A few sketches that never got posted.
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Day 492 – what a day
We are leaving without our last day in Paris and our tour of Versailles and the Orsay museum due to maniacs threatening to destroy the worlds most beautiful city and its victims.
Palace at St Germaine en Laye
Instead we stayed in Conflans, took a tour of Conflans and St Germaine en Laye then spent the evening packing like crazy people for our 4:45 am bag pickup and our 6:30 am departure. Suitcases will be thoroughly searched at the De Gaulle and we are glad but it means the check out starts earlier. 😜
Les Bateaux the retirement community in Conflans and then cathedral.
Parisians retire here in riverboats because it’s so inexpensive in Conflans compared to Paris. It’s a sweet little town on the rivers he center of the famous Seine boatmen.
Thanks for reading.
Nite.
Margaret xxx who will post the sketch again soon.
Day 491 – Les Andelys
An adorable small village on the Seine below Chateau Gaillard, Richard the Lionhearted’s twelfth century stronghold that dominated the river valley. The chateau was completed in two years instead of the normal ten years a castle like this usually took. He did not allow the peasants and workers to build the village of Les Andelys til the chateau was finished.
This is a sketch up the hill from downtown. The castle just dominates the village which is just adorable, full of half timber buildings and cute shops. I think I could live here no problem.
Only going to share a few photos because this wifi continues to be intermittent.
So picturesque. Only a few streets wide.
The cathedral one of the earliest pre gothic churches built between 1150 and 1210.
The chateau from another angle as we passed it on the boat.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Day 490 – Bayeux Tapestry
I drew this as the bus whisked us to see the Bayeux Tapestry. The scenery is so gorgeous. Looks nothing like America. Charming buildings abound. And Lombardy poplars everywhere.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a most amazing sight. 72 meters long. About 78 yards maybe 30 inches wide. At some point someone wrote numbers for each scene on the top edge with what looks like a magic marker. Really. Not quite as long as a football field. You have to wonder how long it took to stitch it together.
Supposedly it was made in England by monks under the leadership of Bishop Odo who was William the Conqueror’s half brother not by Williams wife Matilda in front of her fire. The stitching, a laid stitch, is an English stitch and not French or Flemish.
Arromanche where we had lunch at 6 Juin Cafe- best meal since La Bouef sur la Toit. Amazing food.
Sorry I can’t post pics because photos were not allowed. It is over 1000 years old after all. Bayeux itself is well worth your time too. Incredibly gorgeous and charming Norman town with many old buildings and an impressive cathedral of course.
Day 489 – Rouen
Walking tour of Rouen today. Fabulous town. So walkable. So charming.
After our two hour tour I spent the afternoon eating at the cafe and sketching. Oh and shopping.
Rouen Market square – The restaurant La Couronne where Julia Child discovered French cooking and the filet of sole meunière.
Over the main door at Notre Dame. The lower part was blocked by the Christmas market which is soon to open.
Rouen Cathedral- Notre-Dame Cathedrale-that Monet painted 28 times.
And here they are.
I stood in the middle of Rue de Gros Horlage sketching the Cathedral. Not the greatest. Done in ten minutes or less. But at least I could imagine that I was with Monet.
The Parliament of Normandy, Palais de Justise the largest civil Gothic edifice in France constructed at end of the Middle Ages. The Court House is gorgeous in the morning light.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret who wishes she could post more photos xxx
Day 488 Wifi problems
Sketching from the boat. More in a minute.
No idea of my posts are making it. But I am trying. So we are now arriving at Vernon after spending the morning in Auvers sur Oise. Lovely little town. You might have heard of it. Van Goghs last town where he died?!
Begins the inn Van Gogh died at. The houses and lane are still there.
The wheat field he painted with the crows is still there. It’s also where he was shot or he shot himself depending on who you believe.
Back on the boat heading to Vernon I discovered that I could draw buildings I like and did them to the sketch making my own towns. The houses are real but maybe not next to each other. Trees are real but not where they were necessarily because we might move down the river before I got done drawing the house and it’s foliage.
