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!!

SUMMER IN THE GARDEN

 

This summer has been fabulous so far with sunshine almost every day since the beginning of June.  We've been making the most of it as now we are working hard building our new garden sheds.  This sketch was drawn early one evening when the low sun caught the beautiful white trunks of the silver birches opposite my kitchen window.

 

 

This is another view from our terrace where I sat on my sun lounger while Bob watched the football.  The sun was casting long shadows across the rather yellow grass and leaving the ivy bank in the background in deep shade.

 

 

This is the west facing side of the house with my wonderful array of scented geraniums. 

 A few years ago I took a few sprigs from our friend Hervé's garden and planted it in this rather dry spot next to the house.  I have obviously found the perfect spot as the plants have flourished and spread so much so that now I'm going to give some back to Hervé! He pulled all of his plants out because he got fed up with the maintenance but now Luba, his wife, wants some to put in a wall garden next to their terrace.

 

 

The flowers are a magnet for bees, butterflies and this hummingbird hawkmoth which came to feed for a while.

 

 

Another hungry visitor was this seagull who could smell our barbecue from far up in the sky.  He swooped down and walked up and down expectantly but had to leave disappointed as we don't want to encourage them to come into the garden.

 

 

I decided it was time to draw the old garden shed before we demolish it when the new ones are finished.  It is 11 years old and we are quite surprised it's still standing, the floor on one side has collapsed and we dare not move too many things inside for fear of the whole lot falling over!