Painting Carcassonne

A week of solid drawing in Carcassonne and I forgot how to PAINT WATERCOLORS! I've been brushing up since I got back.

Prof Jeremy had us draw with a single line the contour of the buildings. No fussing around with annoying perspective. Yay!

What a relief

Jeremy's sheet of exquiste drawings done on site in all sizes and shapes. He likes to make the tiniest thumbnails (timbres) too.

The towers are daunting at first. Maybe they never stopped being daunting. You feel like a peanut.

There are tourist shops selling armor and medieval gear in the town. No wonder.

The entrance to Carcassone, where we met every morning.

Much more crowded than shown here, but once you're inside, the structures are so monumental,the crowds appear to  thin out.

Tibetan monks, their straw cone hats provide perfect protection from the strong sun and match the tower rooftops.

In case you're planning on going to a workshop a few tips I picked up. Forget the tripod seat on the left.

Lise had a clear makeup case picked up on Amazon - perfect for carrying supplies. I found I had one at home from a gift makeup assortment.

Lise formed a deep attachment to my Art Advantage double cup water cups, also on Amazon but half the price at Hyatt art supplies.

We all coveted Matine's Maison de Chocolat long chocolate boxes - perfect for stashing your watercolor brushes.

Carcassonne has much in common with Mt Saint Michel. If you like one you should enjoy the other at least for an overnight.

Fortunately I stayed close by in 'plain Jane' Hotel Espace Cité. Espace is clean and simple, but with a fabulous array of fresh fruits in the morning petite dejeuner. Nary a single peach can be found inside the walled cité of Carcassonne. You have been warned. Same story at Mt Saint Michel by the way. Oh the pitfalls of travel. One thing there certainly is, is plenty of is Cassoulet. You have been warned.

Carcassone is definitely worth a visit. Just bring your own fruit and maybe steer clear of Cassoulat in the summer months.

Cheers!

Carcassonne, day 4

Dear PBers,

I have been in Carcassonne since Sunday, so far away from Notre Dame disastre. I am doing a drawing 'stage' or workshop with Jeremy Soheylian.

Turrets, crenelated stone walls, archways. We are drawing them all. Well some are more successful than others...ahem

This is Martine of Lyon sketching. She cleverly brought along soap bubbles to blow in moments of frustration with these turrets, walls and archways.

One of my doodles...blood, sweat and tears here.

The church in the background is too big. Grrrrr

Our group trying to draw an impossible archway. Grrrrr

Clever Lise of Limoux ( not far from here) has the best sketching stool. My 3-legged tripod is hurting my back something terrible. I will leave it here. More grrrr

This is Madame Carcassonne, Martine tells me. Who knew? The entrance, Place de Prado.

My petite esquises(sketches) in the Place. See you soon in Paris PBers!!!

Paris parks map, Paris In Bloom, Jardins, Jardin

Still obsessed with Georgianna Lane's divine book, PARIS IN BLOOM. This time her selection of Paris parks made the June map. 

I took a page out of her book so to speak for the Tuileries gardens.

These 19th century Gibson girls almost made it onto the June map but in the end kids with red balloons made the cut. Maybe next time Gibson girls.

Of course iconic green Parisien garden chairs had to be there.

Hanging around in parks I discovered I'm a Paris garden person, not a cafe ☕️ person. The calm. The greens. Playful kids sailing their boats ⛵️ to the hubbub of Parisian street life. This lush park, Square Jean XXIII, is behind Notre Dame and one of Georgianna's favorites.

Yesterday I went back to the Tuileries JARDINS JARDIN searching for June map envelope stuffers and discovered wild garden houses.

A better view of the 3-story garden house.

Don't you love this guy watering his garden house? I'm going to insist my landlord let me have this green retreat in our tiny patch out back.

Or perhaps this lavender haven

So French these modern garden chairs non?

What we all need now - cascading fountains in our back yards. Very Monsieur Hulot's holiday is it not?

A medieval jardin model.

The prize winner of garden retreats, this match stick affair. Not really my cup of tea but you might love it. Do tell.

Who needs to go to Provence? Grow your own lavender why not?

Truffaut, the big French garden suppliers had this amusing chaise.

Who doesn't love ❤️ Ligne Roset's bunny chairs? You'll be seeing this bunny, while I go off to draw castles in Carcassonne today. The June map 🗺️ will go out next week.

Thank you for reading Parisbreakfast. 

French Garden Green Chairs Watercolor/Etsy
I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. Sign up to receive these whimsical treasures in the mail.

Thanks for reading❤️

☕️ If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a KO-FI here  ☕️  ❤️ Thank you so much! 

Jardins, Jardin aux Tuileries, June letter, La Grand Jatte

Only in Paris' parks will you find the iconic, olive green metal chairs. Instant recognition. The annual JARDINS, JARDIN is taking place in the Tuileries this weekend. Garden events take place all over France in June. More giant flower pots 🪴 

There are the usual plant venders. But also stunning, ingenious garden ideas to get you thinking anew.

I wouldn't have minded taking home some organic herbs plants for my roof.

Sculpture Cloé Leray of Fontainebleau makes joyous metal garden delights. A big step up from your usual garden elves.

Supermarché Franprix has a relaxation area - sit in the shade, read garden books and munch on their tiny cocktail tomatoes and perfectly ripe apricots.

These strawberry pots on display are sitting atop other pots

In this curious conservatory structure. Walls of variety grasses are hot too at the expo.

Another 'stand' made only of giant clay pots. Spectacular!

A 3-story construction of just plants with a terrasse included. I should have climbed up.

Delicious free tastes of sugar-free smoothies. Get the green apple, kiwi, spinach concoction.

You can not have a garden in France without some kind of Champagne glass holder, even if it is a mere pitchfork stuck on a planter. It simply isn't done darlings.

Still under the influence of Georgianna Lane's Paris In Bloom, I'm drawing a map of her favorite Paris parks. But what to do for June's PB letter? While researching Pissarro, this wonderful Seurat (his post-Impressionist contemporary) popped up - 'La Grande Jatte. I knew I'd found my June letter art.

A really fun way to discover what makes a great painting great is turn it into a coloring book image. Then build it back to the original color by color. I started with the largest area first - yellow.

The minimal touches of very bright red draw your eye around the picture. So far so good.

After adding the bluish purples I wondered if I should stop there.

The mass of velvety green was OK but I started getting nervous. Who did I think I was messing around with Serat's masterpiece?!

I bit the bullet and plunged on. Hope you like it.

Coming back from the Jardins Jardin expo I spotted these Parisians lunching on the iconic green chairs in the garden. A modern-day Seurat if ever there was one non? Consider a visit.

❤️

I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. Sign up to receive these whimsical treasures in the mail.

Thanks for reading❤️

☕️ If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a KO-FI here  🥰  ❤️ Thank you so much!