SUMMER SKETCHING

 

The summer came at last and when it was dry and sunny we decided it was time to cut the conifer hedge that borders 2 sides of our 2000 square metre garden.  Mathematicians can work out how long that is!  In France we are responsible for both sides of the hedge, even the part in a neighbour's garden. 

 

We managed to complete the inside in 2 mornings of very intense work with Bob cutting and me helping clear the branches and taking them to the dump for recycling.  I took a cubic metre bag to the dechetterie in the car every 20 minutes for 3 hours so by lunchtime we were ready for a rest!

 

We took the sunbeds into a shady area after lunch and spent the rest of the day relaxing with our books and cool drinks.  As you can see from the sketches I was busy with my sketchbook and crayons, you can see a bit of the hedge behind the walnut tree in these two drawings.

 

We still have the outside to tackle, a much harder job along our neighbours drive as he has planted low shrubs on the bank under the hedge and we have to be careful not to do too much damage.  We usually wait till they go on holiday as they go in and out all day in their cars and have lots of family visiting too.

 

I visited my friend Kathrine one afternoon and drew the view from her balcony overlooking the beautiful Trestraou beach.

 

 

My Russian friend Luba has her Canadian granddaughters to stay for the summer now and we got together one day to discuss our plans for craft afternoons during their stay. We have had three now and I will show you the photos next time I post a blog.

 

Summer here is always full of festivals and last week it was the turn of Ploumanac'h and the festival of the sea which we attended on Thursday when it was rather damp weather and on Sunday when the sun shone brilliantly.

 

I was drawing in my map and sample paper sketchbook with different pens and suddenly realised that the gesso surface I was using was wearing out the pen tips very quickly, in fact a brand new one lost it's drawing tip in only 10 minutes, so I reverted to my trusty crayons!

 

I quite like this little vignette of a boat which I sat on the sea wall to draw, watched by a little girl.

 

After a moules frites lunch chatting to a charming couple from Provence there was a display of Newfoundland rescue dogs.

 

They were taken on to the foreshore just below where we sat on the wall to do their 'business' before the display and they certainly could have done with a good bath in soapy water!

See you next time with some more summer activities, have fun in the sun!!