A Gem of a Chateau

While driving home, we made a spur of the moment decision to make a detour and visit this castle. We missed the guided tour, so we stayed outside, enjoyed the garden and did a couple of sketches.

The Chateau de Caumont is the largest castle in the French region of Gers, about a half an hour from Toulouse, nestled in a 50-hectare wooded property. It is listed as a historic Renaissance monument that has been restored by generations of passionate owners.

The Chateau from the location I did my drawing.

My sketch with firstly some loose lines with a light blue watercolour pencil, followed by an Artline pen.

Behind the hedge, there are three large magnolia trees, which obscured my view somewhat. Magnolia trees seem to be the tree of choice for royalty, as I noticed them adorning several court yards of grand, opulent buildings.  

 

Two buildings make the castle. The older part, reflecting typical medieval architecture from the 15^th century and belonged to Gaston Phebus. The other building, the current Renaissance castle, which was constructed from 1525 to 1535 was built by Pierre de Nogaret de La Valete after his return from the Italian wars. The construction was inspired by the Italian Renaissance and the castles of the Loire valley, France.

one of the castle’s turret

a window in the former stable building

My sketch of the building that used to be the stable. I drew it on site and added paint later.

former stables

Jean-Louis de Nogaret de La Valete was born in Caumont, 1554. He became the Duke of Epernon. Henri IV visited him several times and the room in which he slept has been preserved. Caumont has also received a visit from the Queen of England, Queen Mum in 1988. In addition to private events like weddings, seminars and film shoots, many public events are organised at Caumont throughout the year, concerts conferences, historical events, and the like.

side view of the castle

I bought a card on my way out, which is now travelling to Australia. I forgot to take a photo of it. I liked the painting of the medieval dance scene at the Chateau de Caumont and the artist’s first name was the same as my brother’s, Didier.

It would have been nice to be able to have done the tour of the inside of Chateau de Caumont. Who knows… I may be back to do it.

Wishing you a great weekend, Patricia (PJ) Hopwood-Wade

http://www.pjpaintings.com

Building Finale

The final building I sketched in Portugal, the Igreja dos Congregados, while leaning up against the Porto train station on a very narrow footpath, with continual foot traffic going past and the odd person asking for money.

The Porto train station is a spectacular building with hand painted individual tiles to depict historic scenes.

Goodbye, Portugal. You have been amazing and I toast you.

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market November 3, 2018

Today’s market was approached with trepidation with the weather forecast announcing rain, hail and wind, with wind gusts up to 90 kmph.  I think we received and felt the full force of 90 kmph wind gusts. Thankfully there were only two of them.  When they hit, they were accompanied by screams and crashing sounds.  I had a couple in my stall when the first wind gust hit and the lady screamed.  I think she must have thought my gazebo was going to collapse as one pole dropped a notch, the awning flew off, prints went everywhere and frames moved to diagonal positions. The nerves were frayed but I managed to survive without any real damage.

On my way to the market, I took this photo of snowy Mt.Wellington/kunyani.  Salamanca Market is held at the base of the mountain.

A lot of small pouches with my artwork printed on them went today.  I think so many sold today because their approximately 10 x 15 cm (4.5” x 6.8”) size makes them a great Christmas stocking stuffer.  An American ornithologist, who has been visiting Tasmania annually for many years, bought three small originals: Spotty Rest Stop, an Echidna and a painting of a Cassowary.  A “Double Date” tote bag is going back with a couple from Florida, USA.  She does a lot of guiding in the Florida area.  A couple from Los Angeles, USA chose a “Salamanca Saturdays” print as their Tasmanian souvenir.

A framed “The Three Amigos” print of three kookaburras was purchased to hang at a guest house called the ‘Kookaburra Lodge’ The couple house Ph.D. Monash University students at their lodge.  A framed “Scarlet Robins Rescue” is going to be a gift for a daughter that has moved to Hong Kong.

