Morning View from the House

The View from the Terrace (a breakfast sketch)
11 " 16", pen and ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine

I was on my own for a couple of days before the others in the Painting House Party arrived and consequently could set my own personal pace around getting up, having breakfast etc.

Sunrise over Mont Ventoux - about 6am on 12th June 2011

Having arrived on the Saturday afternoon, I had a very sound night's sleep and then woke early on Sunday morning.  Before I knew it, I found myself standing in the road outside the house at 6am in my PJs so that I could photograph Mont Ventoux as the sun rose!  If you look very carefully you can just see the tower on the top of Mont Ventoux in the photo.

I then had a very leisurely breakfast on the outside terrace while I tried to capture the early morning sky above the vineyards opposite the house.  Of course early in the morning the light moves fast - so it actually took me three mornings before I was happy that I'd got the "morning view" right.

I should really have done this view in portrait format because the vapour trails on the Sunday morning were absolutely phenomenal - and they kept changing and weren't there at all on the following two mornings!  I in no way did them justice with my first sketch in the hamlet.

Vapour trails over Couguieux

Blogging while away from home is still a relative novelty for me.  This was the day when I began to work out what I could do in terms of blogging assisted by Julian's computer/modem and my iPad.  This was a little bit more complicated than it sounds.....

I'm getting there via download of images from SD card to iPad, manipulation in photogene, upload to Flickr, change status to allow download to Julian`s computer and then upload to the post. All the while trying to get used to a French keyboard which is decidedly not QUERTY.
Four Go Painting in Provence - A Photoessay of Provence

I decided that I could continue posting to Making A Mark - by creating a photo essay of Provence.  This started with Sunrise over Monet Ventoux.

I thought I might try a visual essay of Provence and upload a photograph each day of something that has "made a mark" on me.

Next on the list was stocking up the fridge with basics from the Carrefour in Bedoin and then finding somewhere nice to have Sunday lunch!

This is a link to my recent review of Ruth Phillip's book about living with a painter painting postcards in Provence - Book Review: Cherries from Chauvet's Orchard