Holiday Sketch

Sketch of view from Hamilton Island  Water colour pencils and ink

For my friends 50th birthday I went to Hamilton Island, where she and her husband had hired a lovely house for a group of family and friends, where we had  three days of great food, wine, friendship and divine scenery. Not to mention tropical warmth after our cold southern winter.

During the three days I managed to do one sketch of the lovely view from our balcony.  It shows the lovely azure blue of the tropical sea around the Whitsunday Islands, and the mountainous islands that make up this group.

Hard life of an artist

We had a splendid time and finished the weekend off with a sunset cruise around the island and we saw whales.  Well I was looking the wrong way and missed seeing the whales, but I did see the whale spout, so exciting, I have never been close to whales before.  Apparently the Whitsundays are where hump back whales migrate to and there was even a whale seen  giving birth earlier that day!

Sunset Cruise Whitsundays Islands

Back home now to work again, though the weather has changed to spring and the flowers are out.  I love spring but am always impatient with it.  I can’t wait for the warmer weather to come and to break out of the winter cocoon, I want to kick off the shoes and fling open the windows and not be shut in any more.

I am at a bit of a standstill with my art at the moment, I have finished the portrait and am having trouble with RSI in my wrist so can’t do any more block carving for printing until I sort it out.  Not sure whether to go back to my flowers or I may do some cut paper work.  I have another couple of portraits lined up but have to wait to get some photos to work from.  I keep thinking something quick and simple but they always turn out larger and more complex than I plan.  No problems, as it is a case of spoilt for choice rather than not knowing what to do.

Karen

Looking Down on Sancerre

Sancerre

This is a view from a tower in Sancerre down onto the town and out to the vineyards below and beyond.  Now I have cheated with this painting.  This is from a photo Grace and Tomi took from the tower at Sancerre.  (Thanks Grace for sharing this) I never got to the top of the tower so I am so happy to be able see the view through their eyes.

I love the way that you look down onto the houses and you get to see the shapes of the roofs.  These are not the straight roofs we get at home, but slightly wobbly, higgledy-piggledy roofs, cramped together roofs that have a much more organic feel.  These contrast nicely with the smoother fields beyond and the vault of sky above.

I feel I captured the roofs well and the fields beyond, but somehow I have lost the feel of the town being much higher than the fields below, I will need to ponder what is missing or if anyone could give me a clue I would be grateful.  I sure have pushed my boundaries on perspective work on this trip.

Karen

 

Tootling aroung the French Countryside

French Chateau

While I was in Sancerre we went for a drive on a beautiful sunny day.  We had no plans in the particular just followed the Loire River downstream.  This is what I call tootling, when you just jump in the car and start driving, stopping here and there to soak in the sites and take a few photos.  It is always fun, but so much more so in another country, for their everyday is so different.  It makes you more aware of the simple things around you and the beauty they hold.

We came across this vista on our way home and it was so perfect we had to make yet another stop.  I love the fact it shows the rolling countryside, the little fields, ( we have large paddocks in Australia), the lushness of spring and the unexpected site of this old Chateau.  I couldn’t figure out what the white flowers were in the foreground, I thought they might have been Queen Anne’s Lace but when I got a closer look it turned out to be Angelica.  I never would have thought to see that growing wild, but I am pretty sure that is what it was, it had the glossy leaves.

I painted this picture in the plane, and found that has some unique dangers.  Those of you who have flown more than me would know what I am talking about. The pressure in the plane does funny things to your pens.  My water brushes gushed water everywhere when I first used them as did one of my ink pens.  Luckily no harm done, but it was interesting learning experience.

I am getting over my jetlag and getting back to work, luckily I have still got work on my journal to do, it keeps my holiday alive for a little bit longer.

Karen

Landscape

Here is another of my earlier works.  I painteded it around the same time as the Rosemary work, when I was experimenting with oil pastels.  It is a landscape of where I used to live in Central Victoria near Castlemaine.  It is a small painting about A2.

I enjoy this painting’s simplicity, just three main colours of green, blue and white.  It was painted on a clear autumn morning, when the sharp frosts seem to make the colours (as well as everything else) clear and sharp.