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

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

A thunderstorm in Provence..

My three artist buddies are stuck in the Vaucluse without phone, without internet, but hopefully with enough cherries to keep them going! They had a huge storm last night which struck out the phone and internet and fired right into the wall sockets.
This storm has been brooding since the day before I left and I sat on the side terrace the afternoon sketching the skies over Mont Ventoux. It was hot and "lourd" typical storm weather and that night we had but a few large drops.

...clouds over Mont Ventoux...
gouache on paper
(started out as a watercolor flop and then I painted over it with gouache...here in Correze!)

So I hope we'll see some still lifes from them while they are confined to the house and surroundings today. Julian and Ruth have magnificent pottery which just beg to be painted. I got so enthusiastic about pottery when I was there that I am now looking out for some beautiful pieces of my own, even though I never though myself a pottery person!


I got to do only one still life of some of their pottery and if ever I would steal something from their lovely home....it would be this set of coffee pot and mugs and bowls...helas, my mom brought me up with a conscience, so it is still in the cupboard of Les Couguieux, but I at least have a sketch!!
Hang in there you three and do some still lifes in the meantime!!!

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.

Painting vineyards and orchards in gouache

Morning painting in gouache; afternoon tweaks in coloured pencil, 
a photo by makingamark2 on Flickr.

Yesterday Robyn and Ronelle arrived - one after the other with a microsecond pause between them - as they had met up on the road, having come from two completely different directions.

Yesterday afternoon and evening was spent walking around exploring our immediate neighbourhood followed by show and tell sessions for all our various art materials and art books which we'd brought with us.

This morning we walked down a local road to paint a scene not far from the house.

I painted in gouache for the first time in decades!

I managed to restrain myself from getting the coloured pencils out until after we'd returned to the house and had lunch. I now have two photos of before and after coloured pencils.

This was the before and the after is at the top of this post.

Morning painting in gouache

I'm hoping Robyn and Ronelle will start posting their work soon as well.

No sooner said than done, Katherine!

Gouache on blue ground

This was an experiment on a thin blue craft paper. I'm still trying to sort my gouache palette for Provence. Not there yet by a long shot.

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