October sketchcrawl

Hello dear sketchers,

For our October sketchcrawl, let's visit the vide-grenier in Luxembourg city.

Weather permitting, we will be able to sketch visitors and exhibitors on the Guillaume II square. We can always take refuge on one of the surrounding cafés if needed.

Let's meet in front of Cercle Cité on the Place d'Armes on Sunday 2nd October at 14:00.

See you soon and don't forget your pencils! :)

Vacances autour du lac d'Annecy

Pendant que les Urban Sketchers L esquissaient l'ambiance festive de la Schoberfourer à Luxembourg, je me reposais paresseusement au bord du lac d'Annecy dont voici quelques moments contemplatifs tout d'abord depuis la plage de Saint-Jorioz…

puis sur les hauteurs depuis le parc de la maison d'hôtes. Quelle quiétude!

Sketching at the Schueberfouer

For this month's sketchcrawl, we visited the Schueberfouer, one of the oldest and most beloved Luxembourg traditions. Every year, starting around mid-August, this event, a mixture of market and funfair, takes place for three whole weeks.

The Schueberfouer was founded in 1340 by John the Blind, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg. It was initially a huge market where people from all around the Greater Region came to sell their products, ranging from agricultural products and livestock to cloth, pottery and other household products.

Over the centuries shows and games started to become part of the fair, and the Ferris wheel and rollercoaster became permanent fixtures in the 20th century, later joined by more and more sophisticated attractions, some of them not meant for the faint of heart.

 

The beginning of the Schueberfouer always feels bittersweet to me, as it brings loads of fun but also announces the end of the summer holidays.

On Sunday, we went there with Leen and Maria Grazia for the monthly USk sketchcrawl. I focused on the Ferris wheel, which I find immensely photogenic. The owners of the attraction came regularly to see how our sketches were progressing.

I am pleased to say that they loved them and even asked if they could buy my sketch. I told them that unfortunately, as it was part of my sketchbook, it was not possible, but I later sent them a scanned image.

 

One ride on the carousel and a drink later, I was ready to call it a day and to say goodbye to the Schueberfouer for this year and mentally prepare for the arrival of autumn.

I sketched at the Schueberfouer on another occasion. You can see more of my sketches on my blog

Moment de ville: excavation Centre Hamilius

Samedi dernier, 27 août, j'ai eu le privilège d'accéder le matin au 9ème étage d'un immeuble en chantier au coin du boulevard Royal et de l'avenue Emile Reuter. Privilège aussi de monter à pieds par une journée qui s'annonçait torride… mais l'effort en valait la peine! Un panorama plongeant sur les excavations ayant remplacé le Centre Hamilius s'ouvre à mes pieds. Depuis que ces immeubles ont été démolis, un espace long, comme une place cadrée par la rue Aldringen d'un côté et les façades du boulevard Royal de l'autre, s'est dégagé dans le tissu urbain. Seul un immeuble isolé émerge de l'excavation gigantesque, comme une bateau à la dérive, en vague équilibre.  Cet arraché dans la substance urbaine laisse depuis quelques mois la lumière baigner les façades de la rue Aldringen dont on peut maintenant apprécier la qualité. Avant que le nouveau projet referme ces ouvertures sur le paysage urbain, je voulais profiter de l'opportunité d'accès pour saisir aussi bien que possible ce moment unique de la ville.