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.

Castiglion Florentino from Robyn in Tuscany!!

Hi everyone, I was so excited to get this wonderful postcard from Robyn in Italy!! She says that August is there hottest month so she has only walked to her garden. I know how you feel Robyn! It has been a cooker over here too! I have to grab the time either early or late these days. I will be happy for fall to start this year. I love the pigeons that have taken time to either refresh themselves or eat close enough for you to sketch. I so loved Tuscany when we were there, hope to visit with you the next time I can manage an overseas vacation! Thanks you so much for the wonderful card!!!

I get to post first, a card from Pat!

Pat sent me this beautiful, large postcard of what seems to be matilla poppies, one of my favorites. As you all know I love, love poppies so this was so perfect for me.  I love her layers of color that help pop the flowers off the card. She says she is on her third day of walking again. Go get them Pat! I have wonderful photos of her painting at my house during the garden tour, she is truly a talent and a wonderful sweet spirit. Thank you Pat for my beautiful postcard! We definitely need to get together soon!
-Desiree

Softly rendered perfection of mysterious origin

Vivien Blackburn

Vivien sent me these exquisitely-defined feathers collected by her students on a nature walk.  As there was no sign of the previous owner, they had to guess what birds might have lost them – poor things will be missing that lovely downy warmth, whoever they are!  

In fact Vivien was quite sure an owl and a quail were involved, but I went ahead and did some speculation of my own after noticing this disgruntled cat (I wish I could draw cats as easily and expressively as Vivien!) on the stamp on the back of the card…. I know cats don’t have feathers, but I believe this one suspects Vivien has hi-jacked his colour scheme for that lovely big feather in the middle. This is not a working cat BTW, Vivien’s postcard was carefully enclosed in an envelope, with a regular British stamp, so the Queen did the heavy work in getting this tiny perfect masterpiece all the way from England to Victoria in a record four days!

Sacred Ibis conquers previously-impossible South Africa-Canada route!

 

 

Turns out only postcards sent from Canada to South Africa are doomed. This splendid bird, and the Johannesburg park over which he reigns, made it the other way with no problems at all. Here’s a link to a map showing some of the other delightful sketches Cathy has done in this same park.

The other side is beautifully painted and in perfect condition as well, so have a look at the totally-readable and wonderfully welcome message from Cathy. Isn't it terrific!

A warm November from Martin

I received another card from Martin this month. I think he sent me one last month by mistake so now I have two! I love those kinds of errors and hope it continues! This month the postcard shows grey skies and barren trees as there hasn't been any snow until recently. Thank you so much Martin, I really am enjoying your cards! I love the "messiness" of the splattered paint and fingerprints which arrive on the written side of the card! It gives the card a true feeling of being painted on site!

My October card from Vivien

Vivien sent me this wonderful card which she says began its life as an oil painting but then wanted to be mixed media. Well what ever she did to create this beautiful postcard works for me! I love everything about it, the colors, the textures. It is really wonderful to explore all the secret areas in this card, which by the way is huge! Thanks Vivien!

Fall colours from Switzerland

My share of Felicity’s lovely botanical drawings fluttered out of the mailbox today! As she has done so beautifully before,  Felicity has highlighted colours in her exquisite drawing with a suitably perfect Swiss stamp.  Thank you Felicity!

When even the ground is gorgeous

Alison Staite was inspired by the masses of fallen leaves all over London – ‘a great excuse to play with orange, red and muted greens’ – to paint this exquisite little piece of the landscape near her home. It’s an increasingly rare treat to find actual personal correspondence in the piles of stuff from the Post Office, and jewels like this are an absolute delight!

Thank you, Alison.

I want to be in this Potager.

Marília   Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen  has now left Coin Perdu for the winter but took one last chance to sketch the potager in all its glorious chaotic state. 

Her description of "all over the place tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, herbs, marigolds, celery and physalis hiding their golden fruits in gentle yet firm lanterns, soon to explode with seductive sweetness" paints such a wonderful word picture. But you can see that from this lovely sketch which captures the scene in the potager at this time of year. I love the way Marilia uses pen and watercolour so spontaneously and lyrically to tell the story of the place.

Then there's the envelope showing the

" white pumpkins stretching their arms in every direction and ruling the garden with dominant huge canopies " beautifully done in mixed media.

I want to be there too - I can almost see the insects scurrying around exploring the new wildness as the garden returns to its untamed state .

A Great-looking Canadian in Germany

 Isn’t he/she (it’s hard to tell with Canada Geese) a beautiful bird!  This one looks especially striking painted by Albrecht Rissler in gouache on (IMHO) the perfect shade of softly grey-toned card.

I’d have to say, however, that the appearance of Canada Geese is just about their only redeeming feature.  Albrecht was nice enough not to refer to them as an invasive scourge, but the Americans are not so forgiving… I’ve heard they regularly bag a few hundred Canada Geese and feed them to the homeless, and I wish somebody would do the same here in Victoria!  Our defenses have been limited to barking dogs – quite effective, on golf courses for example, where they employ Labs and Alsatians.  But the geese do not respond well to condominium-sized dogs, whom they out-weigh and ignore.

The Butchart Gardens by Charlene

Charlene sent me this wonderful postcard depicting a deep ravine below the Butchard Gardens. She says that it is so shady that everything, even the lanterns are covered in moss. It is described as the North American version of a Japanese Garden. 

