Bits and bobs and bye!

Lindsay tagged me a couple of weeks ago and I started this drawing with the intention of doing an illustrated list but time got the better of me. These are green olives stuffed with garlic. Sounds awful but actually they are very mild and very more-ish! I'll do the tag once we've moved as it will probably be more interesting then.

















This is Mark's bedside table. In case there are any new readers here, this is not our stuff! Inside the door it has a ceramic lining so it must have had a chamber pot! (Now I see this drawing on the blog I can see how wonky I've drawn the table top!) It has a glass top. The bed has an enormous headboard and we are both so glad this is our last night sleeping here, those foam pillows are so uncomfortable!





















The light shade in Alex's bedroom. For some reason this reminds me of Habitat and Terence Conran - it has a seventies feel but maybe it's sixties. This drawing gave me a lot of trouble, probably because I expected it to be easy.
















The two chairs in our bedroom, an unfinished drawing. It's actually the same chair but drawn from different angles and not meant to look like one complete drawing (just in case anyone thinks that's strange perspective!)





















Another unfinished drawing of the one working lamp in the sitting/dining room. This one reminds me of my aunt who had a lovely ceramic fruit bowl centrepiece on her dining table although this is not nearly as classy!

I'll be off-line for a couple of weeks as we are moving to our new house in Thonex tomorrow morning. I can't help wondering how long we will be there as the longest time I've spent in any house has been 8 years! Together this will be our sixth (in six different countries if you count England and Scotland as two) and each one (apart from Kuwait) was supposed to be the one where we settled permanently! It feels like we have been in Veyrier forever so I've almost forgotten what we have in our container but Mark reminded me of one of the boxes. The washing machine had to be dried and was packed up on the first day so we put our dirty laundry and damp towels in a box out of the way when the removals men came to pack. It's about to make a re-appearance so I hope Mark gets that washing machine plumbed in tout suite!

Looking forward to catching up with everyone soon - bye for now!

Windows

Actually, this is just a filler post as I have been neglecting the blog. I have a few photos of Geneva that I have been meaning to post - these are just a few of the ones I've had time to re-size.





















All were taken in the Old Town, a stones throw from the main shopping streets to the south of the lake. The two above are of Rue Fontaine which has some lovely shops including one that sells papers and pads from Sweden. It all looks so tempting but the paper seems to be of secondary importance to the covers. I found another such shop near the Parc des Bastions. Everything seems to be about 'show' without quality - the high prices suggest something luxurious but all the papers are flimsy and not at all special.





















A small house, or perhaps an office near the Cathedrale St. Pierre.





















You might recognise this photo!











































Looking down to the Place de la Madeliene and towards the main shopping street, Rue de Rive where I seem to find myself quite often!













Place du Bourg-de-Four


The reason I'm not posting is because I was trying to take a photo of one of my drawings and after much to-ing and fro-ing with PhotoShop, I gave up. I'm going off this Moleskine! I just don't like how grey graphite looks against those creamy pages. Also, I have a few more drawings on the go and this is not me at all - I like to concentrate on one at a time or I lose interest. I took myself off to see an exhibition of works by Le Corbusier at Musee Rath and that put paid to my productivity! I haven't been to an art museum in years simply because I haven't lived in places where it's been possible. Le Corbusier interested me more than the others only because I had heard his name so often but really couldn't say I knew anything about him other than he was an architect. Knowing his drawings were on show, I thought it would be interesting. I picked up the only leaflet that was in English and looked at his biography. What struck me straight away was how much he had achieved throughout his whole life. It was as if he was born with a purpose and never swayed or faltered in his mission! A true visionary. Walking through the museum, it started to get overwhelming. He was a painter, an architect, a sculptor, theorist, poet, designer and even made tapestries. Everything he did was true to his vision. I didn't like everything I saw but I loved his sculptures and tapestries.

The next couple of days went by in a haze! It put a few things in perspective for me but I think I will need to go again before it closes in August. ( I hope the surly man on the desk who was more interested in his mobile phone than taking my money and the two security people horsing around in the corridors won't be there...)

