Rendez-vous du carnet de voyage, Clermont-Ferrand

 

Best laid plans etc. You think you’ve figured out all the angles

I even did a test run yesterday to Paris-Bercy station on ligne 14, the fastest metro in Paris, because last time I went in 2019 to Rendez-vous du carnet de voyage in Clermont-Ferrand I got awfully lost in the pitch dark finding the station…the train always departs at 6:57 am (a 4 hour ride to the l’Auvergne). You miss it, you’re toast.

17e Rendez-Vous du Carnet de Voyage, Clermont-Ferrand

Saturday-Sunday I went to the annual Rendez-Vous du Carnet Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand.

Its a gathering of travel sketchbook artists on 3 floors at the Polydome. I became obsessed with all the tiny watercolor paintboxes everyone was using. Why do I need such a big paintbox?

Mind you the artwork on display was stupendous - here giancarlo de Petris .

Lapin is a big name in the sketchbook world. Part of his display showed stacks and stacks of his sketchbooks. He lives in Spain but travels constantly sketching.

Emdé is another star. They are called 'carnettistes'. Carnet means small note book. Carnet du voyage = travel note book.

French Sophie Binder lives in St.Louis. At a certain point she gave up her job, packed her paints, sketchbook, bike and set out for 14 months traveling and sketching the world.

The end result. Her gorgeous book, 'The world, Two Wheels and a Sketchbook.

One of Sophie's watercolors.

Marielle Durand recently went to. New York to draw.

I love these. Check out her instagram @idrawamerica

There were classes given as well. Stephan Faravelli is a drawing wizard.

His exquisite work...

Most of the artists had tons of sketchbooks you could browse through. These people don't sleep at night. They are drawing.

A chain of French spas, Route des villes d'Eaux commissioned 12 sketchbook artists to come stay for a week and draw their immpressions. C'est la vie!

You could browse the artist's sketchbooks.

You could also buy a gazillion sketchbooks of the artists onhand. Were there 60-70 artists onsite? I did not come home empty-handed.

I managed to get into Clermont-Ferrand in the evening to see the famous black cathedral made of volcanic rock. Then paint a little in my room at 4:00 am in the morning.

I left Rendez-Vous du carnet de voyage exhausted, bug-eyed and totally inspired. After sleeping in yesterday, today I tackled painting those mini paintboxes. They're up on etsy with more to come. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast! If you like this post and want to support it, buy Paris letters and watercolors or forward to someone who might enjoy it. 

Rendez-vous Carnet de Voyage, Clermont-Ferrand

This year's the 5-day annual international travel sketchbook event,  RENDEZ-VOUS CARNET DE VOYAGE is all on one floor (including the fabulous chocolate chip cookies to be shown in next post).

Its much easier to navigate.

The Leporello accordion sketchbook is all over the expo.

Individual artist's stands are more explosive.

With color and pattern compared to previous year's exhibits.

There are areas where you sit and listen to audio travel adventures, browse books and possibly catch a few Zzzs before looking at more sketchbooks.

Irresistible art supplies and the publishers with even more books to browse and buy are enticing.

This is another place to bring a granny cart for take-aways.

Master sketcher, GABI CAMPANARIO from Seattle was invited to represent URBANSKETCHERS. If you're lucky to live in Seattle def take one of his workshops. Otherwise buy his terrific DRAWING BOOKS. 

Sonia Privat won a prize in show for her book AMANI.

Her drawings are strewn appropriately among old travel suitcases. Remember what those looked like? More to come soon. PS I had oysters for breakfast in the Sunday marché. Yum Carol in Clermont-Ferrand🎨

Rendez-vous Carnet de Voyage part 2

A second helping from last weekend's RENDEZ-VOUS CARNET DE VOYAGE. More splendid big displays. 

Big images make a difference. JULIETTE PLISSON was there with a gorgeous giant blowup of her watercolor. 

I've thought of entering but my tiny CLAIRE FONTAINE 'sketchbooks' are just school notebooks. (See last picture).

Why is watercolor such a small medium? Its frustrating.

Tiny paintboxes. Tiny sketchbooks. Tiny brushes.

There are live drawing demos.

Tiny everything perfect for travel sketching but watercolor is not taken seriously by 'The Art World'.

Fortunately master watercolorist and painter of 1000s of small paintings, W.H.Turner, is coming to musee Jacquemart-Andre in March 2020. 

This time tomorrow I will be inside the Louvre looking at DA VINCI doodles. Full report to come. Another way to sharpen your drawing skills if you can't travel to Tahiti or its raining out is TVSketching. Put on something streaming like GOLD DIGGER and doodle. I'm better sketching indoors than outside. Try it. Bonne TVSketching PBers. Enjoy ParisBreakfast with your cuppa ☕️ and keep Bear in Paris with a letter subscription from my Etsy shop. Bear 🐻 is drawing🎨

19th Rendez-Vous du Carnet de Voyage, Clermont-Ferrand

HAPPY HAPPY THANKSGIVING Everyone! I'm still recovering from the feast of last weekend's annual. RENDEZ-VOUS DU CARNET DE VOYAGE in Clermont-Ferrand. Here's a few of the bits and bobs I collected at the sketchbook fair.

100 carnettistes or sketchbook artists have stands (on 2 floors) and trying to see every one of them can be wearing but immensely inspiring if you love to draw.

My teacher Jeremy Soheylian has 2 new books in addition to his Burgundy book.

All the artists present have books and hand-made items for sale.

Plus there's a huge book area to browse.

You buy the books and then come back to the artist's stand to get them personally signed

I was delighted to meet at last JULIETTE PLISSON, whose watercolors I've admired for ages.

Fun to see her paintbox

And colors

And exquisite, fluid landscape watercolors. She teaches every Monday in Neuilly and I'm going soon.

She makes these wonderful accordian books. I couldn't resist her Venice panoramic littlle book.

JOAQUIN DORAO has been at the fair everytime I've attended. Accordian sketchbooks are clearly very popular.

Behind him the map of his trip in Spain.

His printer takes apart his actual sketchbook painted on the trip and then stitches it back together.

His tiny traveling paintbox. Dorao does travel workshops in Crete etc.

I was fascinated by these tiny 3" sketchbooks of CLAUDIO BORSATO.

A whole box was filled with them

He said a friend sent them from Amsterdam. If they'd been available at the fair art shop i would have grabbed some. Borsato uses a BIC ballpoint pen to do these wonders!

Fortunately there were areas where you could sit and listen to audio travel adventures...and possibly catch a few Zzzs before looking at more sketchbooks.

Speaking of bits and bobs, I'm having a 🎨 water C O L O R - F R I D A Y sale on ETSY starting tomorrow...lots of watercolors sitting around here you might enjoy going for not much.

Enjoy your Turkey!