Summer Days Filled With Bouquets! and France of course!

 

Summer days, 

filled with bouquets - 

garden fresh, roses and sweet peas....

The fragrance of a New England Summer.

I'm really enjoying getting back into the sketchbook routine! It was one of my goals that I had hoped to reach while in France...to re-enter that comfort zone of 'playing' in my sketchbook more often. The key was to think of it as 'play' rather than work...and not be so up-tight treating it like a finished drawing...but "just a sketch". That really helped keep that fresh feeling.  After all- they are NOT botanical drawings or architectural renderings!! Yet they are whimsy for my memory and entertainment! 

 I've been asked to put together some classes soon in watercolor sketching here in the Mystic area! If you might be interested in joining us, let me know!  Details to come! 

A big thank-you to Susan Murphy of MA for being a loyal blog subscriber! She is receiving one of my watercolor postcards from France, Lherm Lavender Farm! 

 Two more names will be drawn from the 'purple beret' this Friday and next Friday, too! Hope you'll spread the news to your friends & share the love!

 

Sketchbook Journaling In France!

 I have renewed my acquaintance with watercolors (after about 13 years of leaving them for oils), and oh they are as fun as ever.  I'm really enjoying the whimsy of sketchbook journaling...just for me (though I'll share some pages with you here for fun)! I took a small 5x8" Moleskine watercolor book with me on the trip over to France...purposefully to get myself into the habit of taking it with me everywhere! It's small enough to fit into my purse! While there I had some watercolor postcards (how handy- they fit into my purse even easier!).

 Those who know me well, know that I love lavender. I got hooked on this on a visit to a California lavender farm several years ago. Started growing my own....and well, it became quite the addiction. Now I have several varieties in my own garden, and I seek out other growers to learn if there are any great varieties out there that I might be missing out on! At Lherm Lavender Farm in France I got to see some of my favorite varieties in a spectacular field of purples! At the edge of one field was a huge shade tree, with an old climbing rose growing up into it! Oh how wonderful to sit under those shady boughs.

This Friday, and two more after that I'll be giving away two  watercolor postcards each week. I really wish I could have tucked you into my suitcase, I've been wanting to tell everyone how beautiful this place is. 

Now take a deep breath, close your eyes...let the fragrance waft along the breeze....feel the stress of the day dropping off your shoulders. One lavender, two lavender, three....

 

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on panel

One of my friends commented that even laundry in France is tres chic! :-)

But the line of laundry catching light in the afternoon sun right behind the church in this small village of Frayssinet was irresistible.

Our days have been packed with demos from Dreama, painting on our own (whether in oils or our watercolor sketchbooks). So much to do, so little time to blog.  Some days we stay on location in Frayssinet, and other days we've been taking short side trips during the day. And the eating....oh my - we are being spoiled rotten with the most incredible meals! That part alone is going to make it hard to go home! I have had the most imaginative, delicious, and visually beautiful meals here at Le Vieux Couvant. I feel like I should be writing a food blog about that experience alone! 

A visit to a lavender farm in Lherm was a visual and fragrant treat.

 We've saved a seat for you! Can you imagine anything better than being surrounded by lavender and roses? (Yes, those are climbing roses growing up that tree!).

Greetings from all of us in France! We really DO wish you were here! So much beauty to share!