I will try and post my (humble!) drawings very soon as we are moving into our new house on Thursday! I can't wait now, especially after visiting the house yesterday, but we will probably be without an Internet connection for a 7-10 days at least. No doubt there will be plenty of unpacking and sorting to keep me distracted, but it will be wonderful to surrounded by our old things again!

Sketching in Parc des Bastions and EDM # 66

This week on EDM I was set a personal challenge to get over my fear of drawing in public. I didn't do very well in the park near the Perle du Lac so this time I tried going to the Parc des Bastions near the centre of town. I had seen these huge chess sets near the park gates as I passed by on the tram.
















Looks very peaceful there. Have you noticed it's always men who do this sort of thing?! That building behind (it's a cafe) is so French! It would make a great scene to draw but I was looking for somewhere more discreet.


















First things first - this is the quick scribble I did while waiting for the bus. The ' hell with it, I'm going to sketch in public today, come what may' sketch of a fire hydrant for this weeks challenge. I did it in about two minutes before the bus came along and although it's a bit embarrassing to publish on my blog, I am rather amazed that I managed to get the proportions down pretty well! The drawing on the right was done a day later when I went back and took a photo (to compare and to draw from). It's a very busy road that leads through customs to France, so not ideal to stand and draw in peace.


















Anyway, back to the park. I found a bench along the long Promenade des Bastions overlooking the grass with lots of people enjoying their lunch break. The guy with the laptop seemed to be staying fairly still so I started with him. Funny that he kept looking around (he was laughing at something on the screen) to see if he was being watched but he didn't notice me at all!

This little girl seemed to have an enormous amount of hair! I started drawing her expecting her to run off or keep moving but she stayed like this for quite a while. For some reason I have trouble putting realistic faces to my quick sketches, or getting the heads right.

I think I was more successful today because I used the smaller Moleskine. It's much more discreet and it's probably less likely that anyone would be brave enough to come over and look (not like I had set up an easel!) I used a mechanical pencil (I hate those corners on the lead) which looks like a pen so it's not obvious I'm drawing. I drew the tree so I'd have something to work on while waiting for people to stop moving.

I was analysing what it is that makes me nervous and I decided I needed to scale everything down including my expectations. Start small and forget trying to get 'good' sketches. Breathe in, breathe out!
















I noticed a big group of Japenese tourists to my right looking at something. I couldn't quite see what was going on, but when I had had enough drawing, I walked through the park and saw this enormous wall. It's actually the Monument de la Reformation. Info here. You can see from the two people in the shot how big it is!




















I liked this figure best. I doubt he had a great sense of humour! Would make an interesting subject to draw. There were a group of youths in need of an audience just to the left, so I decided against it.














Very imposing when they are towering above you. Yep, I'll try these sometime!

EDM # 44 Draw a cat

This drawing came out of the blue yesterday morning (it's quite tiny, drawn in my small Moleskine). I remembered a photographer's name that I meant to Google and found a fantastic photo and I just had to draw it. I just adore cats like this and this is a beautiful profile. Copyright makes me very nervous so I have only drawn the head, but the whole photo is breathtaking. I came across his book last weekend and found it on Amazon for a fraction of the price. It set me thinking about what makes photography 'art'. It's something one can't put into words but you just know it when you see it - and this man is an artist IMHO. The book is a little treasure and (for 384 pages) costs the princely sum of £6! I feel an early birthday present coming on!

EDM # 14 Draw what you see in the morning

This is literally what I see from my bed, inches away from my face. I'm not sure what possessed me to try and draw it from my pillow! I had a headache at the time and as I had my head on the pillow and an urge to draw, this was the obvious place to start. Trouble is I had to hold my head at an awkward angle to keep looking at it, and I turned my headache into a migraine. So since I've suffered for my art, do I qualify as an artist?!

It's a hopeless photo, I can't get the contrast right. I was reading on another blog about trying to think of composition when sketching (it was a new thing for them) and it made me realise how important composition is to me because I never NOT think about it. I'm just getting used to this Moleskine and the placement of my drawings so although I'm happy with this drawing I'm very unhappy with how it looks on the page. It ruins the whole thing for me - I should have placed it on one page only, probably to the left. BTW, it's the bedside table. This Moleskine book is now hosting my apartment series. I have three more drawings in progress and I'm starting to panic as time is running out for all the things I want to draw here. My initial horror of the old fashioned fittings turned to fascination once I realised their potential!

