Painting, Sketching & Enjoying Arts

Front and back cover of a holiday sketchbook

A year ago, I completed a sketchbook about my visit to Krk in Croatia. The front and back covers were made of canvas, so I decided to create two final sketches using oils: one of the small city beach and another of a wild, remote beach. The black stripes are from a band keeping the […]

A chateau in Ferrassieres

Near the little village of Ferrassieres, there’s a building the owners call a chateau. It’s not exactly a castle, more like an old school that’s been turned into apartments. In fact, it used to be a summer resort for kids, not a school. Now it’s owned privately but can be rented. It sits on a […]

Haute Provence

In  Provence, whenever I walked my dog, I saw a tree in the middle of tall grass that seemed perfect to draw. First, I made a quick sketch, but then I decided it would be nice to paint it on a board. I started painting outside, but I couldn’t finish it in one go. The […]

Lavender Fields

Lavender Fields In the winter, the famous French lavender fields don’t have much color. All the pretty flowers have been picked, and what’s left are short, grayish bushes about 30 cm high.  This year, it was very dry, and many fields were renewed, meaning the small plants were taken out, and the land was plowed. […]

French Colorado (Rustrel)

Nearby a small village Rustrel  is a national park called French Colorado. It is a colourfull landscape with its ochre earth. The colour has been used since prehistoric times but also modern mines were once here. Not anymore. It is all protected now.  The national park offers a 45 or 2 h walk.

Ferrassieres

View from my holiday apartment in Ferrassieres. I made a similar sketch a year ago during a summer on the same paper with watercolour. This time I used crayons.

Ferrassieres

This sketch depicts the distant hotel in Ferrassières. I encounter this scenery each time I return from a stroll with my dog. It accurately reflects our location and provides information about the altitude as well.

Holiday Sketch album

Instead of creating a photo album, I opted to assemble a holiday sketch album. Taking photos is undoubtedly simpler, and perhaps  for capturing memories might even produce superior results. However, I found a lot of fun in sitting amidst the garden, attempting to immortalise a butterfly on paper. But it wasn’t easy. The scene of […]

Memories of KRK

When revisiting a place from my youth, I anticipated that my cherished old memories will collide with new experiences. Everything should have undergone a transformation after two decades.  In my case, the change should be even more pronounced since I was merely a high school boy during my vacations in Crikvenica, which was once part […]

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque extends a warm invitation to enter a captivating and beautiful world. It is adorned with a myriad of textures, intriguing calligraphy, and endless motifs on tiles. Throughout the mosque, there are hidden spaces where visitors can sit, admire, and immerse themselves in the sights and sensations. Although this place is […]