A trip to Provence in 2013, two years later.

I had a very quick, but wonderful trip to Provence with mon chéri a few days ago. He spoiled me with lovely dinners and a lot of patience when I did some sketches. I tried to be as quick as I can with pencil and left the ink lines until the very end so I could change to some neater linework where necessary. In some sketches I went in directly with watercolor and added the pen line work afterwards..maybe you'll be able to notice that?

all sketches done in watercolor block, HP, 18X26cm.

This sketch took me the longest. It was the first one of our trip and I was still very careful in getting it "right". And mon chéri was ever so patient. I then decided, I can't spend all of our very short trip on such long sketching..so then I sped up in the sketching, trying to get down just a little ambiance of the trip.

..Provence 1 ..

 

 

..Provence 2..

 

I am a "corner" person. I love little corners or scenes, or little vignettes. So it is usually a little interesting corner or a large scene that attracts my eye.

..Provence 3..

  

The lavender fields are stunning, stunning, stunning and there is no way I can do justice to them..of course had to attempt a field against a backdrop of this lovely mas. There are so many paintings everywhere to be found in Provence, depicting the lavender fields and the olive groves..sadly, I found them all the same, interpreted in the same manner. It makes me even more reluctant to try and paint it. But of course..like all the other painters, I will paint it!

..Provence 4..

 

I am also fascinated by staircases and uneven walls, foliage growing out of nowhere, of which there is an abundance in the south.

..Provence 5..

 

A corner of the facade of Le mas de la Mateliére where we stayed.

..Provence 6..

 

The rooftops, the streetlamps, the worn walls, the trees blown by the mistral...the charm of La Provence.

..Provence 7..

It seems I always nobly get to Provence on these 'quick' trips. But I have decided this is it. No more "quick" trips when it comes to Provence. My next trip will be nothing shorter than 8 days. I will also plan better in terms of subject matter so as not to be all over the place. Also do real paintings, and not only sketches, so the oils will go along. Provence is filled with huge painting opportunities and so, my goal is to spend my time making full use of the opportunities. 

I cross posted this also on my own blog, Africantapestry and photos of my trip to La Vaucluse will soon be posted on Myfrenchkitchen.

à bientôt

Ronelle!

From sketch to commissioned drawing

One of the nice things which has happened to me since our visit to Provence is that I've been commissioned to convert one of my sketches into a proper drawing.

So what started out as a lovely lunch and afternoon's sketching has now become a drawing despatched as a present to a cyclist in the USA.  He stayed at the hill top hotel in Crillon Le Brave where I had lunch - and climbed Monet Ventoux three times in one day on his bike - hence this view has a special meaning for him!

Mont Ventoux from the Hotel Crillon Le Brave
12" x 16", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I had a great time reliving a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon on 12th June 2011 when I had a wonderful lunch followed by a delightful afternoon of sketching the view of Mont Ventoux from the terrace.  (see Sunday lunch and sketching at Hotel Crillon Le Brave)

If anybody else would like a drawing from one of my sketches you can contact me via my website

A potager in Provence

A potager in Provence, a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
This is Ruth's potager (vegetable garden) at Couguieux with Mont Ventoux in the background. it's a little way from the house and all the water has to be transported by hose and watering can.

This sketch was done in my last full day in Provence. it's not finished - it got too hot to continue where I was sitting. However I like the composition with Mont Ventoux in the background so will probably have another go at creating a drawing of this view.

The good news is that I am typing this while sat at the dining room table. The man from the telephone company came this afternoon and plugged in the new modem and did various testing stuff and pronounced the wifi as working but the connection to Julian's computer to also need replacing. Which means I continue to be limited to posting via Flickr - and one pic at a time. There is a backlog!

I've got the art books and painting stuff packed. Just got the clothes to do but before that I'm going to have a go at finishing the big pastel of Mont Ventoux before packing clothes and concocting a meal from what's left in the fridge.

Last night I had my "treat" meal out at Le Mas des Vignes and the sketch of that will follow in due course.

Late Sunday afternoon

Late Sunday afternoon, a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

I've had my eye on the wisteria round the door to the dining room since the beginning of the holiday. Late Sunday afternoon I rose to the challenge.

I think it was the rather interesting shadows cast by the chair which provided the stimulation to "have a go".

there won't be a post tomorrow morning as I'm taking Sarah to the airport at Marseilles for her flight home. She's done some 50+ paintings since she arrived so will have a lot to post when she gets home. The oils are now packed and she's now switched to watercolours.

Tonight we're going back to Vieux Four at Crillon Le Brave.

Tomorrow I'm planning a Van Gogh side trip to Arles http://www.beyond.fr/villages/arles-provence-france.html - where Van Gogh painted Starry Starry Night - and St Remy de Provence http://www.beyond.fr/villages/st-remy-de-provence-france.html where he painted a number of his more famous paintings. I'm going to look to see whether the Van Gogh trail is stilll there at the sanitorium where I first found it 20 years ago.

Then there was one. I'm looking forward to seeing posts from Robyn and Sarah posting again from their own computers.

PS. Julian and Ruth - I've just picked up the new modem from La Poste so you can start to arrange the works.

A work in progress

A work in progress, a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

I forgot to take a photo of the two sketches I did yesterday so am posting this photo of the work in progress.

It was a very hot day so we had a rather lazy Sunday sketching and painting on the terrace. This one started as a detailed pen and ink sketch which I always find very meditative. This sketch will be called "a quiet place in Provence" and the subject is a wall which changes colour all through the day.

