A Painting A Week 119 - Kalamata Olives, Koroni

For Sale - 22nd January 2013
Kalamata Olives
Size: 15 x 21cm
(Postage and handling included)

We're coming to the end of the olive picking season here in the Peloponnese  The area, since November, has been a whirr of chainsaws, chattering locals, and lovely olive wood smoke - it gives a whole new fresh aroma to your towels! The roads are cluttered with tractors hauling their  loads to the local olive press with exhausted workers perched on top of their big hessian sacks of olives. We 'helped' some friends of ours for 2-3 days at the beginning of the season, and got a taste of the whole process.  From the cutting off of the large heavily laden branches with the chainsaw, to the shredding of the olives off the branches. Each tree has a huge green net laid underneath to catch the olives as they're whacked off the trees (whacking is quite permissible and there are even special long forks for this very reason), or shredded off the branches. There is a very clever portable machine for the shredding process too.

The visit to the olive press was a great experience - all those millions of teensy olives travelling up and down conveyor belts and through various bits of shining machinery and, at the other end, out pours beautiful thick  rich green olive oil.... immediately ready for cooking or the table.

 I was impressed when I discovered these two huge piles of debris at the back of the Olive Press. One is leaves and twigs, and the other is the skins, pips etc. I'm very pleased to say that the latter is made into pellets, something similar to 'heat beads' for burning in your fireplace over the winter - a rather 'green' initiative - well done Greece!

Kalamata is our nearest city - a 40 minute drive along a windy narrow road dotted with villages, tractors,  rubbish bins, and sometimes even donkeys, not to forget Greek drivers. Kalamata olives are reknown world-wide for their rich and fruity flavour. These table olives are almond shaped, large, purple to black olives and are usually preserved in either wine vinegar, or olive oil. The chainsaw method is not used for these, as they have to be picked carefully to avoid bruising. These are the olives in my painting, hand picked by me!

Kalamata Olives, slitted and ready to go into a brine

Koroni Extra Virgin Olive Oil is pressed from the smaller Koroneiki olive. These come exclusively from the Koroni area where we live, which boasts the highest quality olives for making olive oil. These olives are much smaller than the Kalamata olives and when harvested are a mixture of purple, reddish, green and yellow. The trees at the end of the harvest tend to take on a rather haphazard lopsided look, but soon recover to their former glory with the new spring growth.  There's nothing like looking down on the swaying trees in the afternoon breeze - all those silvery branches.

Koroneiki Olives

Our view towards the east over the olive trees, with the Monastery and the Church of Panagia Eleistria

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Where Did 2012 Go? - A Year in Retrospect

Here I am on the first few days of 2013 and I sit and ponder where on earth 2012 disappeared to.  We did an enormous amount of travelling admittedly, and unfortunately this does take its toll on my ability to get into some real big messy painting as I intended. I've been pleased to continue on with my Art Weekly though, and am hoping to continue on with these, perhaps in a somewhat looser way in the coming year.

So, now in this blog, I feel the need to run back through the year 'in retrospect', mark the highlights and comment upon things creatively - any time apart from this is probably spent either sitting on the beach, or in a taverna/restaurant/cafe somewhere...... Its a fairly long blog (well, it is a whole year after all), so perhaps grab and coffee, or a glass of wine and enjoy.

January - we returned overland from France to Greece following a great visit to Sydney and New Zealand, with stopovers both ways in Los Angeles, and even though I shouldn't include it, as it was technically not 2012 (between Xmas and New Year), a few days visiting San Francisco, which was brilliant.

February - wintering down in Koroni gave me a chance to continue exploring with collage

 and different mixed media techniques. 

I also came up with some ideas for cards using some of my hundreds of Koroni photos...

March

With the weather warming up a little, it was great to get outdoors to sketch, something I did more of in 2012 than ever before.

I also started sketching daily, admittedly, something that fell into a heap once we started travelling again, but I did really enjoy it and am promising myself to get back into the whole daily thing in 2013.

April - Lots more sketching.

May - off again to France, this time to meet up with Aussie friend, Rita in Nice, before heading to Venice, the Italian Lakes and Switzerland.

We then rendezvoused with another Sydney friend, Peter, and spent a couple of nights in Moneglia, our favourite stop-off spot for visiting Cinque Terre.....

and then, into Tuscany, for a week in a great house in Barga, just north of Lucca. Whilst we were staying there, we were able to re-explore some of our favourite places, Lucca, Sienna, Florence, Pisa.

 Despite all the travelling, talking, eating and drinking, some sketches did actually arise from this whole trip and I am still working on getting the full Sketchbook completed.

June - still with our travelling companions, a few days in Koroni, then a great week cruising around Crete.

July - after another short stint in Koroni, to catch our breaths, I spent a wonderful week at Villa Nicara in Skiathos with my lovely friend, Yvonne, who always inspires me with her wonderful paintings http://paintingskiathos.wordpress.com/.

We both worked hard with lots of different creative stuff happening, as well as plenty of eating, talking and relaxation.

Peter came to meet me and we spent a few days on the island of Skopelos, before heading up to northern Greece to spend some time with his Mum. The only vaguely creative thing I can claim from the stay in Northern Greece is photographs - I was fascinated by the plastic boxes at the Kavala market!