Scarlet Robins in a frame

A man, who bought four prints from my stall two years ago, returned and bought five more, four dancing emu prints and “The Supremes”.

The Supremes.  I tore and pasted treble clefs on their dresses and then applied watercolour

A girl, about eight years of age, carefully chose a “Helping Hands” medium sized pouch.  Her dad gave her the money to pay for it.  She was very happy with her purchase and her beaming smile was so lovely to see.

pouches are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com

The most popular prints this weekend were: Weightless and Salamanca Saturdays

A thought to ponder:  “Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas” ~Donatella Versace

Thanks for stopping by,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

Guarded Whale

“Whale” is Day 12 prompt word of the Inktober Challenge.  I drew a Blue whale with an Artline pen and then painted it with water colour.  I then added some splattering to try to help create some looseness and movement.

A majestic Blue whale

This Cassowary is on guard duty for Day 13’s prompt word “guarded” …

“touch the egg and you are mince meat”

Hope everybody is enjoying their weekend, cheers from pjpaintings

Silly Galah!

Galah

I’m not sure why the Galah, also known as the rose-breasted cockatoo, is on the receiving end of this saying.  Apparently, it’s an “Old Australian” word: a derogatory term that means a ‘loud-mouthed idiot’, specifically appointed to the galah because it makes a distinctive, noisy call.  I don’t know about you, but to my ear, all cockatoos are raucous, noisy birds and none of them possess a melodic birdsong.

“You silly galah!” is now usually used affectionately when somebody does something daft.  It is also a saying used for gaudy dress apparently because of the bird’s distinctive bright pink.  To make a proper galah on oneself is to make a complete fool of oneself.  I’m not sure why Galahs have been considered more foolish than other cockatoos. These cockatoos’ behaviour raises some questions.

Not a good idea to wake a sleeping cat 

Nevertheless, this week I went on a Galah painting spree.

A chirpy-looking Galah

A serious Galah with serious head plumage

The word galah comes from Yuwaalaraay and related Aboriginal languages of northern New South Wales. It is one of the most abundant and widespread cockatoo species. They are plentiful here in Tasmania.  I most often see them on the ground, eating grass and insects.

My favourite 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope the rest of your week goes well.

Cheers, from Pj Paintings

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market September 8, 2018

My fingertips were cold setting up the gazebo while a noisy and raucous group of Yellow crested cockatoos circled overhead. The sky was bright blue and then the sunshine arrived and it felt beautiful.

A couple from Brisbane bought a ‘Two to Tango’ print as an engagement present for “a couple that has everything”. They were really pleased to find something unique and that they think the couple will love.

A lady from Brisbane purchased ‘Lost Worlds’. It was her first time visiting Tassie and her first piece of art from Tasmania. She said that she tries to buy a piece of art from the places that she travels to.

Lost Worlds

A couple from Hong Kong purchased ‘Sea Life’. A tourist from Minnesota, USA, will be adorning her desk with a 4”x6” ‘Who, Who, Who are You?’ print. A young couple bought an A-4 sized print of ‘Who, Who, Who are You? II’ to post to her sister living in the UK.

Who, Who, Who are You?II

A man, who has purchased a hotel on Macquarie Street in Hobart, Tasmania, bought several framed prints to brighten some of the rooms. A daughter, from Melbourne, bought a ‘Double Date III’ tote bag and pouch for her mother’s 70th birthday. Her mother loves Superb-fairy wrens.

Double Date III

A young couple from Sydney, back from doing the Overland Track, where they were lucky enough to avoid rain and see snow, purchased a ‘Scarlet Robins’ print. An Ohio, USA, student purchased an extra small ‘Suspended’ print. She’s attending university in Sydney.

A couple from Perth will be taking back with them a ‘Poppy Fields’ print. They love Cary Lewincamp and have all of his CDs including the one with the cover that I illustrated.

