Le Rendez-vous International du Carnet de Voyage 2025

 

Stuff I bought

Mid-November I always try to show up the annual 3-day Carnet du Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand.

Every year 

Angoulême BD Comics Festival, 52nd edition

 I took the TGV crack of dawn 🕕 to Angoulême on Thursday morning to my first Festival de Bande Dessinée!

But first things first. I headed to the best chocolate shop (from 1897) Chocolatier Duceau.across from the train 🚊 station

Le Rendez-vous International du Carnet de Voyage, Clermont-Ferrand

 

Every mid-November it’s annual travel sketchbook time in Clermont-Ferrand.

I left early Saturday morning in pitch dark to catch the 7am train🚊from Bercy. I even left extra early 🙄 Still I got lost going out at the wrong metro exit. At last we arrived to a warm, sunny day - highly usually for normally freezing 🥶 Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne mountains.

Bear 🐻 On Board, Tea ☕️ with Lis Watkins, Nicole stitches 🧵

 

Yesterday I returned to Cafe Varenne for tea ☕️ with Lis Watkins. I’m working on sketches ✍️ for the next PARIS Letter. 3 guesses?

Bear 🐻 came along! 🤸‍♂️

Lignes & Couleurs, Dessiner Le Paysage - Meet Juliette Plisson

 

Meet my watercolor friend and artist, JULIETTE PLISSON .

We met in Clermont Ferrand at one of those Carnet de Voyage exhibitions.

Rendez-vous du carnet du voyage

 

Last day at Rendez-vous du carnet de voyage!

So much to see and do before I catch the train back to Paris!!

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.

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🎨

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🎨

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!