Sierne

I'm sure it's impossible to take a bad photo in Sierne! The photos have a distinctive quality about them due to the washed out, faded look of the buildings. I rather like this lack of colour.














This is a view of the village, it's very small. Sierne is not far from us and still in the commune of Veyrier. I've walked there a few times but I have yet to see the same reflective light that impressed me on Good Friday. I think I must have got there earlier in the day. These photos were taken in the late afternoon and the sun shines half way down the walls making the shadows quite dark.















I've seen photos of Sierne on the internet - this has already been done!




















I can only dream of living in a house like this. It overlooks a vineyard and a valley with France stretching out beyond.




















Another of those morphing doors!















I love that colour against the grey stone.

More wisteria

I'm too tired even to blog today! Had a busy day running around yesterday. In the afternoon Mark and I met the couple selling the house to sign the final papers so now there is no turning back! Buying a house in Geneva seems to be a much more personal affair than in the UK where, once you've seen the house, the estate agents and banks take care of everything. Here every personal detail is listed on the papers including my mother's maiden name! We know details of the sellers too and when we visit in a couple of weeks, we will see them packing up and leaving what is to become our new home.

That's not our new front door above! It's one of the photos I took in Sierne. I'll be posting the rest when I have the energy! Just inside this old door you can see some household junk that has been dumped there. It made me smile to see an old computer monitor - that was unexpected!

Carouge

With our house move only three weeks away, the four of us went out yesterday to get a few things done. And with two Formula One fans in the family, we had to get out and back before the 'qualifying' so time was of the essence!

The first stop of the day was a bit of a wild goose chase. When we did eventually find the offices, it was closed and the opening times rather bizarre! Geneva is very French and I gather doing business at times to suit yourself and not your customers is par for the course. One of the restaurants in Veyrier closes over the weekend!





















Next stop was to Carouge. This is a lovely part of Geneva with lots of tiny specialist shops. I read that there is an artistic community here and you can see this along the Rue Ancienne with gorgeous little shop fronts selling furniture, artworks, designer shoes and clothes etc., and the occasional glimpse of an artist at work in their studios.

What I didn't know until yesterday is that on Saturdays the town is alive with street markets!




















We didn't have time to hang around but I had my camera with me and took a few shots as we passed. The first thing we saw was an area selling only second hand toys. It must be great to bring your kids out to play here and meet other Mums and Dads.




















Further along, there were the strangest things for sale! I could have spent the whole day here with my camera (and sketchbook?!) It's definitely on my list of things to do. (And to think I was worried about running out of things to photograph!) Aren't platform boots great? I'm probably the only one who thought seventies fashion was great. I was a teenager in the seventies so I regard it as my era! Wish I was young enough (and brave enough) to wear platforms now!

Carouge also has an industrial area and we were off to look for a Migros superstore. Migros and Coop are the two main supermarket chains but they are much larger than than the big names in the UK. They're involved in a lot of other business as well like banking and schooling.

We were checking out garden furniture and looking for new beds. (Those the quaint little specialist shops are beyond our reach!) We could have been in B&Q or any garden centre in the UK - it was packed with people buying plants and DIY equipment!

Walking through the rows of aisles with plastic hoses, wardrobe doors, tool boxes and the like, we reached the outdoor furniture and plants. It was just great to be doing this again! Suddenly I felt really impatient to get into our new house and start making it our own! I've been very good at not thinking about it but after today, the wait is going to be unbearable. Certainly, we will have no shortage of tempting things to buy!




















There were orchids in abundance, perhaps for Mother's Day?




















Is it cheating to take shots of flowers in a garden centre! The thought never occurred to me before, but what a great opportunity to get some unusual blooms!





















I don't know the name of this one but it grows up to nine stems with flowers and only one leaf.




