Today we're going to sketch/paint the hilltop town of Gordes - see http://www.beyond.fr/villages/gordes.html

Crillon Le Brave vista

The view from the Terrace, Hotel Crillon Le Brave, a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

This is the view from the terrace of the Hotel Crillon Le Brave. We paid a visit on Thursday for Robyn's "treat" meal out. This was the view from where I sat.

Today Robyn is driving back to her home in Italy.

Sarah is sat next to me in the Hotel Relais de Mont Ventoux - and is up and running with Internet access on her iPad. she's going to see if she can upload images via the photo gene options.

Then we're thinking about going to paint lavender near Sault. However there's a road race we need to avoid - the Optic 2000. I was filling up with diesel at the Lavender Garage in Bedoin this morning with a Ferrari and a Porsche and fit young men in racing gear. I don't seem to be able to get away from young men who like fast cars on this holiday!

we' also looking at and we might be investigating the option to post to

Mont Ventoux and the vines

Mont Ventoux and the vines, a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

This is a sketch for a pastel I'm thinking of doing. I've christened my new A3 size Moleskine Sketchbook this week and this is the third sketch in it. It's a big view so it seemed sensible to work out how it worked and what colours a involved before I start thE pastel - which might wait until I get home.

Sarah sends her regards but is unable to post following the thunderstorm. I can only post via my Flickr account and the hotel bar of the Hotel Relais de Ventoux.

Today we discovered that there are road works and we have no water so I had a wash with "wet ones" and am hoping I'm not offending the locals!

Fortunately coloud pencils don't need water.

Today is Robyn's last day and she's getting ready to go home in her lovely new car via all the tunnels and viaducts which connect the South of France to the North of Italy.

Meanwhile Sarah is painting a blue chair and lavender.

Artist at work

Artist at work, a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

A slight element of trying to emulate John Singer Sargent painting Claud Monet going on here! you can see preparatory pen and ink sketches on Flickr.

This was done before the massive thunderstorm at 3.30am on Wednesday morning. The first crack of thunder was so loud and so long I thought a plane had crash landed nearby. I've not heard or seen such a major thunderstorm since I was last in tropical latitudes.

Many thanks to Ruth and Julian who are trying to sort out the problems with burned out filters/sockets etc from a barn in Oxfordshire.

in the meantime, I get to access the Internet from the Relais Hotel in Bedoin which has kindly allowed me to use their Internet.

Saturday at Couguieux

Saturday started a bit grey and cloudy - but got better.  I went back to coloured pencil sketching while I pondered on the oil painting of the day before.

Here's a couple of sketches of our immediate surroundings at Couguieux.

The first was done in the morning when it was still rather grey

The wall at Couguiuex
11" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine

The next done was done in the middle/late afternoon as the sun came out and the blue sky reappeared

The Terrace at Couguieux
11" x 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine 

Now I`m off to gesso some canvas boards!

Dinner at Restaurant du Vieux Four, Crillon Le Brave

On Ronelle's last evening with us, we went out to dinner at the Restaurant Vieux Four in Crillon Le Brave.

Two sketches this time - one of the food and one of Sarah and Robyn who were sat opposite me on the terrace with their backs to Mont Ventoux and Bedoin.

My three courses comprised

• Duo de Chevre - tapenade at tomatoes cerise (Goat's Cheese with tapenade and cherry tomatoes)
• Filet de Loup Rot, creme au basilic (Fillet of Sea Bass and Basil Cream sauce) and
• Veloute d'Abricot Carimelise et son sorbet (Caramelisd apricot veloute with cherries, red currants and a red berry sorbet)

I switched between drawing the meal and sketching Sarah and Robyn - to comments as to how I might improve how they were looking!


We nearly got our departure just right as the heaven opened and rain began to plop in large drops just as we were getting up to leave. Fortunately it was on of those downpours which is heavy for a couple of minutes and then eases off

We scooted back to the car stopping en route - at Sarah's request - for a quick spot of night sketching

Breakfast sketch from the terrace

Breakfast sketch from the terrace
11 " 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine

I've been doing this sketch for the last three days while sat on the terrace outside the house in the early morning.

The tones and colours change very fast as the sun gets higher in the sky.

On the morning I started the various airlines had created some fabulous vapour trails for the sky. This is a painting which really needs to be portrait format to get the full drama of the sky.
This is also a sketch of mini mountains next to Mont Ventoux- check out the number of pyramids you can see.
This is also probably a view which will get painted in oils in due ciourse

Today I'm collecting Sarah Wimperis from Marseiiles airport - she's arriving at 5pm.

Sunday lunch and sketching at Hotel Crillon Le Brave

Yesterday I did a mini stockup at the supermarket in Bedoin and then went to find some lunch.

I knew there were a couple of places at Crillon Le Brave which did decent meals and had views of the surrounding countryside from their terrace. So off I went having decided I'd eat at whichever I found first.

Lesson #1 - Satnavs can't cope with hilltop villages. The streets get too narrow. This can lead to taking an inadvertent wrong turn.

Lesson #2 - I haven't lost the skill to do the endless three point turn when car has gone down the wrong alley and is now poised with nowhere else to go to go and the camber is very wrong on both axes. Take a deep breath and start very slowly to turn the car round still works fine!

Lunch was taken at the Hotel Crillon Le Brave which has a splendid terrace and very nice food too.


Here are the five sketches I did. They are:

• The view from where I was sat in the restaurant at the Hotel Crillon Le Brave
• My lunch: mediterranean fish soup, aioli and croutons; tuna steak, shaved fennel salad and aioli tartine and a floating island in lavender
• The view from the terrace of Mont Ventoux and Bedoin in the distance