Springtime in the South of France - a photo essay

A month in the south of France.... taking French classes?!   What an adventure for Steve.  The first photos we got were from the balcony of his apartment. 

And then a couple of photos of the first day, cloudy skies, but also the fun of an 'Open Mic" night at the local restaurant?   fun!

While the week days are chock-a-block, he hoped there would be time and energy on the weekends for exploring. He took a weekend trip to Switzerland.  Not as many photos, as it ended up raining for the full weekend.   Still, some lovely views by the water, with a very impressive fountain, an acquatic climbing wall, and a swan.  (i did wonder about the meaning of 'swan song' in this context)

The weather in Lyon was a bit better, and we got this cluster on photos on Alex's birthday.

I loved seeing photos of these murals.  It reminded me of all the murals in Brussels!   I am hoping Steve will re-tell me those stories around the different murals (which had history and political intrigue attached! yum!)

What is not to love about a statue commemorating "Le Petit Prince"! (Lyon is the home of Antoine  de Saint-Exupéry)

Steve also tells me that the first version of the Eiffel Tower is actually in Lyon.  

While we were all sleeping in on Victoria Day weekend, Steve went off to take an official tour of Lyon!  And he walked to the top of the tower rather than taking the elevator or funicular?!

He even went on a tour of a cathedral? (still my beating heart....)

Is he just taunting us with photos from the chocolate shop?

And I am looking forward to photos to come...

Another week of hip recovery watercolour

It is week 2 of my "hip recovery" goal of trrying to do a bit of 'creative work' on a daily basis (either watercolour, or drawing, or photography).  On the painting front, I went back to the Scott Swinson "Landscapes for Beginners" (here's a link to his page, in case you want to check him out).  

This week, I managed to add another 7 watercolours to the "Wall of Efforts!" (where i am taping up all the work this month)  

Here is my 'aide-de-memoire' of work, so i can remember where i have been this week,  First, I took a crack at Module 12: Skilled Landscapes-Evening Light.  I would say the hardest one for me so far.  I reminder that I have not yet arrived at the 'skilled' level, but it was sure fun leaning in that direction.

I took another crack at the same lesson the following day to see what else I could learn.  It was still a challenge, but fun (i think the river bank worked out better, and I began to see the challenge of getting light reflected in the water)

 

Emboldened, I decided to give the last module in the class a go:  Module 14: Final Sunset Painting.  Again, a challenge.  And worth two attempts to figure out the sky, and then the land.    Here there are my two attempts in one photo side. 

 

Happy, but also a bit chastened, I decided I should probably go back to the earlier lessons to remind myself of some of the techniques (and work with fewer colours for a bit longer).  

Here is module 6: Simple Mountain Landscape (in two versions).

And then I jumped to Module 9: Tonal Paintings with Payne's Grey, but decided to try it out with a mix of Cobalt Blue and Cadmium Scarlet...it is way more purple, but i thought i might see if i could use it in the same way.

So.... the end of week 2 of my return to watercolour.   We will see what week 3 brings!

Things to do while on 'hip recovery'....

On April 25, I got a new hip!  Only 12 hours in the hospital, and I was back home in bed, and set up for 6-8 weeks of 'recovery'.  

My 'art table' set up

At week 4, I decided I needed to find something additional to occupy my brain.   And so, I decided to set the goal of 30 or so minutes of daily 'art practice' (something i could do while sitting at the table).  

I did take some lessons last year with Stacy, but this past year, our class time conflicted with Lawyer's on Stage.   So... now to return.   I decided to go back and retake some of the the online lessons I did: Scott Swinson,"Watercolour Landscapes for Beginners".  Love those classes!

Module 7

Module 10

Module 11 (in purple)

Module 11 (in blue)

Simple Seasape Lesson

Today, rather than doing another lesson, I went back through 3 pieces I started a year ago and then abandoned.   My first impulse was to throw them away (yes, i know i am a chicken), but decided i might as well just see if i could go back in and apply some of what i was learning in the lessons, but without having one of those lessons as a 'referent'.   It was fun practicing!   

So, this was week one.   We will see if i can stick at it for another week!