Grandparents that bought a White Faced Scops Owls print for their very unwell newborn granddaughter 3 years ago re-visited the stall. She was born with her intestines on the outside. She locked eyes with the owls and smiled. That was little Olivia’s first smile. It brought tears to the grandmother’s eyes just telling me the story again. She had emailed me with the moving story, which was so nice to read. Three years on and Olivia is doing great they said.

White Faced Scops Owls that brought a smile to Olivia’s face

The whale and the Tango prints (Two to Tango and Taking a Dip) were the most popular this weekend.

A thought to ponder: “A picture is a poem without words” – Horace

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a creative and happy week,
from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

21 + 4 = Day 25 of 30×30 challenge

Hello everybody!  I’m somehow keeping up with producing a direct water colour painting every day but have fallen behind in the posting, hence five paintings in one post.  Most days I’ve painted things in my comfort zone due to lack of time and/or motivation.  Last week, I tackled a never-been-painted-by-me-before octopus and this week I’ve attempted to paint some little beasties.

But, firstly, for Day #21, I painted a humpback whale with swirly, plant-like unfurling things.

Day #21

On Day 22, I revisited echidnas.  I drew little ants on some of the quills again.

Day #22

On Day 23, I decided to try to paint a bumble bee.  I looked up the anatomy of a bumble bee.  It basically has three parts, a strange looking long tongue, which I chose to omit, a large compound eye, hairy legs with definite connection points and wings.  I was hoping to produce a watery, fluid looking bumble bee but have yet to achieve this.

The first bumble bee on day 23 was, and is, a disaster.  The paper was too damp and everything went yuck.

Day #23

Another day, another attempt.  This one worked better but it’s too tight for my liking.

Day #24

… and the painting I just finished less than an hour ago.  I’m not happy with the legs but it is what it is.  Another attempt is required…

Day #25

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope your week goes well.

 

 

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market June 23, 2018

Hobart is feeling energized by redness and Dark Mofo. The procession to burn a massive sculpted spider that has been collecting the written fears of Hobartians and visitors alike takes place tonight. The procession will be snaking its way around the waterfront to the ceremonial fire, where ogoh-ogoh, and our fears with it, shall meet their fiery end.  I’ll be putting on my ‘Salamanca Market’ layers to attend this lively event tonight.

At Salamanca Market’s stall #30, a visitor, from the suburb of Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand, purchased a ‘Scarlet Robins’ print for her mother’s Christmas present.  You have to admire people that have a well-in-advance Christmas presents buying methodology/practice.

Scarlet Robins

The original painting of a little octopus attracted a lot of attention very early in the morning and sold before 9 am!

A young mother, who is visiting Tasmania on her own with an under one year old and a four year old, bought ‘Retail Therapy, Salamanca’ to take back to Washington, USA. She told her husband, who stayed behind, that if she ever comes up with the crazy idea to travel on her own to Tasmania with children, to stop her.  She tries to come her every 9 months or so!!!  That is dedication! It is a gruelling, long, long flight.  She must have a family connection here.

Retail Therapy, Salamanca

A woman bought a little 5×7” ‘White Faced Scops Owls’ print for her sister-in-law living in Indonesia.  A young couple, from Sydney, expecting their first child, bought ‘Hayride’ to hang up in the baby’s room. Another young couple, from Hong Kong, bought a ‘Sea Life’ greeting card.  She spent a long time deliberating between two cards.  Even though I couldn’t comprehend the spoken language, I could understand that she wanted to buy the two cards and each time she asked, he told her to choose one. She eventually chose the whale and graciously told me that she loves my art and will treasure the card.

Hayride

The manager of the Tinker Tailor Dancer Trader shop in Mullumbimby, NSW, stopped by.  She has sold out of my art work and wants to order more for her shop. That’s a bit of nice feedback to receive.  🙂

Then sudden and unexpected wind gusts came and wreaked havoc.  Prints flew everywhere and in all directions, a crate of prints and a card stand blew off the table. All sorts of people chased after prints and cards and a thank you to all that I didn’t get a chance to thank during the chaos.  It brought an abrupt end to the day as a quick pack up ensued.  Thankfully, very minimal damage occurred.

