Another summer hamlet

This is the hamlet of Les Fontanettes, at around 1800m on the lower slopes of La Grande Casse. In the winter it is totally covered in snow, in fact I didn't even know it was there until the snow melted this spring. We spend the winter skiing quite happily over the roofs.
You can see the Aiguille de Vanoise peeping out, Grande Casse is behind that.
The cows are still out on the pastures, hence the posts down the sides of the track, but soon they will be taken down the mountain to their winter homes in sheds in the village.

Patel on Hermes sanded paper.
Approx 33x24 cms.

My work is always for sale.
If you are interested please email me.

A change of scene

We have moved down country to stay in Wills new house in Languedoc Rousillon. The others have gone off to do a boat delivery leaving me in charge of two crotchety furry ladies who are doing their best to ignore each other but now and again can't resist the temptation to snarl and roll round on the floor with bits of each other in their mouths.
In between times I went out to paint the etang, with Mt Canigou behind, but arrived at my chosen spot to find I had no brushes with me, so did a bit of sketching: Mainly fishermen in silhouetted boats. Hopefully resource material for future works.
I was thanked for my efforts however by the most glorious sunset, as the red sun went down behind the mountain the colours and reflections in the water were truly amazing. As luck would have it I didn't have my camera with me, and the hope of a repetition over this weekend is receding fast as there is forecast of howling winds coming this way. I am going to try to get out early tomorrow, the sun from the east should be nice illuminating the distant mountains,

Here is another pastel done before I left Pralognan. The Grand Bec is in the background. This road is only accessible in the summer, and the chalets up here are only for summer use too, but there is lots of renovation going on. Delightful spot.

Pastel on Hermes sanded paper.
approx 33 x 24 cms.

My work is always for sale.
If you are interested please email me

Another chilly day

Another chilly day. I had Parsnip (our Jack Russell Terrier) with me and she shivered in the boot most of the day. I have a little hatchback, and if I park in the right direction I can sit in the boot and paint quite happily on my easel and box set up.

This is a view from the car park at the end of the road up towards Roc de la Peche, which is a refuge about 5 kms up into the mountains. It is not a hard walk, and the views and surroundings are well worth the effort. The refuge is open all year although in the snow you have to use snowshoes, and has a lovely restaurant, together with rooms and very good facilities.

The early snow sits well on the higher mountains and shimmers gently into the valleys below. At this high altitude (around 1800m) it lingers for days. There are glimpses of autumn but there are few deciduous trees at this level. Most of the colour is from stems and berries.
Despite the sunshine you need plenty layers.

Pastel on Hermes sanded paper
approx 36x24cms

My work is always for sale. If you are interested please email me.

My new set up

One thing that has hindered me from painting out with pastels in the past is how best to transport them.

I tried various boxes and small assortments but never had enough colours for what I wanted, or the boxes were inconvenient.

A month or so ago I bit the bullet and ordered a Heilman Backpack Box from the USA (on the recommendation of my good friend and excellent pastellist Margaret Evans. It arrived in remarkably good time (about 10 days) then I had the joy of loading it. I was amazed to get most of my stash of colours in, with a bit of careful packing.

This pic is my set up before I started the painting of Grande Casse that I put up earlier.
It is really sturdy, fits happily on top of my (fairly substantial) camera tripod, and the easel support is a great addition. I am really chuffed with it.

It has been up a couple of mountains with me already. I am still working on the minimal packing concept. Not a thing that comes naturally to me, but lugging kilos up high mountain tracks might be good for my weight but not my back.

The time has come...

Am I really ready for the world (or at least those few souls who find this post) to see fruits of my labours?

I have painted in watercolours for a long time, and have recently started painting plein-air (or outside for those who don't speak French) in pastels.

I am working on sanded paper, either Art Spectrum Colourfix or Hermes.
I haven't decided if I prefer the stronger base colours or the more muted. I feel perhaps if I want a softer (more romantic?) end result the softer colours may help, but as with all things I do they tend to be on the strong side.

This is Grande Casse in the Vanoise National Park, Savoie, France. It is the highest peak in the Vanoise massif.
I made this painting on a glorious autumn day, but being late October it was getting a little cool. You can see the ski runs below the peaks, now bereft of snow, but it won't be long until they get their winter coat of white.
The Glacier that runs down the mountain is known locally as 'the tongue' (for fairly obvious reasons)
Next year is the 150th anniversary of it being climbed for the first time, by an Englishman William Mathews, with guides Michel Croz and E. Favre on August 8 1860

Pastel on Colourfix approx 33x24cms


My work is always for sale.
If you are interested please email me.