walks.
The people were added as they walked across the path at the top of the quai. I really think people bring a landscape or cityscape to life.

This part of Paris had a lot of interesting modern buildings which I would still like to draw. The terrorists interfered with my plan.

This is painted with a bottom coat of Winsor Yellow and bits of Quin gold.

The blue is mostly cobalt blue which is a good transparent color. Harder to get muddy colors if you start out with transparent colors.

Greys are cobalt and burnt sienna or inathradone blue and burnt sienna.

Trees are Quin gold and hookers green and green apatite with Inathrodone blue.

Day 565 – Place de la Concorde

January 19, 2016Leave a comment

Place de la Concorde where Madame Guillotine once reigned and Madame De Farge knitted madly away as royals heads rolled during the French Revolution. The place is enormous. The statues were nearby and the fountain and obelisk a long way off.

This was drawn while I sat on a bench in front of the L’Orangerie in the late afternoon. I think we had walked about 8 miles that day. A LONG day. Good to put my feet up and draw.

I used a lot of Winsor yellow, Inathrodone Blues. The turquoise green on the lights was made with either Holbein Marine blue or Cheap Joes Andrews Turquoise. I can’t remember which. Sorry. I also used a lot of Quin magenta and coral and Quin gold to make it glow.

Once again my brain is fried from too much walking in Hitchcock Woods in Aiken today. Not quite four miles.

Stay warm. Going down to twenty tonite. Brrrrr. Break out those wooly socks!!

Margaret xxx

Day 563 – Auvers sur L’Oise or How to make a Map!

January 16, 2016January 17, 20162 Comments

Auvers is a small French village best known as the town for Vincent Van Gogh spending the last summer of his life here. He also painted 70 paintings in the 90 or so days he was there.

A short bus ride from Paris Auvers is a part of France that has been preserved as a historic area. It can never be changed. No new buildings can be added so it’s like a walk thru Van Gogh’s last days.

Vincent’s room is still there in the Aubeege Ravoux. A tiny room in the attic what the British call a box room.

Auvers Hotel de Ville July 14 1890 (The Town Hall, Bastille Day, the French Independence Day)

You can look out the window and see the Hotel de Ville which of course he painted. It still has the flags across the second floor Windows.

Turn right out of the Auberge and walk up Rue de Sausonne. The lane the stone gate the steps and the house are still there. The only thing that changes are the trees.

Climb the steps and walk down Daubigny to the Eglise Notre Dame de l’Assomption.

Turn left, walk up the hill to the famous wheat field.

Another right front the field will take you to the Cemetary where he is buried with his brother Theo.

A lovely little village. I was just sad I could not draw one sketch while I was there. zip zip zip we ran up and down the hilly river town.

Auvers je reviens!!

Oh before I close. How do I do these. Usually I start with a rough sketch of the route walked penciling in buildings I want to include.

Then I draw it out as I want it to be. I also make a mental list of embellishments for it. People or in this case sunflowers and crows and Van Goghs paintings.