August - mostly spent on the beach in Koroni, or possibly having a siesta to escape the relentless heat during our hottest month.  Despite this though, I joined Gill and her fellow On Location Sketchers for weekly jaunts to all sorts of lovely local spots.

September - more On Location Sketching

October -  back overland through Italy to France, this time with my eldest son, James, in tow. We travelled in my little 'cabrolet', which although fairly tight for space, but was lots of fun, particularly as the weather in Italy was brilliant.  I did get a little sketching done along the way, but should have done a whole lot more.

November - despite various car problems, we made it back, and settled yet again into Koroni, more sketching and also my very exciting foray into 'teaching' Acrylic Painting.
http://artistswindow.com/new/2012/12/acrylic-paintingweek-four/.  Considering these girls only had 3 or 4 morning sessions, they did brilliantly.

.

December - once again, back to France for visa stuff, this time we flew into Barcelona and spent some time there. What an amazing place to be just prior to Christmas, so busy and lively, despite the cold.

Phew - as I said it's been a busy year! No wonder I feel exhausted and that it flew by. I guess as far as creativity throughout the year goes, I can at least say I worked hard on my sketching, continued with my collages, and managed to keep up with the weekly art.  2013 will be the start of a whole new creative journey, and I'm determined to continue exploring new techniques, including collage, and more impasto style painting.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE. Here's to even more fun, laughter and creativity in 2013 for each and everyone of you.

A Painting A Week No 118 - Bells at the Monastery

For Sale - 20th December 2012
Bells at the Monastery
Size: 15 x 21cm
SOLD
(Postage and handling included)

These lovely old bells are hanging against the church in Koroni's beautiful Holy Monastery of St John.  Set inside the walls of the ancient Venetian castle, the Monastery stands out proudly with its many whitewashed chapels and domes overlooking the sea below. It's truly a serene and special  place - I've spent many an hour there sketching over the past 3 years. The nuns have always made us feel very welcome, and once even offered to bring us some lunch!

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

A Painting A Week No 117 - Vieux Menton

For Sale - 29th November 2012
Vieux Menton, France
Size: 21 x 15cm
SOLD
(Postage and handling included)

I love this view of Menton old town from across the bay. It comes into sight just after arriving in France from Italy along the coastal road, and to me highlights the wonderful haphazardness and colour of old Europe. Its rather tricky to photograph as it needs morning sun, and then a nice clear day, and a good long lens helps too. You may have noticed that I've painted a version of this 2 or 3 times before, and probably will again!

Menton itself is a slightly more sedate version of Nice or Cannes and a great base for exploring that part of Provence by train. Formerly entertwined with the principality of Monaco, Menton became a part of France in 1860.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

A Painting A Week No 116 - Autumn Colours, Languedoc

For Sale - 20th November 2012
Autumn Colours, Languedoc
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

When we were in the Languedoc region of France recently, everything was bursting into vibrant autumn colour. Autumn was my favourite season when we lived there, and I particularly love the changes in the thousands of hectares of grape vines in the area. Different rows seem to change to different colours, and each field seems to change at different times (if you get my drift!), so you have a glorious evolving patchwork effect everywhere you look.

I took this photo near the village of Villeveyrac.  We were cruising through the area and James and I both immediately spotted this view, with the coloured trees in the foreground just adding to the picture. I loved the row of olive trees near the centre of the picture as well!

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

A Painting A Week No 115 - Idle Boats, Vernazza

For Sale - 13th November 2012
Idle Boats, Vernazza
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Now that we're back in Koroni, I have many many more photos to reference for my paintings.  Its been an incredibly busy year of travelling, and it's likely I'm going to have to spend all winter organising all these photos, not to mention  previous years. This one though, was taken during a spring visit to Vernazza in Italy's lovely Cinque Terre.  Some of the boats that are usually moored in a nice orderly line in the harbour were lying up on the higher level amongst the restaurants, I would suspect, following a nice winter paint job.

When I was actually painting this I was thinking it was Portofino as I have taken similar photos there, but then as I was working on 'ageing' the buildings, I realised it couldn't possibly be Portfofino; the buildings in the background were far too 'tatty' (just as I like them!)

We were in Vernazza again about a month ago with James, and I'm pleased to report it seems to have almost recovered from the devastating mudslide there last autumn. The harbour area is back to normal, though the main street through the town is still pretty chaotic and noisy, with workmen, jackhammers and the like. Most of the shops do seem to have reopened and are sporting new and interesting facades.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

A Painting A Week No 114 - Albi, France

For Sale - 1st November 2012
Albi, France
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

We are still in belle France and the sun is now shining brightly after nearly a week of messier and colder stuff. It's been a sharp reminder of winters spent in France, and those 'warmer' items of clothing I packed in Greece really haven't done the trick at all!

I took the photo for this painting some years ago, and despite the 'washed out' blue sky, it was a very cold gloomy day. Following a lot of heavy rain, the buildings across the river Tarn glowed in rich shades of ochre, with the water almost matching them. The photo was taken from the garden outside of the lovely Musee Toulouse Latrec, which stands next to the huge cathedral which is so very stark from the outside and incredibly detailed inside.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on this link to my  Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.