Even with a little enhancement in PhotoShop, the photo doesn't capture the colour and the subtle shading of this plant. Some of the others had reds and yellows so bright I thought at first they must be fake.





















One of the cactus stems, great patterns and subtle colour changes.




















All shopped out (window shopping IS exhausting, especially for men!) we had a pit stop in the cafe to recharge the batteries before heading for the supermarket. I sat in a corner next to a potted palm and noticed this wonderful looking bark. Ironically, as the gaudy plants turned out to be real, this turned out to be plastic!

A walk in the park

Karen on EDM set me a personal challenge for the next week - to go out and draw in public. For just ten minutes, then relax! I had asked EDM for advice as this terrifies me but I want to crack it. There are so many things to draw but I don't want to take photos and draw from those as that would be a cop-out for me.














I headed up to the park on the right bank again (Parc Mon Repos?). It was going to be a warm sunny morning with rain in the afternoon so I took a tram up there to get the most of the morning. I entered the gates just by this courtyard. I think these are the park administration offices. Could be worse places to work, don't you think?! That palm tree took me back to Kuwait!















A different variety, I haven't seen this before.




















It was very peaceful in the morning before the crowds descend for lunch. Three ducks in the courtyard. Will they be having a selection of sandwiches too?



There are more tourists in Geneva now so the park was busier than it was previously. I wanted to find a place where I could take out my sketchbook and draw without being noticed but it wasn't easy. I found a row of benches facing the lake with another bench to the side of them and slightly behind. I had a hedge behind me as recommended so this was perfect!

A lady in a funny sunhat had caught my eye but she was a little too far away now. As I got my sketchpad out (the Moleskine is rather handy for travelling!) a scruffy looking man took his place at the seat nearest me and took out his newspaper. Perfect, he'll be engrossed, sit fairly still and won't notice me. Wrong! He twisted and turned in the seat every couple of seconds. He put down the newspaper, and turned his face to the sun. He checked his phone, twisted and turned, stretched out with his legs straight, his legs bent, his head in his hands, then picked up his paper and started all over again. Ye gods! He must have been the most fidgity person in the park! All the while he was looking around at everyone so I had to hide my book behind my crossed leg and not use my head to look up and down at the paper.

I gave up and tried the pillars of the building instead. I quickly realised this was going to be as difficult with the perspective from where I was sitting so I took a photo, if only to see how badly I had done!

This is the Musee des Sciences. It has the most amazing view across the lake to Cologny ( a sort of Knightsbridge-on-Sea!) I soaked up some rays and admired the view instead. Then I thought about how lucky I am to be here, on the banks of Lake Geneva and the disappointment of my hurried scribbles melted away. What does it matter how long it takes to feel comfortable drawing in public, I know I'll do it eventually because I want to.

Wisteria

Now the tulips have finished, the wisteria is taking centre stage!

Sketches

This is Paul (aka DS1!) When I showed this to Alex he said 'that does NOT look like Paul!'. I didn't tell him it was Paul so how did he know?! I like this even though I've made him look quite hard. He's actually looking intently at a screen choosing cars for a PlayStation game - he takes his cars very seriously!





















The sink in the apartment. I did this originally for an EDM challenge but it's so dull I've decideded not include it! The kitchen is modern and featureless compared to the rest of the apartment. The door under the sink is hanging off it's hinges and rests against the dishwasher. I'll look back at this drawing and be glad I've left this apartment!


















A very quick sketch of a Smart car seen from my balcony. I'm trying to speed up with my sketches and just as I was drawing this someone got in it and drove off! I mentioned when I was in Kuwait that 2006 would be the year of the Hummer. In Geneva it would have to be a Smart car, they're very popular here.

Apartment drawings

Another in my series of apartment drawings. Still in the main bedroom, these are the bedside lamps. Very heavy metalwork, with plastic candles, they hang precariously on a single nail. This time I have left out the terrible wiring. The left bulb has stopped working ( in fact all the bulbs in the apartment are going one by one - two went on one day! ) but I know if I jiggle it and risk electrocution (part of the wire is wrapped in tape) I could make it work again! HB and B pencil on cartridge paper.

Blue shutters