Venezia in May during the opening of the Biennale di Architettura

Always a pleasure to sketch, especially in Venezia!

Urban Sketching May 15th 2016

Hi there!

Here is my new - still small - contribution to the blog! 
Went sketching on May 15th with Beliza: it was such a great moment! I had never seen Neumunster from top! ;-)

Thank you for this amazing moment! 

Really can't wait for next time! 

Have a great day!

May sun and shadows in Pfaffenthal

For the May sketchcrawl we met at the Luxemburg Youth Hostel in Pfaffenthal valley.

The weather was really gorgeous for this first weekend of May. Our group of eleven passionate sketchers  - two sketchers got lost in another part of the valley, the Grund, but found the rest of the group eventually! - headed out to admire the beautiful views in Pfaffenthal , one of the oldest parts of Luxemburg city along the Alzette river.

The warmth of the spring was quite welcome after some very long winter months.

But soon the May sun became merciless and Isabelle was so kind to invite the whole group in her beautiful architect studio nearby. Here we could combine all the pleasurable things: a coffee, cool water, shade and protection, the splendid views from the windows and, last but not least, the company of fellow sketchers.

Here is my Pfaffenthal version looking up. I tried to render the heavy sun/shadow contrast, but was not very successful and my sketch doesn't pay tribute to the sunny day it was.

And looking down: a playground in the valley

And this is the way we were sketching, sitting inside in the cool shade, with a beautiful palette of May greens in front of us.

May Sketchcrawl

Hello dear sketchers,

The weather is getting sunnier again, so we can go sketching outdoors again for our next sketchcrawl.

This time we have decided to explore the areas of Clausen and Pfaffenthal, where we haven't been yet.

Let's meet at the Youth hostel at 14.00 on Sunday 8 Mai 2016.

See you on Sunday!

INCAOS - CASINO

Here is my (small) contribution to the April Sketchcrawl that took place at the Casino - Forum d'Art contemporain in Luxembourg city.

First time for me but, whow! it was such a great experience!!

Can't wait for the next one!

Warm thanks to everyone and specially to Beliza! 

INCAOS - CASINO

The April Sketchcrawl took place at the Casino - Forum d'Art contemporain in Luxembourg city.

We were curious to see what the Casino looked like after it had been closed for some months for some works.

The whole ground floor was changed and a cafeteria was added, the one thing I always thought was missing at that museum.

A few of us braved the wind and sketched outside. There was just time enough for this sketch before it started raining.

I like how the letters of the Casino were shifted and spell "Incaos", a remnant from an exhibition a few years ago. It feels like an insider joke.

Sadly I had to leave early, so I didn't have time for more than one sketch. It was great to see a few new participants.

I always love how different each person's interpretation is!

To Japan and back...

I had the great pleasure to spend two weeks in Japan with the family!

I had some times to sketch... using refillable japanese brushes, with black and grey ink, looking for a japanese touch...

Zen Garden in Kennunji Temple in Kyoto

Kaori's guests in Kaori's bar next-door our Ochaya in Kyoto

Trees in Toraya garden, Kyoto

Kinkakuji, Golden Pavillon, Kyoto

Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawahttp://sketchingtheplace.blogspot.lu/2016/04/kanazawa-april-2016.html

Shinagawa-Go
http://sketchingtheplace.blogspot.lu/2016/04/shirakawa-go-april-2016.html

Choza Onsen in Fukuji Onsen Chuo
http://sketchingtheplace.blogspot.lu/2016/04/fukuji-onsen-chuo-april-2016.html

Kikyoumon Gate, Imperial Palace, Tokyo
http://sketchingtheplace.blogspot.lu/2016/04/blog-post.html

                    

Sketching instead of gambling in the Casino

For our April sketchcrawl we met at the entrance of the recently renovated Casino - Forum d'Art Contemporain.

The weather was mild, so I decided to start sketching the building from the outside with my water colours: ochre and blue, always a winning team, to mark the contrast between the main building and the glass and steel structure known as the aquarium.

 

Ah, the joys of urban sketching! A gush of April wind toppled over my water container, so I continued with a quick small sketch with my oil pastels in the same colour palette, this time of the nearby view to the cathedral and the statue of the Gëlle Fra.

April rain started to fall on our sketches - I said to Beliza with a Freudian slip : "Attention à ton destin" - and we took refuge inside the Casino building.

First we exchanged impressions and took a picture of the pool of sketches.

 

Then we enjoyed a drink in the ca(fe)sino with its beautiful original plaster decorations, chatting away about sketching tools and discussing art in general.

No gambling...

