Snow in Serres

With my daughter at music class, I had an hour and a half to devote to sketching. My idea today had been to sketch a rural snow scene but I couldn't find anywhere to park off the road, all the tracks and lay-bys still being too snowy. So I ended up in the square in Serres, a picturesque little village in the shadow of Pech Cardou.

Ma fille en classe de musique, j'avais une heure et demie à consacrer au dessin. Aujourd'hui, mon idée avait été d'esquisser une scène de neige en milieu rural, mais impossible de se garer hors de la route, toutes les pistes et aires de stationnement étant encore enneigés. Je me suis trouvée alors sur la place de Serres, un petit village à l'ombre du Pech Cardou.

Efisol factory

The Efisol polyurethane foam factory, the only industrial facility in this small town, was closed down by the health inspectors a few years ago. Its rusting pipes and tanks are quite an eyesore though it does have its attractions for an urban sketcher.

La seule installation industrielle de cette petite ville de la Haute Vallée de l'Aude, cette ancienne usine qui fabriquait des blocs de mousse en polyuréthane a été fermée par les inspecteurs de la DRIRE il y a quelques années. Bien que ses conduites et silos rouillés soient plutôt laids, c'est vrai qu'ils ont ses attraits pour un croqueur urbain.

Nocturnal Shadows

The forecourt of this town house in Quillan has a slatted wooden framework over it and the stark white light from the street lamp casts dramatic shadows onto the walls and pillars.
Ink drawing on site, watercolour added at home.

L'avant-cour de cette maison de ville à Quillan est couvert d'une structure à lattes de bois et la lumière blanche du réverbère jette des ombres dramatiques sur les murs et les poteaux.
Dessin au feutre fin sur place, aquarellé à la maison.

Chimneys

The final sketch from my Christmas visit back home. Delph is one of the villages of slate-roofed, millstone grit houses that make up the rural area of Saddleworth in the Pennine Hills. It was damp and not very bright for eight out of the nine days I was there. Living in the south of France, I am used to strong light and deep shadows creating depth and stark contrasts. Here in Delph on a damp, dark day typical of the area, the views are flattened and lines softened by the misty atmosphere.

Christmas in Delph

A first for me this year: painting on Christmas Day, a great antidote to overeating and awful telly. This is the view from another window of Mum and Dad's second-floor flat. At twilight the lights in the craft shop window are reflected in the wet road. Delph has won awards for its Christmas lights... many buildings have real Christmas trees with white lights mounted on the walls.

Delph Rooftops

In Delph for Christmas. View over part of the village from Mum and Dad's second floor window. There was still snow on the hills when we arrived on Monday and the first three days were dark, misty and rainy. This morning the sun came out and there were shadows to enliven my sketch.
Nous sommes à Delph au nord-ouest d'Angleterre pour les Fêtes. J'ai fait ce croquis de la fenêtre de l'apartement de mes parents au deuxième étage. Il y avait toujours de la neige sur les hauteurs quand nous sommes arrivés lundi et les trois premiers jours il a plu. Ce matin le soleil était au rendez-vous pour faire des ombres. 

Orange Chillies

A parcel arrived in the post the other day, packed with dried chillies of all shapes and sizes, colours ranging from palest yellow through burnt orange and garnet red to dark brown. All the way from Devon. Now shipping chillies from England to the south of France sounds a bit like carrying coals to Newcastle... but here in the foothills of the Pyrenees they are a rarity. And apart from liking spicy food, I've found that they are a perfect still life subject.

Here are my first two line and wash drawings of one of the varieties.