Flynn's Beach Rocks from Liz

Our postcard project this year seems to be spluttering along a bit erratically, but to see a colourful rectangle in the postbox is always a thrill. This time it was one of Liz's wonderful  rock-and-beach scenes from her recent holiday at Port Macquarie (fairly recent, as I've taken a while to get to posting this!) I had been thoroughly enjoying seeing her expressive - and different for her - posts from the beach and to have one for my collection is very special. I can just picture Liz sitting here on the sand and concentrating on capturing the wild sea and sky. I love that it is signed with her personal name-stamp that was given to her in Singapore too!

Dog Park

Here is Cathy's painting of the Dog Park at the dam.

 

Cathy wrote that she thought of Ivy when she was painting these images. Ivy is my greyhound.   Ivy would really have had fun with the water and the other dogs.  I love seeing the dogs having so much fun in the water.  Below is the back side of the postcard with the words removed so you can see that Cathy has captured the stance of a dog owner waiting for her pet.

  Unfortunately this is one of the postcards that got lost.  Cathy sent me the image so I could share with you.

A Memory of Paris

I received this postcard from Robyn a few weeks ago and it's been propped by my computer ever since.  I know Robyn likes to do plein air work when she's visiting cities, but this time in the middle of winter, the weather just didn't play ball.  Instead she painted part of the interior of her apartment in the area of Ile St Louis.

I say wretched weather! But lucky me!  I get to have this lovely cosy scene instead.

Lost, Stolen or Strayed

After being in denial for months, I have to accept that this wonderful postcard from Albrecht has gone missing, having been posted last year (December, or November?) Aren't they just beautiful sketches of tits on his balcony - at this time still in the middle of winter in the Rhine Valley. I hope they've all survived the cold into the coming Spring!
Albrecht sent me an email saying,

"If my tits on the postcard would have been live birds, they would have had arrived in a few days.

8.619 km, that's nothing for them.

Obviously Lufthansa's crane is a lame bird in comparison...

Next time I will use trained pigeons for delivering my cards.

But that's the wonderful thing about our postcard project.

We are testing our post offices. Who knows how long they will go on existing in times of internet, emails, facebook, twitter..."

 

Who knows indeed. Our post office has been on strike so I haven't sent or received mail for weeks - and I was behind on my postcards even before that! Perhaps once they get back to work and clear the backlog, Albrecht's card will emerge from under a pile of neglected mail and they'll find their way here yet...I can live in hope...

 

Double Happiness from Liz

I'm always surprised and excited when a postcard arrives from Liz Steel but this time it was double happiness when I opened the envelop to find two!

This is Port Macquarie, Liz's January holiday destination on the coast of New South Wales.  It was painted on Australia Day after a swim.  I hope everyone can see the texture in this clever little painting.  Sketching the sea is a new passion for Liz so hopefully there'll be many more of these.

This Singapore kopitiam (coffee house) was sketched prior to Liz's 'breakthrough' earlier in the year when she started some exciting experiments that resulted in the beautiful textural effects you can see in the first postcard.  After all the fun the artist started having she though this one 'looked very dull'.  If only my sketches were so 'dull'.

Thank you so much Liz, these postcards are both heading for a frame.

Liz sketches in Sydney

I can only apologise to Liz for the late posting here of her card. I received it ages ago but must have popped it in a sketchbook for safe keeping. It was only recently I used the book to find, with great relief, the card inside.

If you're a follower of Liz's Blog I think you might detect a change in her work, a freer, looser use of the watercolour medium.

 I love the direction she's going in and it's great to see the sheer joy she's experiencing coming through in her sketches.

Liz says this card, showing St Thomas, North Sydney, shows her experimenting with distorted perspective and loose brushstrokes.

And I should mention that the sketch was to be completed in under 15 minutes

It's wonderful to have a real Liz Steel in my possession.

http://www.lizsteel.com/

Richmond Park from Alison

I received my postcard from Alison! Thank you Alison for such a wonderful card of your winter in the park. I can truly feel the drab grey skies you speak about in you letter. I am also thankful for the siennas that bring some warm color to the grey days of winter. Hopefully your sun is back out and your spring will come quickly! For us, although it has been colder than normal in Southern California we usually have sun and look forward to the grey rainy days that are few and far between.

Postcards From California

Receiving a card from Pat is always special, and i was doubly lucky to receive two!  The top image image shows Pat's walking trail in Orange.  I think Pat is particularly brilliant at depicting trees in graphite.  All those negative spaces and array of tones.  I always feel inspired to pick up my pencils after looking at her work!

On the reverse of the card is an image of Sam, Pat's cat.  The nice thing is, Sam looks just like my own cat, so it's particularly fun to have received this. Don't you just love the wacky positions cats can get into when they are grooming!




The second card depicts the beach near to where Pat lives. She says "I can watch the water forever and not get tired of seeing the colours change, the shapes transform and of course, the people."

I love this, it captures the beach and the weather and sea breeze perfectly.

 

Thank you Pat! 

 

 

The Little Lemon Tree

This is a sketch from Desiree, done several weeks ago now during the tail end of autumn.  It's part of her own garden and amazingly colourful considering the time of year. A real reminder to me as to how mild the Californian climate is compared to that of the UK. Everything looks wonderfully lush. 

I am particularly jealous of her little lemon tree, something we can't grow remotely well here in England.

I have seen photos of Desiree's garden and its stunning. I think her love for her plants clearly spills over into this painting and i am so happy it's now part of my postcard collection.  Thank you Desiree!  