The first house at the locks at Mericourt. Those trees were not next to it. Oops. We moved. I wanted to finish the sketch.
Then I tried a one page sketch of the river hillside. Fun drawing but no these houses are not exactly like this in Rolleboise. What a great name, non?!
And the first double page
Day 486 – Off to the Boat
Hmm does not want to go. So strange Sorry for the bad post. I had a nice long one and the network on the boat is crap.
Day 483 – Bill Karp or
Paris. You know we are out with our Paris museum/monument pass riding the metro drawing the city so I offer you a few watercolors of Bill Karp at Best of Augusta painted from my small whiskey painters palette.
These are painted with four colors from the whiskey painters palette. Can u guess which ones?! 
ultramarine blue burnt umber for his clothes
Quin coral and yellow ochre. That’s it.
Thanks for reading. I will be drinking some champagne for you!
Margaret in Parisxxx
Day 480 – one day till
Lift off. My suitcase is packed and I have plenty of room for art supplies. When I went to key west I actually needed more sketchbooks. Not this time!!
So why am I taking to sketch with?!! I know u r dying to know!!!
My two small palettes. Been painting with them and they really have all the colors you need. The whiskey painters palette has all the basic Winsor Newton colors plus Daniel Smith Quin coral which I love for skin tones and two ceruleans because I use it A lot!!
The cotman is full of quinacridones and a couple of paints that should be in the Whiskey painters palette the yellow and Thalo blue.
Paint brushes. Taking the good ones since I have room and just in case. Most of them are Isabey sables including the mops but the big sable is my cheap Joes legend which I love. Curious to see how much the Isabeys cost in France the land of their birth. They are made in Brittany and are Charles Reid’s favorite brush. I wouldn’t mind another one or two.
Back up colors in case I run they the ones in the palettes.
Pens loaded mostly with Platinum Carbon Black. Top to bottom Kuretake Brush Pen, Black pitt pen Fine, pentrl brush pen, sepia pitt pen Fine, two Noodler Konrads (one has Deartementis document brown ink in it) Platinum Carbon pen, and two of my favorite pens the Noodler Creaper ahab.
I am taking these with me in case I want to paint as I sketch. I usually paint when I get home because I hate to make my sister Jan wait while I paint. Bad enough that she waits while I sketch.
Lots of ink and cartridges.
Lots of paper. The two hand made sketchbooks have Cheap Joes Kilimanjaro, 3 strathmore mixed media sketchbooks(my current fav) a tablet of Fabriano squarely 149# cold press, some Canson post cards and some Strathmore 500 watercolor cards oh and a stack of accordion folded Stonehenge paper to draw strings of people and maybe a chicken or two on?!
Thanks for reading.
Margaret who is taking clothes I her suitcase and backpack too!!
Day 478 – finishing up
WIP??? Mermaid Lorelei and Mermaid McKenzie 11×14 super Aquabee tablet
Not sure these are done but at least they have some color now. Getting into travel mode so I used my travel Palette with Winsor Newton colors and my cotman palette with quinacridones.
The background in this painting is cerulean and yellow ochre. I may darken with ultramarine or inathradone to make the mermaids pop.
Remember this is what it looked like?
WIP – Mistress Princess Augusta – 11×14 drawn when I was done with one of the long mermaid poses. Her right arm still has problems. She was not posed so she was moving a lot and I drew her right arm too long. I shortened it with negative painting but now I think it is a smidge too narrow.
TIP: Really love her skirt. Both of these paintings were done wet on wet after watching a how to impressionistic watercolor video on Marcon Chews website http://www.marvinchew.com/ (You will have to scroll down for the video. Could not copy the exact irk for u! 😐) about wet on wet painting.The skirt turned out especially well I think. Done with ultramarine and burnt umber added to a wash of water that I painted on the skirt first. The background was done the same way.
I added the bowler hat to the original sketch.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 