This week’s most popular print was ‘Suspended’.

A thought to ponder:  “That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.” ~Ray Bradbury

Thanks for reading. Wishing you a creative, happy week,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market

P.S. Prints of images are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com (except for the octopus.  There are no prints made of this original).

 

It’s raining Echidnas

Well, one would think that I’d be sick of painting echidnas by now but because they seem to have the upper hand, I still want to keep trying to paint them. I like the echidna I painted for Day 2 of the 30×30 day direct watercolour painting challenge.  I regret selling the little guy, a short-beaked Echidna. It is an Australian egg-laying mammal, a monotreme. It had a face that I fell in love with (photo above).  I don’t often form an emotional attachment with paintings but I did with this one and I miss this little echidna.

On Day #15, I tried to paint his brother or sister with ants fleeing the scene.

Echidna #1

On Day #16, I had another attempt.  Ants are trying to stay out of sight and hiding in the bottom corners.

Echidna #2

Day #17’s echidna is rather a disaster.  For some reason, I thought it was too light and darkened the whole painting.  What was I thinking!!

Echidna #3

On Day #18, I attempted to paint another echidna.  I’m not happy with this one either.

Echidna #4

This morning, I painted tomorrow’s painting for Day 19.  I decided to return to my preferred background for watercolour paintings, white paper.  Echidnas mainly eat termites and ants. A few ants thought that hiding on its spines was a wise strategy to avoid becoming a light afternoon snack!

Echidna #5 Products with this little echidna are available at https://www.redbubble.com/people/pjpaintings/shop?asc=u

Thanks for reading and I hope that you aren’t inundated by echidnas in your dreams tonight. 🙂

 

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market June 17, 2018

Kookaburras have made their appearance at the opening of Salamanca Market four Saturdays in a row now. Last week, one perched itself on the court house behind the pjpaintings stall to perform its loud morning cackle. It is a happy iconic Australian sound.  In the afternoon, we had a noisy screeching group of cockatoos visit the market.

Dark Mofo is on but to my eye it didn’t draw many more people to the market.  Maybe the winter temperatures kept people away??  The weather was coolish and there was some light rain, but nothing in comparison to what we had during the night and Sunday morning.  We’ve had very gusty winds and rain.  I think there was hail too.  It sounded like hail pounding against my bedroom window last night.

A grandmother from Victoria bought an original small painting of a wombat and platypus for her niece’s daughter, Hazel, born yesterday, and a grandchild soon to arrive. A little 5×7” ‘Scarlet Robins’ print is heading to Perth.

The grandmother that asked me last week to paint a whale for her grandson returned and purchased a small humpback whale painting and a Salamanca Saturdays tote bag.  The tote bags debuted today.  These were the three at today’s market ($20 each).  There are more coming featuring different pjpaintings images.

A mother purchased a ‘Hayride’ print for her 11 year old son.  They live on a farm in Denmark.

Hayride

I had second thoughts about selling my chaotic-looking echidna because I have developed an emotional attachment to the little guy.  It is one of a kind original painting.  Thankfully the young lady, who bought it, really loves it.  She repeatedly said thank you for it. It is going to the Northern Territory, Australia, where she lives.

Another little original, this time of a humpback whale, framed on-site, was purchased for a 21st birthday. When she came back to pick it up, there were a few others in the stall, and I showed it to her, it drew a gasp and awwwws from everyone. It really did look good framed behind white matting and the white frame.

This week’s most popular prints were ‘Weightless’ and ‘Suspended’.

I had a difficult time choosing this week’s thought to ponder.  There were several that I felt a strong connection with.  I chose this one for today.  There are so many cool shadow effects, patterns in nature, details in buildings, people, poses, birds and more that go unnoticed. A thought to ponder:  “Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” ~E.B. White―

Wishing you a week filled with smiles,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.