Acqua Alta in Venice



Albrecht Rissler
Ink on paper

Albrecht's postcard is done from the window from his room because it was raining. I feel like I could have been there watching him over his shoulder while he drew this card. I can feel the rain and wind from the pen strokes. Very special! I also included the reverse side with his wonderful hand written words. I thought you would like the chance to read someone else’s mail.

 I always do.

 

Check out the boots. They make me smile.

November in Richmond Park

Walking in Richmond Park

Alison Staite
Watercolor on paper

Alison's postcard is from her walk in Richmond Park and the beautiful autumn colors. This is a view of some of the Beech trees that she says have lost all of their leaves now, so the ground is hot with copper color (of course she spells it colour) when the sun breaks through the clouds. The freshness of the way the paint has been applied is a real treat for my eyes. It is just what I want to see when using watercolors. I love the way the chemicals in the paint pull and push away from each other to make the blooms of soft and hard edges. My eyes see shapes that my brain says are distant trees and forest shrubs in a moisture filled misty autumn afternoon.

Bridget's Comfy Chair!!

One of the reasons I truly love the people in this group is that we are able to share with each other and always know that there is someone there to listen. Its more than a post card every month but our daily chats online that are so amazing. We have gotten to know each other so much better over the last year and when I receive a postcard it just becomes that much more special. I was the lucky recipient of Bridgets comfy blue chair where she sits to take off her boots after a 2 hour walk with friends. I can just picture her sitting in her chair, thankful for the soft place to rest. We all probably have those special places we love to spend time or curl up with a good book on. I also love her gouache and I am hoping to start purchasing some soon after this! Thank you so much for my card! I am sorry I was so late in posting it.

A Fallow Deer from Richmond Park

A special postcard from Alison arrived last week - something I associate so closely with her - one of the beautiful fallow deer that she often sees along with the larger red deer, in Richmond Park near where she lives. I've photographed it as my scanner didn't do justice to the lovely delicate, free brushmarks that describe the antlers and tail. Alison said she struggled with producing an animal for me, then one day after watching the fallow deer for a long time, decided to paint one directly with the brush, and it all fell into place. She wasn't sure if it was the long looking or the freedom of no preliminary pencil lines - all I can say is that it's so successful, and a lovely addition to my growing collection.

Rozelle Park

Autumn



Bridget Hunter
Gouache on Paper

Bridget shared her autumn color with me in her postcard from her walk.  This is a view from Rozelle Park a woodlands around the corner from where she lives.   It’s done in gouache on the paper from the sketch book Ronelle sent to her.  That makes it even more special.  Don't you think?  It's like a collaboration of friends bringing me love and joy to my mailbox.



Cat and Mouse

Albrecht's cat, Tricocone, brought him a mouse and ate it right in front of his studio door.  'I heard the bones crack. Grrr.........' says Albrecht.

A tragedy for the little mouse but this is a moment of cruel beauty in graphite.  I'm going to treasure it Albrecht. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd like to know what 'Tricocone' means, apart from Bone Crusher!

More sketches from a day in the zoo - card from Cathy

Today I received this amazing artwork from Cathy on both sides of the card! 
Two "poor beleagured rhinos", safely protected from cruel poachers. They are - like the trees - beautifully drawn by a loose line. I especially like the back of the postcard. The way in which Cathy has composed the watercolors of the five lemurs with the handwriting is very impressive. The design fits well with the lively nature of those primates from Madagascar. I really love them. Thank you so much Cathy for this great piece of art. I'm very proud to have it in my "mailart" collection. (By the way: sometimes I wonder how long our cards are on the way. Cathy's card was stamped on 10th October and it took almost a month till it arrived Heidelberg. ...)

October card from Robyn

The "Chiostro die S. Francesco" looks like a serene place to relax from everyday life, a marvelous place to draw undisturbed. Robyn drew the cloister in the technique of solar etching print. A technique that I have never tried. I found on youtube some movies that show very well how it works. Thanks Robyn for this lovely card showing how beautiful you have it where you live.




On the other side of the card there is a little extra piece of art: "The watercolour is a beautiful little enemy from our garden« Robyn wrote.

My card from Albrecht

I'm once again so happy to be the owner of this card from Albrecht. His use of pencil to capture a scene is a joy. You can almost see the pencil dancing across the card - adding here and there a little detail, hatching to achieve the darker tones and leaving the white to show the flash of sunlight.

Turner's painting of the Castle

He's siting on the famous Goethe Marianne Bench at Heidlberg Castle and when I  researched to find out more  I've realised what an important historical place it is and I've added an illustration of a painting by Turner to show it's significance.

Albrecht has also drawn a carving on the limestone bench of Ginko leaves and a Hoopoe. Thankyou Albrecht.

Tuscan Black Figs

Look at this totally stunning postcard I received from Robyn this month! Wow! I love everything about it- the wonderful watercolour work, the colours, the composition, the details on the blue plate and how delicious it looks. These are black figs from their garden and was painted using the wonderful Winsor and Newton Potters Pink colour- this is paint colour that Robyn got me onto last year and it has become a standard for me. Thanks Robyn- I love this!

The Art Gallery of New South Wales x Two

It's always interesting seeing the same subject created in different ways. For an artist it's probably one of the best ways of exploring different mediums. 

 

Liz is well know for her wonderful ink and watercolour sketches. Here though she has tried out watercolour alone, followed by what she terms her 'latest craze' marker pens.  I've not tried pens like this but i can imagine they open up a new world in terms of speed.  No hanging around for washes to dry. 

 

Thank you so much for the two sketches Liz!  Both different but both definitely Liz!  I love the stamps too - aren't those fur seals great :o)