Etretat - France

[Grapes]

I was painting few days in France, Etretat. We were passing by with car and decided to stay few days. This is the main beach of the city. To get these views I was seated on the beach with my cat and painting. These rocks looked like a nice subject matter. Once I had painted the first one I thought it would be nice to have the other one painted as well.

"Etretat 1", oil on gesso-ed strong paper, size: small. Plein air to the right hand side where I was sitting.

"Etretat 2", oil on gesso-ed strong paper, size: small. Plein air to the left hand side.

Thanks for looking!

 

[laf.art]

Simple but effective. I love the idea of you sitting with your cat on the beach painting, it makes me smile

 

[Grapes]

Thanks laf.art! Good thing painting with cat is that people are interested in the cat next to me and leave me in peace painting plein air. But not only that .. we do have interesting cat conversations an that is so nice.

 

[Artyczar]

I like the expressive way this one turned out. Nice!

 

[snoball]

Such interesting rocks and what a lovely way to document the day!

 

[Grapes]

Arty, thanks! I think plein air gives possibilities.
Sno, thank you! These little paintings sure bring memories.

 

[Artyczar]

I haven't done plein air before, only sketching. Not painting. I have sat and made the preliminary sketches outside and brought them back to my studio only to paint/render them later. That is mostly how I have done my desert pieces. And sometimes I have taken photos.

 

[Trier]

Very nice !
They have a wonderful, fresh, outdoor ambiance.
I like them.

 

[Grapes]

Trier, Thank you so much!

Arty, I didn't know you made sketches outside for the desert pieces and others. That's nice. It's enjoyable to sketch outside. I recommend it to everyone. This spring I even bought a new relax chair with a beer/ coffee holder. I used to stand always but might change the habit.☺

 

[Artyczar]

I'd never be able to stand for any long period of time due to my disability. I also bring a folding chair that folds into a long cylinder-type thing with a carrying strap. It doesn't have a cup-holder though. That's a good idea. I also can't be in the sun. Do you find a place under a tree? I've always stayed close to buildings as shade trees are hard to come by here.

 

[Katie]

I like both of them - very charming!

 

[Grapes]

Katie, thank you for commenting!
Arty, I've been standing for 6 hours in a row painting outside or in atelier but want to take painting more relaxed now and enjoy summer and enjoy the view in front of me by doing smaller sketches. If I paint big landscape en plein air it's kind of nice and even neccesary to step back and take a look how the whole thing is going. That is if you paint to the more finished stage outside. Now I'm often doing more like small oil sketches outside. I can stand in sunshine if the view is there, I don't often look for a shade. But note that I live in the northern hemisphere where the sun hardly ever is too hot or at least not as hot as in CA. It's actually kind of cold in shadow even in summertime so I'd need more clothes when painting in shadow of buildings. Although these two Etretat sketches were painted in the end of August during the day + afternoon in France on the beach which is hot. I didn't have umbrella with me. My cat has her beach cover/shelter bag to give her a shade and she goes to walks to the rocks and to shadow and nearby nature with my husband so she's not staying at the beach all the painting time.

 

[Artyczar]

Your cat sound smart!

I think even in the cold weather, which it does get here in the higher desert, I still am not allowed in the direct sun. It's not just the heat, I can't be in the sunlight because of the type of lupus I have.

 

[Maybenartist]

Simple, and you have a wonderful way with both vibrant and subdued colour.

 

[Enyaw]

I like the colouring of the second. More relaxing to my mind. Nice formations.

 

[Enyaw]

Forgot to say .. spent some time on your blog today and it sure was not wasted time. Beautiful works all over the place. Will go back for a longer look.

 

[Grapes]

Arty, thank you! kitty thanks meoow ..
Mayben, thank you! It's nice and rewarding to do simple sketches every now and then.
Enyaw, thank you for commenting. The second one was painted when the sun was setting down, so it was painted later hour than the first one. I was hoping that the colors close to the sun set time would turn more hazy blue and they did.

 

[Dm7]

Now I really wish I could do plein air there. Beautiful works!

 

[Nufocus]

Very nicely done, Moscatel. Maybe I missed something…. but I can’t believe that none of the previous comments referred to Monsieur Claude Monet who painted the very same rocks time and again. I’m quite sure, Moscatel, that the original idea of doing what you did there was in reference to Monet.
Cheers!

 

[Grapes]

DM, I hope you do get to go there. It´s a curious beach, coast, some tiny caves and other interesting stuff. Besides the place is closer to you than it is for us.