OUR FAVOURITE BEACH

 

Here's my latest needlepainting, a view of Tourony plage, our favourite beach and one of the iconic images of Ploumanac'h used in most of the publicity for this wonderful area of the pink granite coast.

I collected together a bunch of photos of the little chateau on the island at the entrance to the harbour and the rocks as well as some of my sketches done over the years to use as inspiration.

 

 

I started with a calico background that I covered with pale blue organza scraps held down with a piece of blue net.  The sea is made from bondaweb coloured with acrylic inks thanks to a tip from my friend in Sweden, Jacqueline.

 

 

 

I started to build up the image with scraps of green and pink fabrics and overstitching till I was happy with the effect.

 

The rocks came next in a combination of all the orange and pink scraps I could find. I played around with different stitches on the sewing machine to give them some texture.  As you can see from the picture at the top I gradually worked forward adding bits till I was happy.  The painted bondaweb was great for the little bits of sea on the sand as long as I remembered to cover them with paper before touching with the iron!

 

When I had finished I turned over the work and decided to scan the back as it looks rather like a coloured sketch.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this process and I will be sharing some more with you later in the year.

 

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!!

SKETCHBOOK 29 FINISHED

 

 

I've come to the end of sketchbook no 29 which has been in my bag since February.  It's travelled with me to Tenerife, to England and been handy for all those little impromptu sketches when I'm out and about at home.  These 2 scribbles were done at the 'Fete Maritime' at Ploumanach at the end of July using my multicoloured crayon.

 

A couple of days later I took my friend Luba and her granddaughters to see an art exhibition I had found at Ploumanach.  The girls brought the sketchbooks I had given them and when they got bored while Luba and I chatted to the artist they amused themselves in the gerden drawing the view.  This sketch is a bit of a demo for them trying to explain shadows and simplification.

 

The following week Jo and Jimmy came to stay and we had a lot of fun together, especially watching Bob and his grandson putting up the old tent in the garden.  Jo and and I eavesdropped on their conversation as you can see in this sketch!

 

On Sunday morning we went to the beach and had a lovely time in the warm sunshine, digging in the sand and then catching crabs and shrimps in the nets as the tide came in.

 

All too soon it was time for them to go home and I managed a quick scribble in the back of the car on the way to the airport.

 

The last sketch in the book is the drawing I made while we took our coffee in the garden of  'les Costans' a lovely hotel restaurant where we ate our anniversary lunch last Sunday to celebrate 43 years of marriage. 

 So now it's time to start another sketchbook and I've prepared a tiny moleskine with some pretty purple handmade paper stuck to the cover. I will be taking it with me when we leave on Thursday this week for a trip to England to see the family. Sketchbook no 30 isn't finished yet so I'm hoping to have time to do some drawing in that one too and I think there still a few pages to share from it too.

PLOUMANAC'H, France's favourite village

 

If you've read my profile at the side of my blog you'll know that I live in a beautiful part of northern Brittany in France so when a recent poll elected a part of our commune, Ploumanach, the favourite village of the French I was not surprised that it should get the recognition it deserves.

 

We've lived here now for over 12 years and visited for at least 10 years before that so I know it pretty well.  My sketchbooks date back to 2003 and I've found many sketches and a few watercolours to share with you.

 

The village is in the heart of the 'Cote de Granite rose,' a wonderful coastline of weathered pink granite rocks weathered by the elements into strange shapes and all the buildings use the same stone so the whole place has a lovely rosy glow. 

It was featured on national TV and the mayor laid on a typical evening for the presentation with fresh local seafood and our prize winning 'Bagad' group playing Breton music.

 

 

The inner harbour has a couple of tide mills that were used centuries ago to work the wheels to grind grain, but now are used for small art exhibitions. There are moorings for shallow draught boats in the inner harbour, accessible only at high water as there is a sill to keep the water in at low tide.

 

 

 

The first time we tried to come in with our boat we were turned away as we had too deep a draught to be able to stay afloat. When we walked back here from Perros the next day we were amazed at the difference between high and low water, there was no water in this channel and the traditional boats moored there had legs to keep them upright in the mud!

 

There are lots of little fishing boats tied to the wall here that float when the tide comes in as well as several traditional boats that take part in the annual regatta.

 

This is a very early drawing from my first sketchbook, I think I've improved a bit since then!

 

 

Every year we look forward to the 'Vieux Greements' festival of the sea with it's traditional boats on display, decked in flags and the opportunity to spend an evening with our friends eating mussels and mackerel and listening to local 'chants de marins' and celtic bands.

 

I was inspired by the bright colours of the tenders parked by the harbour wall for this sketch.

