Albrecht's Postcard from his Walk

Albrecht Rissler 2011
Graphite on paper 25cm x 15cm

I received Albrecht’s postcard on a day that was especially long and difficult.  After unloading all the stuff from my arms, schlepping everything from the car to the house, greeting and feeding all my furry animal family members waiting their turn to be given attention, I went over to the mail box and among all the bills I found this wonderful piece of Albrecht’s life.   There in my hand was a beautifully rendered sketch of what Albrecht sees out of his window.

Thank you, Albrecht, for this wonderful gift.

Stunning Autumn Glory at Sheffield Park

This card needs no words.  Enjoy!   I certainly am.  It's genuinely tremendous!!

Thank you so much Katherine.  I have been studying it carefully working out the technique.  The delicate interlace of pen and coloured pencil works brilliantly.

Lucky me!

If you'd like to know more about the wonders of Sheffield Park see Katherine's recent posts on her sketchbook blog:

• Autumn Colour at Sheffield Park
• An Indian Summer (and ice lakes) at Sheffield Park

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!

Trees in Scotland - a golf ball catch

Bridget Hunter sent me a nice card with a tree grove in typical Scottish colors. She critically reflects her latest ambitions in playing golf which at present mainly seems to be an excuse to have coffee and a giggle at the club house after a couple of golf balls have been buried between the tree trunks. She calls that exercise.

I think that it is this tabooless exchange of international customs that contributes a lot to the excitement in this postcard exchange. I am impressed by the quality of the gouache which arrived here in perfect condition. Thanks Bridget and good luck with golfing :).

Fresh from Coin Perdu

I'm not sure exactly which month this card was scheduled for - in between Ronelle going through a hectic time, and it sitting unannounced in my local post office - at last I got a notice that this envelope was 'still' waiting to be collected. Addressed to Mme, I knew who it would be from and was as excited as a child to see the brown envelope and the familiar free, exuberant style of the sketch on the front. Inside, it was Christmas come early with another joyous sketch of the old 1840 outside bread oven at Coin Perdu, Ronelle's private paradise, which will one day be converted into her atelier - and the treats hinted at by previous lucky postcard-from-Ronelle recipients - what a breath of warm, freshly baked tourte et pain from France.

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!