I have been to the Butchard Gardens, it is so amazingly beautiful and the fact that it was her husbands depleted cement quarry that she managed to turned into an breathtaking garden is quite remarkable. In the early 1900's, without a formal plan, Mrs. Jenny Butchard vowed to create a beautiful garden that everyone could enjoy. She requisitioned horses and carts to bring in loads of topsoil. Little by little, a garden emerged where and ugly scar had been! If you ever are able to see these gardens you will be amazed at the lovely garden areas she created. This is where my husband first saw tuberous begonias and we still grow them to this day. Thank you Charlene, I loved the memories it brought back, making me drag out my photos and pamphlets I saved from our trip!

Desiree

Ripe red berries fom Coin Perdu

Ronelle van Wyk sent me this lovely little painting from her summer place in France. It’s on papyrus, of all things, which adds wonderfully to her spontaneously exuberant style.  As always, Ronelle cradled the painting carefully, along with some lovely surprises, in an envelope sporting another of her unique splashy pictures.  Isn’t it a treat?

A visit to Culzean Castle with Bridget

Bridget sent me this wonderful postcard of the cornfield at Culzean Castle that they sometimes cut into a maze that she says is great fun to get lost in.

Her postcard also says that she often drives the 10 miles to the Castle to play with the grandchildren. I am shocked too, you don't look old enough to have grandchildren!!

She will also go to walk with friends along the beach or in the wooded grounds. The castle dates back to the 1400's but was rebuilt into a classical mansion in the 18th century, www.culzeanexperience.org is the link to learn more about its history.

She goes on to say that there is so much to see that she often goes there just to paint and sketch.

Thank you so much Bridget, the painting is so beautiful! How I wish I could depict so much and still be so loose! I am off to explore the website, you made it sound so appealing that I wish I could walk and paint with you there!

Living in the states I really miss the history that you all have and I love the thought of old Castles and ruins!

Hi from California!

A lovely painting of a lovely day by Desirée Habicht

Isn’t this a great picture? Desirée’s card shows two wonderful ladies (probably watercolour painters) enjoying a perfect summer day at Glen Ivy Hot Springs. Unlike the dauntingly elegant, high-maintenance layabouts usually seen in spa advertisements, these ladies obviously deserved this iced-tea-drinking drift around the pool preceded by mud baths, massages and sauna… and Desirée accurately guessed that this might be my kind of place!

Robyn and her binoculars!

I'd forgotten that, as well as sketching and posting postcards, I also receive them. So getting a beautiful  watercolour scene from Umbria, Italy was such a lovely surprise today. 

Now, we at Sketchercise know how much Robyn treasures her binoculars, but to use them to see a distant view which she thought I would enjoy, and, at the same time sketch that view is possibly even a first for Robyn! And I do love it - the hillside house, the patterns of fields and trees and the Umbrian greens at this time of year.

Thankyou Robyn for the effort you've made. I do appreciate it. Though, at the same time I have this lovely, quirky mental image of you holding binoculars in one hand and a paintbrush in the other busily sketching and its making me smile - as you always do!!

A Deer in Richmond Park

Hidden in the Grass - by Alison Staite

You really need to see this beautiful, subtle watercolour in real life, the scan doesn't do it justice. Wonderful texture in the coat of the deer; beautiful soft green washes and the lifelike expression on the animal as it seems to detect the artist's approach. Alison says, 'In the summer months they often become well hidden in the long grasses. If they choose an area with the tall bracken, one can be walking along and they are barely noticeable'.

Ever since I've know Alison I have envied her the proximity of her home to Richmond Park and her encounters with the deer. She says, 'They are so used to humans one can get very close. People pay a lot of money to go to Scotland to get a glimpse of them. Here in Richmond Park you practically stumble over them - for free!'

Well I hope I eventually get to stumble over them with you, Alison. I couldn't think of anything more delightful.

Private View of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, by Katherine Tyrrell

Kathine Tyrrell often reviews major exhibitions in the UK on her highly-ranked art blog Making a Mark, and she sometimes does amazing sketches of the other folks invited to the private viewings and previews.  Although she sketched this nicely nuanced vignette early in May she had it propped up near her computer and “forgot to post it on time because it had become part of (her) office!”  I’m absolutely thrilled that when she finally got it mailed, it arrived in Victoria in just a few days, and now it’s part of MY office!  

Katherine has written many wonderfully helpful posts about sketching on Travels with a Sketchbook and Making a Mark (one of my favourites is 10 tips for how to sketch people) – but to actually sketch so beautifully and with such apparent ease takes hundreds of hours of practice, upon which I’ve barely started… so you can see why I’m so very pleased to have received this 'original’ from Katherine herself.

Zion, a Place for Rest and Refuge, plein air from Desiree

Zion a Place for Rest and Reguge, drama in watercolour by Desiree

 This lovely plein air of dramatic cliffs, reflected in the rushing melt water in  Zion National Park, trees catching the light and a terrific sense of place, dropped through my letterbox this morning.   It really catches the drama and scale of the scene, the cliffs towering above.   Her title shows her feelings for this place that come through in the work.   I know what she means with the title - I have the same feeling at the coast.  It's lovely to see all these places that are special to us, so very different with each country.

Desiree describes sitting in  a cold wind, heroically working on this - It was well worth it wasn't it?   :>)

There are great details on the back of the flowers and even park stamps that she has used as a frame for one.  It came through the post safely with not even a smudge or wrinkle.

Her use of watercolour is confident and assured.

The weather is playing games on our gardens in California

I received this beautiful postcard from Pat the other day, such a surprise to have a hand full of mail and to glimpse the colorful corner of her card. She couldn't have sent me a more perfect card, the garden is my shangri la. Pat tells me that she has been working in the garden and sat down to rest and do her sketch. She says that the grapes are early and the Camilla's should have been all done blooming in February. I do feel your same issues although I am loving this cooler weather. Thanks Pat for such a perfect card!