Thursday, October 25, 2007

Sketch Trip to Provence, France

My first trip to France was wonderful and I am so glad it was a sketching trip with Mari.


http://www.artraveljournals.com/ We stayed at the Domaine de la Baume in Pont Saint Espirt in Provence. This page was done on the first day. After prepping pages, the group walked into town together, sketching along the way and of course we got our stamp from the post office in town.
Saturday was market day and what a spectacular feast for the senses. We walked up and down the whole market buying goodies to take home and things to eat along the way. We met up for a little refreshment and to sketch the people as they went by. This was a great exercise in sketching people very quickly.
We visited a beautiful garden of 1001 flowers that is the home of a Swiss couple. It was a wonderful place to sketch a great memory. A local paper sent a reporter to interview Mari and take pictures. We were in the next edition and when we went to buy copies we were recognized as "les Americans". Not too many Americans make it to Pont Saint Esprit. The article mentioned how our visit to the gardens was without photographic equipment. How cool is that?
This sketch was done across the river looking up to the village of Aigueze. It sets at the end of a gorge. I was having trouble with all the vegetation and then remembered Mari's suggestion of doing contour drawings. It really helped a lot with all those bushes and trees. I was happy with the outcome.
These are some sketches of the village of Aigueze, which was named one of the most beautiful villages in all of France. Lovely cobble stone narrow streets and stone archways. It was so quiet and beautiful . We sat down on the doorsteps of homes to sketch across the way. After I sketched the archway I found a postcard of that street and archway. I guess I have a good eye!
This composit page is a day in Villeneuve Les Avignon, another enchanting village. The gang had a great lunch in the town square where a quartet was playing. My drawings of buildings and architecture of the city and the chartreuse have become jumbled into one drawing. Mari made us a lovely dinner. What a wonderful little group we were.

All of these are in my 6" x 9" Robert Bateman sketchbook with pen and watercolor on prepped pages.

11 comments:

Teri said...

Oh Deborah, it sounds like heaven!!! I love all your sketches and hearing about your adventures!!

pedalpower said...

What a dream come true...literally! I dream of making a trip to France with plenty of time to sketch as you did. Lovely sketches.

Anonymous said...

Oh how beautiful your sketches are Debbie! And I love how you've intermingled more than one scene on a page...a la Deborah! your description of the path you've followed on your sketching route, adds to dreaming up little stories while looking at your sketches. Looking forward to the rest of your trip's stories and sketches!
Ronell

Anonymous said...

Deborah,
I'm so glad that you shared all of your work with us. Sounds like a great trip. You have wonderful sketches, great full sketchbook pages. I will look for her book.

Tara D said...

These sketches are beautifully done! Sounds (and looks!) like it was a wonderful experience. Thanks so much for sharing!

Lynn said...

What a wonderful sketchbook full of memories. It's beautifully done.

Bonny said...

Wow!! You had a dream holiday! I've thought about trying a sketching trip in Europe some time. I've seen Mari's site before and will check it out again.
Your sketches and journalling are awesome! Really inspiring to read about your adventures.

Dana S. Whitney said...

How wonderful to travel and then have more than ample justification to sit, steep, and absorb the atmosphere. Lovely sketches.

Laura Frankstone said...

These are wonderful, Deborah! There's so much energy and happiness in every inch!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a wonderful place to visit. Years ago there was a song about Avignon. I'll have to try to find it. Your sketches are beautiful! They will be good memories for you in the years to come.

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