 

Around the coast the rock formations are breathtaking, something we tend to forget till we take new friends to see the sights and see their reactions to the wonderful sights.

 

 

I've sketched this one lots of times and here's the watercolour I did about 12 years ago before we moved here.

I hope you've enjoyed my vision of our now famous village, I think I'll have to scan some more of those early sketches to share with you, what do you think?

SUMMER AT HOME part 3

 

For part 3 of my tour around my local area I'm taking you down to the beaches of Tourony and Tregastel as well as the little port of Ploumanac'h.  From home it's a good half hour's walk straight down the hill to the coast and some of the most beautiful beaches you've ever seen.

 

 

One of my favourite beaches is at Tourony which is backed with pine trees and very quiet.  The footpath follows the beach but we love to walk along the water's edge, I can feel my legs getting a good workout in the soft sands!

 

 

Ploumanac'h is just to the east of this and you can see the entrance to the harbour between the rocks.  Every year we go to the maritime festival that is held here on the quay with live music, lots of fresh fish and mussels to eat all washed down with the local beer, cider or wine. 

 

 

Just along from where I drew the festival sketch is the mooring area for the tenders that sailors use to go out to their boats when the tide is in. They made such a colourful display I couldn't resist drawing them too.

 

 

This is a part of the very narrow entrance to the harbour at low water.  We tried to take our boat in there about 18 years ago but were turned away by the harbour master because the water in the mooring area was not deep enough for our vessel. We were very disappointed and had to sail round the headland to Perros instead.  We returned on foot the next day at low water and were amazed at the difference, keelboats standing on legs and flat bottomed ones sitting in the mud and very glad also to have gone to somewhere a bit more suitable!

 

 

The next beach along going west is Tregastel which has fine sands varying in colour from white to golden.  I believe that the prefix 'tre' means sands in the native Breton language.

 

 

Tregastel beach is sheltered by a circle of rocks, one of which is this one called le Dé which means the dice.  My sketchbooks are filled with more drawings of the different rocks than I could possibly show here, they have kept me amused for many years trying to capture the texture and colours of the  granite and will do so for many more years to come too.

SUMMER AT HOME part 2

 

As part of my summer at home series I'm going to take you for a walk that we do most Sundays before lunch. We turn right outside our gate and walk to the end of the lane where we cross the road and take another narrow lane that leads to the woods that line the edge of the famous granite quarries of Perros.

 

As we go deeper into the shade of the trees we come across a pretty glade where there is a tumble of rocks with a spring coming up from underground and running between the rocks before disappearing down the slope. This rock is balanced on the others and the trees around are covered in moss.  I  spotted some oxalis growing in the fork of one of them and kept the memory to draw in my nature journal later.

 

 

We emerge from the woods and carry on along the road above the quarry with fabulous views out to sea, turning left and right as we go, to arrive at this little windmill on a knoll.  It's built of the local granite and is about 300 years old.  It has it's own special 'fete' every year when it's supporters come and share a few crepes and drinks and no doubt the local 'bagad ' turn up to celebrate too!

 

 

If we haven't got too much energy we turn right at the main road and walk back up the hill to the centre of the village of La Clarté, a quartier of Perros. The church here, Notre Dame de La Clarte, was built by a grateful sailor when a shaft of sunlight showed him the way to the port through the fog.

Built in the local stone of course, construction was begun in 1445 and it continued to be added to over the centuries.  We come here for the Christmas music every year when our friends sing in the choir.

 

 

From the windmill we can also walk along a few nice residential roads and come to a path through the 'landes' leading up to the 'Tertre' which is a high viewpoint with almost 360 degree views across the land and out to sea. It has one of those compass things built on to a rock to identify what you are looking at.  This is a small part of the vista towards the Sept Iles with the rooftops of the cottages on this sought after spot. The Tertre is used every year for the Pardon of Notre Dame de La Clarte on August the 14th when the bishop of the region comes to bless the many thousands of pilgrims who come to worship and celebrate from all over France.

 

 

The walk continues down to the coast where the famous Cote de Granite Rose is a Unesco protected site and visited by visitors from all over the world to see the fantastic shapes made by the weathering of the pink granite. We usually save our walks here for the winter when it's quieter and we don't have to keep dodging dogs and baby buggies and people stopping to take photos all the time!

 

 

There is a 'sentier des douaniers', path of the customs men, which follows the coast for several kilometres with wonderful views all along the way.  The lighthouse is a great landmark built on top of a fantastc jumble of rocks.

 

 

This is a drawing of the rocks underneath the lighthouse copied from a photo, it looks strangely out of proportion but that doorway is normal height and that rock is enormous!  Kids of all ages love to climb all over the rocks and have a great time as apart from the protected wild flower areas all the place is accessible.