Casino le 3 avril 2016

Nous nous sommes retrouvés ce dimanche en début d'après-midi dans l'entrée du Casino - Forum d'Art Contemporain à Luxembourg, dont le rez-de-chaussée vient d'être réaménagé par l'architecte Claudine Kaell.  Cette ancienne bâtisse construite par les architectes luxembourgeois Pierre Kemp et Pierre Funck dans les années 1880, a subi une première transformation, je suppose dans les années soixante, par l'adjonction du pavillon "l'aquarium" réalisé par l'architecte luxembourgeois René Maillet. J'avais entendu dire que la structure porteuse de ce pavillon aurait été conçue en collaboration avec Jean Prouvé. Ai-je mal compris? J'ai donc commencé par essayer de saisir la structure métallique de ce pavillon de verre, pendant qu'une partie de notre groupe s'installait à l'extérieur pour mieux esquisser le contraste vivant entre la bâtisse du 19ème siècle et le pavillon de verre du 20ème siècle. Cet exercice m'a semblé bien difficile, j'aurais voulu pouvoir exprimer toute la légèreté et la luminosité de ce pavillon…mais je n'étais pas très à l'aise.

Puis, lorsque nous nous sommes réunis à l'intérieur, après avoir échangés nos impressions du dedans et du dehors, nous nous sommes installés dans la cafétéria Ca(fé)sino. Le nouvel aménagement a remis en valeur tout le décors de lambris et de frises qui avait disparu depuis les années 95, lorsque pour l'année culturelle, cette salle a entièrement été rendue aveugle par des panneaux/murs d'accrochage pour les expositions.

        

La libération de ces murs m'a fait découvrir la beauté et la luminosité de cette salle de café au décor désuet et où nous avons sirotés nos boissons en discutant d'expositions.

Nous ne sommes pas allés à l'étage. Peut-être une autre fois…

USK + LUCA at the Grand Theatre in Luxembourg

Usual family pic after our session at the Grand Theatre in Luxembourg

Thomas Miller from LUCA made nice professional photos that day!

April Sketchcrawl

Hello dear sketchers,

I hope you had a very happy Easter celebration.

The Casino Forum d'art contemporain has reopened, so we thought it would be nice to have a look for this month's sketchcrawl.

If the weather is nice, we can also sketch in the surroundings in the city.

Let's meet in front of the Casino in Luxembourg city at 14.00 on Sunday 3 April 2016.

See you on Sunday!

Panorama sur la ville 6 mars 2016

Nous nous sommes payés le luxe de nous installer ce dimanche 6 mars dans le café/bar au sommet de l'hôtel Sofitel Grand-Ducal et de profiter du magnifique panorama sur la ville de Luxembourg. Se concentrer sur ce paysage impressionnant dans la lumière tamisée, peuplée de murmures, en rythmant le dessin de pauses café, fut un très grand plaisir.

Du plateau de thé posé sur l'appui de fenêtre dessiné par Béliza ( voir "Overlooking the city") émane ce calme méditatif et l'imagination peut habiter le vide derrière la fenêtre en plongeant dans la vallée ou en effleurant les horizons urbains.

Overlooking the city

Last Sunday, we met with Urban Sketchers Luxembourg at the Observatoire, the bar of hotel Sofitel.

I had heard that it offered an amazing view of the city, but I had never been there before. I was not disappointed.

Everyone was drawn to the windows and tried their best to sketch the cityscape.

Personally, I am not used to that exercise at all and I found it very difficult, getting lost in too many details at some point.

There was a moment when I realized that I would never get to the kind of result I was expecting, so I just started to try out different things, playing with colour, ink and pencil. It was much more fun this way.

We do live in a beautiful city!

After the difficult landscape, I took a "break" and sketched the beautiful tea set in front of me. It really felt like I was breathing easily again. I'm definitely not at ease with big city scapes yet.

Green tea to get in a more zen mood

It's interesting how a change of subject can help me get much more playful with my sketches. I felt much looser to do a quick detail of one of the main bridges, the Pont Viaduc.

I love bridges

As I mentioned, this was a very unusual exercise for me, but one I think I will repeat in the future. Specially at this location.

Sketching at the Observatoire

Sunday's sketchcrawl was not quite a crawl, but there was definitely a lot of sketching going on, with many great productions.

Everyone was mesmerised by the view

Nancy sketching

Denis' sketch

Isabelle's impressive panoramic view

Busy bees :D

March sketchcrawl

Hello dear sketchers,

For the month of March, we are going to the cafe Observatoire of the hotel Sofitel Grand-ducal in the Gare area.

It will be the occasion to try our hands at sketching panoramas

Let's meet at the reception of hotel Sofitel Grand-ducal (see map above) at 14.00 on Sunday 6 March 2016.

Click on the map for more details on Google Maps

See you on Sunday!

Beliza