A PEEP INTO SKETCHBOOK 39

 

I have a tiny Moleskine sketchbook in my handbag to use when I'm out and about but I haven't posted much from it lately.  Here is a sketch from October, just before I left for my visit to England.

This is one of many pink granite statues in and around the town where we live on the Cote de Granite Rose.  The sculptor has used several different coloured stones to make this charming statue of a girl with her dog.

 

One of our favourite afternoon walks is along this lovely beach with views across to the little chateau Costaeres built on an island that can be reached at low water springs.  The Sept Iles are in the distance with the lighthouse on Ile au Moines.

 

 I was in England to spend a few days with my daughters and while at Justine's I had the opportunity to see a few episodes of Game of Thrones, a series I'd heard a lot about never seen as we don't have Netflix or Sky TV channels.

 

Justine's annual fancy dress party had Game of Thrones as the theme so I was very interested to see the real thing, especially as I had imagined and made my own costume before going.

 

We spent several hours together on the Sunday afternoon binge watching TV and recovering from the night before and I was able to sketch all the beautiful dresses.

 

The costume designer had a fantastic imagination, each character had her own style and colour scheme which continued as the series went on.  I'm looking forward to seeing more episodes next time or maybe one day we'll get round to buying the box set!

 

Last weekend was our Marché de Noel in the village and I was there volunteering on the Twinning Association stand on the Saturday, selling English products like Christmas pudding and crackers. 

 

On the Sunday we met up with our friends to partake of the mulled wine and scallop kebabs followed by a performance by the choir in the chapel of Notre dame de la Clarté.

 

 

As you can see I took the opportunity to sketch as we listened to some of our French friends singing so beautifully.

 

 

I've found this drawing of the chapel from a few years ago so you can see what a beautiful old building it is, dating from the 15th century and built in the local pink granite of course!

MY BIRTHDAY

 

I had a birthday last week and as part of the tradition to celebrate we went to our favourite restaurant at Trebeurden which is in a lovely hotel overlooking the bay.  We had a delicious meal and afterwards took a siesta by the beach.

here is a link to the hotel so you can see what an amazing place it is.

 

While Bob snoozed I got out my sketchbook and did a couple of sketches of the rocks and pine trees.  We've been coming to Trebeurden for 20 years now, first on our boat for our summer holidays and now that we live only 20 minutes drive away we can come as often as we want.

 

My darling sister Juliet gave me some fat squares of patchwork fabrics as a gift and I was inspired to use them as covers for a couple of Moleskine sketchbooks I've had for a while waiting to be decorated.

 

I chose the autumn leaf fabric for the landscape watercolour book and appliquéd the green trees  onto the sky for the portrait one.

 

For the inner pieces I chose another scrap of autumn leaves fabric for the first one and appliquéd the green trees on top of the silver birch trunks for the second.

 

Here you can see what a simple way this is to decorate an ordinary sketchbook.  They are just like a normal paper slip cover but stitched along the top and bottom to fit the book.  I transferred the elastic from the original to the inside of the cover for the closure.

 

This week it was time for a visit to 'Virtuelle Coiffure' for a haircut and once again I arranged it so that my friend Stephanie (la Boulangère) was there at the same time.  I sketched Sylvie's beautiful bouquet of arum lilies while I awaited my turn and then Stephanie as she had her roots coloured. 

 

After I had been coiffed I had a while to wait for Stephanie to be finished off so while we chatted and gossiped I had a chance to draw her Boulangerie, just across the road.  One day I'll have to stand in her doorway and draw the hairdresser's salon. We finished off the afternoon with some tea at Lionel's bar just along the road.

 I do so love living in a village like this where everyone knows everybody else and there's always someone to say 'bonjour' to and pass the time of day.

SUMMER AT HOME BONUS POST

 

I found a couple more sketchbooks today that hadn't been checked for local drawings, my tiny moleskines had got to the bottom of the pile and missed out! So I thought I'd just add a few extras as they are all quite nice sketches drawn on location.  This first one was drawn from a cafe next to the church at Louannec, our next village along the coast.  We can just about see the church tower from home on a clear day.

 

 

I drew this sitting on a fallen tree on a walk down to the port for a haircut. The celandines had just started opening and made a lovely golden carpet along the edges of the path.  We often go along here to and from the port as it's shady in the summer and sheltered in the winter.

 

 

The marina itself is in a drying part of the harbour and has a very thick wall to hold back the water when the tide is out.  It's marked with tall yellow posts that show sailors where not to pass when the tide is in otherwise they would seriously damage the bottom of their boats!  There is a gate at the other end of the wall that opens when the tide covers the wall.

