A Banana Painting

A painting of a randam banana hanging around in the kitchen. I am trying to paint with fewer brush strokes, trying not to leave messy brush marks. I find bananas are good to practice that. They have simple form that curves naturally to suit the brush strokes, so you can paint the form with a few bold strokes and add the shadow on the lower side wet in wet with a little thiker and darker paint. Leave to dry and add a few brown spots plus the shadow, and it's done.

Chateau de la Roche Bagnoles

Drawn and painted from a photograph I took while in Normandy, France. I struggle with the architecture drawing and this one has bits and pieces that doesn't make sence, but hey, it's all good fun and hopefully 'practice makes perfect' one day?!!

The chateau is standing on a verdant ground and it's a lovely place to be. Surprisingly there was almost nobody around, it felt such a luxury to have this place almost to myself (and my friends) for a while.

Thames Walk

I had a walk on Strand on the Green by the river Thames the other day. It must have been a spring tide after the super moon on Tuesday. The tide have already turned just a while ago but the riverside pedestrian walk was still wet and slipperly with the mud the high tide brought with it. I was wearing a new-ish cream coloured leather shoes and they were anointed with the mud.

Bags and Things

Apart from drawing the wardrobe, I usually also keep a list of smaller items to take, categorised into four: valuables, stationery and gadgets, Wash bag and make up bag. I would like to draw each item but being a procrastinator, the time before the travels are usually limited with actual packing to do - so I didn't manage this time, again.
But this time I have added the suitcase and bags I used. The bags ended up one size bigger than what I originally planned to take (plus at the end of the journey I was carrying one more shopping bag!).

Paris/Normandy Wardrobe 2014

I have been to Normandy again for summer holiday, but this time I went via Paris. Normandy could get pretty cold even in August so I had to pack clothes fit for three seasons. I didn't get the chance to wear the fluffy silk tunic even in Paris. In a cool/cold regions layering works best.