DRAWING MY PINE TREE

I'm continuing the study of my garden trees with the pine tree, planted only 15 years ago but already looking old and gnarled. This drawing from last year was done in black ink in my nature sketchbook.

The drawing is a perfect subject for handstitching in black thread on white organdie.

HOLIDAY SKETCHING AND STITCHING

 

My drawing skills need polishing and some spare time on holiday comes in handy.

 

I love to draw what I can see from my sun lounger,

But best of all my new passion for embroidery is inspired by my sketching!

CAMPSITE COWSLIPS

 

April is a lovely month to be in England, the countryside is filled with wild flowers, bluebells fill the woods and primroses, violets, wood anenomes and cowslips are everywhere, especially on our campsite only a short distance from the junction of two major motorways!

A TINY LIZARD

While on our holiday in Tenerife I had an encounter with this tiny lizard while I was laying on my sunbed, tanning my back.  I didn't have to move so we watched each other for several moments before he got bored and disappeared into a crack in the wall. I kept the image in my head while I found my sketchbook and pen to record the moment.

HUNGRY DUCKS

 

We've just spent a week in a log cabin in Surrey, England.  There was a pond on the site with several families of mallards who came every day to beg for food.  The tiny ducklings were so adorable but moved so quickly, following their mother, that I had to copy their markings from the photos I took to be able to colour my sketches!

Red Spotty Mushroom

 

I've been searching for ones of these Amanita Muscaria mushrooms for some weeks now and my patience has been rewarded. It was in the same place I had seen them in previous years but this time I got there before they were kicked over.  I took one specimen home carefully wrapped in a tissue and made sure to wash my hands after touching it.  We had seen a story in the local newspaper about a couple who died after eating another variety of Amanitas so we're very aware of the dangers.

My Daughter's dahlias

 

I've just spent 8 days in England visiting my daughters. Justine, the eldest, is a keen gardener and grows some beautiful flowers for cutting of which these dahlias are the last remaining in her autumnal garden. She cut a few to put in my bedroom in these pretty glass bottles so that they caught the light shining through the window. We spent a happy morning together with our hobbies, me drawing while she made some of her beautiful beaded jewellery.

Woodland mushroom

 

I found another beauty on my walk down the lane this week, nestling in the long grass under a clump of trees.  I got out my field guide, bought 35 years ago when our favourite Sunday walk with the children was mushroom hunting in the Surrey hills, to identify it.  I hope I've got it right but please do correct me if anyone knows better!

Unknown butterfly

 

We found this pretty butterfly under a chest of drawers when we were cleaning today.  I can't find it in my field guide so I wonder if anybody out there knows what the species is?  I live in northern France so that may make a difference.

LUBERON LAVENDER FIELDS

 

We've just returned from our summer trip to Provence where we found hot weather and lovely landscapes to sketch. We stayed on a campsite in the 'Colorado de Rustrel' an area of former ochre quarries.  The red, yellow and white rocks and cliffs were stunning to see and I was in sketching heaven! This was the view from our dining table under the tall pine and oak trees.

 

 

One afternoon I strolled out of the camp gate and up the hill a short distance and this is what I found.  The sketch can't do justice to the phenomenal red of the rocks, paths and vistas. I had to sit carefully on a plastic bag otherwise my clothes would have been red too! 

 

Pansies in the lawn

A few years ago a good friend gave me a pot of pansies when she came for lunch one day.  When they were over flowering I popped the plants in the garden to carryon growing.  Since then every summer I'm reminded of her when new little plants appear all over the lawn.  I usually rescue a clump now and then before the grass gets mown, even today at the end of September I have another little pot on the windowsill.  Thanks Julie for such a lovely lasting gift!