 

 

Just over the road from the marina there is a children's boating lake where there are replica lifeboats and ferries for the kids to sail during the summer season.  In the winter it's rather a bleak place with the only colour coming from the marker buoys.

 

 

This is the view from the tertre at La Clarté out towards the Sept Iles which translates as the seven islands.  There are only 5 in actual fact, the other 2 being very large rocks best avoided when sailing by!

SUMMER AT HOME part 4

 

Today's walk takes us down to the town centre and then to our nearest beach. It's about 25 minutes walk into the centre of our little town of Perros which has a population of 8000 residents, rising to about 40,000 at the peak of the summer holidays. The centre is dominated by the church with it's unusual domed tower, nicknamed the German helmet, facing the pretty shops and cafes with their open air terraces.  There is traffic passing but it keeps the centre alive and there's always plenty of people watching to be done!

 

 

A street away from the church is the Mairie or town hall which is always decorated and surrounded by the most fantastic floral displays which are changed with the seasons.

 

 

From opposite the town hall we take a stroll through some pretty roads lined with impressive old houses and start to descend to Trestraou beach.  The steep hill has the most spectacular views out to sea between the hotels and mansions and eventually we arrive at this perfect curve of pale golden sand.  There are bars and restaurants facing the sea as well as a nautical centre for youngsters  learning to sail and surf.  Boat trips take visitors out to the Sept Iles for a picnic and also to see the gannet colony on one of them, Ile Rouzic, which is the largest in this part of the world.

 

 

At the eastern end of the beach is this lovely old granite building of holiday apartments, surrounded by palm trees with some of the best views around.

 

 

This is a typical 19th century building dating from when Perros first became popular with wealthy Parisians looking for somewhere to take the waters and relax.

 

 

This one in the shadow of the tall pines which are everywhere is a creperie facing the marina.

 

 

So we start back home and this is one the views that will probably soon disappear under houses caught my eye a few years ago, a field of cauliflours with the sun dropping low in the winter sky.

 

 

I painted this about 10 years ago from my bathroom window looking east across the valley and to the next hill with it's water tower just visible in the distance.  The trees are too tall now to be able to see so far.   I do hope you have enjoyed these walks around my area, I've been planning my next few posts and maybe we'll visit some of the places we went to on our boat. 

SUMMER AT HOME part 1

 

This summer we are staying at home for a change as we have a project to get on with.  We have been planning for years to build 2 new garden sheds and at last we are doing it!  So I thought it would be nice to show you some of the lovely places we have within walking distance and which visitors from all over France and Europe come to enjoy for their holidays.

 

Every other year we have always been away either on the boat or in the camper car after the boat was sold so this is a big change for us.  Already we are having our meals on the terrace and Bob is busy cooking on the barbecue.  I've searched my sketchbooks from the last 12 years and found lots of drawings to put together as a collection.  The 2 sketches above were both drawn from the terrace of the bar Escale, our favourite for a rosé on Saturday lunchtime with our friends.

 

 

These 2 old customs houses are on the quay next to another little bar, the Titine, a favourite with the local sailors where they serve a delicious chilled 'Bordeaux blanc' for only 1.30Euros a glass.

 

 

We came to live in Perros nearly 12 years ago and chose it mainly because we needed somewhere to moor the boat and because we had been coming for our holidays for the previous 10 years. We had a place in the marina and these cottages appear in a sketchbook every year as they were part of the view from our deck where we sat to enjoy the sun and aperitifs.

 

 

After the boat was sold in 2011 we felt very fortunate as the next winter the pontoons where we had been were badly damaged in a storm and the whole length had to be replaced and reinforced. We had been complaining for years about a broken part of the walkway and this had obviously turned out to be the weak point!

 

 

We spent many happy summers staying on the boat, in the marina as well as out sailing to the Channel islands or the rest of Brittany.  This is the walk along the arcades towards the beach at Trestrignel, lined with pink valerian flowers growing out from the granite rocks on the shore.

 

 

If you looked across from the arcades you would see this tiny lighthouse in the distance across the bay.  It's now a pretty holiday home right on the beach with fabulous views.

 

 

Another part of the coast just beyond the marina next to the sailing club with Ile Tome just visible beyond.

 

 

Perros marina is at the head of a bay which dries out at low water so there is restricted access for boats only 1 or 2 hours either side of high water.  When we came back from our sailing trips we had to moor to one of the deep water buoys to wait for the tide to come in high enough for the harbour gates to open. I spent many happy hours here with my sketchbook drawing the houses as well as the seabirds.