A Painting a Week - No 55

For Sale - 1st September 2010
Roman Rooftops
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

When wandering around Rome there are always wonderful views of rooftops with a dome or two to add that bit of true Italian flavour. I'm an absolute sucker for the ochres and reds of the buildings too - the more layers of peeling paint the better, although this scene did look rather more freshly painted than usual!

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com to arrange payment and delivery. Please note that there is now a Currency Converter in both this blog site (scroll down), and my website (http://www.jackiesherwood.com/)

A Painting a Week - No 54

For Sale - 23rd August 2010  [SOLD]
Le Marché, Sarlat, Dordogne
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

A market scene from Sarlat in the Dordogne department of France. Sarlat is a beautiful and well restored medievale town in the Dordogne Valley, just north of the Lot. It has a large and well known market which gets incredibly busy in summer - fortunately I was there in winter!

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com to arrange payment and delivery. Please note that there is now a Currency Converter in both this blog site (scroll down), and my website (http://www.jackiesherwood.com/)

Painting in Skiathos... and other things

I am a little slow getting this blog written, and we're now settled back in Koroni after a 2 week stint up in northern Greece. On the way there I spent a wonderful and hectic week on the island of Skiathos attending a painting workshop. Yvonne has written an excellent blog on her site, with lots of photos, which does a brilliant job of describing my week there with her, far better than I could put together, so if you haven't already seen it, take a look http://paintingskiathos.wordpress.com/

I usually illustrate my blogs with the relevant photos, but there are just far too many, so I've put a selection of them them on my Picasaweb site - so click on this link for some visuals to go with these words http://picasaweb.google.com.au/jackiesinfrance

If anyone wants a week away painting and exploring a beautiful Greek island I can thoroughly recommend it. Villa Nicara is a beautiful and stylish spot with soothing rooms and a wonderful studio to work in (giving even more fuel to my dream of having my own studio one day!)

We spent our days (apart from studio painting time) exploring the island; we had a day wandering around Skiathos town sketching (and eating and drinking). For what must be the very first time in my life I forgot to take my camera that day - must have been the heat!

I joined in on a day’s Greek icon painting which was amazing, but sadly I couldn’t make the time to finish off my angel. Sorry Despina – I did love being one of 'your ladies' and if I don’t manage to finish it myself, I’ll bring it back next year! Its a very different way of painting using egg tempra with tiny wispy brushes and tiny wispy hand movements (unlike my usual strokes!) and comes together beautifully, especially once the gold leaf is added.

One memorable and very hot day we took a boat trip to the two neighbouring islands of Skopelos and Alonnissos, being invited by the captain (yet another a friend of Yvonne's!) to travel on the fly-bridge, frappes included too! The islands were lovely, particularly Skopelos with its masses of churches tumbling down the hillside. My camera worked overtime..... On the way back we passed the tiny church on the top of the large rock that featured in the Mama Mia wedding... and over the speaker system of the boat came Abba singing 'The Winner Takes it All' - absolutely perfect! We also passed pods of dolphins (pods?..... well at least I know its not flocks!) who were leaping out of the water and giving a real show - almost impossible to click the button at the right time though.

We spent many evenings in the buzzing Skiathos town where everything came alive at night – shops all open until around midnight – needless to say we had many late nights and many wonderful dinners and many hours chatting and laughing!

We also had the most wonderful day on Kastro Beach in the north of the island, after stopping off to visit the Evangelistria monastary and another two tiny churches, one where we drank water from the natural fountain to ensure we’d return to the island time and time again (yay). The trek to the beach with our painting gear was a challenging one down a goat track but well worth it to get to the stunning little cove below (trying not to think about the return trip). We set up camp for the day amidst long pieces of driftwood and rocks, having constructed the most ingenious 'chick shelter' with brightly coloured sarongs, all held together multicoloured and jewelled hair ties – boy scouts eat your hearts out! (tho I do have to give credit where its due to Yvonne for starting the building process!) Just above the beach was the taverna – the only other shade apart from our stunning sarong hung structure!! We stayed at the beach until around 8pm – almost the last ones to leave. A big day of painting en plein air - nothing beats having one’s easel perched up above the beach in the taverna, run by friendly hosts, and great food and drinks on tap – now that IS the way to paint!

So it was one very big memorable week for me after our quiet life in Koroni. Yvonne was a generous and entertaining host and the other guest Meli, from California, joined in on all the fun. Sarah from the UK arrived the day before I left and was getting all ready to teach creative writing, jewellery and silk scarf dying, and seeing her samples I was almost ready to stay another week!

I doubt I've covered everything, but don't forget to check out the photos - they say it all really. I must apologise though for my over-abundant use of adjectives. /http://picasaweb.google.com.au/jackiesinfrance

A Painting a Week - No 53

For Sale - 9th August 2010
Luberon Lavender
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Summer in France and its lavender time. I stumbled across this field with its slightly crumbling, but still functioning buildings, somewhere around the back of the hilltop town of Gordes.

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com to arrange payment and delivery. Please note that there is now a Currency Converter in both this blog site (scroll down), and my website (http://www.jackiesherwood.com/)

A Painting a Week - No 52

For Sale - 26th July 2010
Skiathos Rooftops
Size: 15 x 21cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Considering its officially holiday season here in Europe, I don’t feel so bad at having missed a few paintings, but with more travelling coming up in September, I had better get working! The roads are busy and the beaches packed full of relaxing people and brightly coloured umbrellas, and the water's full of stationary ‘talking heads’ in hats and sunglasses!

The photo for this painting (a loose impression!) was taken looking down upon the main town on Skiathos, one of the Sporades Islands in the Agean. Skiathos is a beautiful lush Greek island with sandy beaches and rocky coves, and the town is a maze of brilliant white buildings with terracotta rooftops, all this set amidst brilliant turquoise sea and blue skies. I’ll be writing a separate blog with photos about my wonderful week painting on the island, once we return to Koroni in a week or so, so stayed tuned.

I’ve spent many an hour studying the colours of the sea since coming to Greece and can only come to the conclusion that the colours change constantly. Depending upon where you are, time of the day, and the weather conditions, the sea can be anything from very deep blue to very light turquoise and these colours change by the hour. Perhaps I need to take a leaf out of Monet’s book and set myself up with a row of canvasses as the colours change!

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com to arrange payment and delivery. Please note that there is now a Currency Converter in both this blog site (scroll down), and my website (http://www.jackiesherwood.com/)

A Painting a Week - No 51

For Sale - 28th June 2010  [SOLD]
Cafe de France, L'Isle sur-la-Sourge
Size: 15 x 21cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Yet another cafe scene, this time from L’Isle sur-la-Sorgue in the Luberon department of Provence. The colours are rather different from my usual palette and I must admit rather a challenge! I remember walking past this cafe each time I’ve visited the town, and have always been attracted to the greens and yellows, so thought it was high time to see what I could do with my interpretation of it!

L'Isle sur-la-Sorge is known as the 'Venice of Provence' and is a maze of small streets amongst canals and waterwheels. Although we lived a couple of hours drive away when we were living in the Languedoc, L'Isle sur-la-Sourge seemed to be a place we always found ourselves in, either visiting friends staying there or in nearby villages or stopping off for meals when exploring the nearby countryside.

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com to arrange payment and delivery. Please note that there is now a Currency Converter in both this blog site (scroll down), and my website (http://www.jackiesherwood.com/)

A Painting a Week - No 50

For Sale - 22nd June 2010 [SOLD]
Portfino, Italy 2
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Portofino again. When I took this photo I was looking back from the pier towards the main square of the village. I may have mentioned previously when I posted the earlier Portfino painting, but I was amazed how tiny Portofino was considering how well known it is. It really only consists of the waterfront with a few tiny streets behind. It's nestled in between the sea and rocky hills at the end of a peninsula and accessed via a narrow winding coastal road which must be bedlam in the summer months with all the campervans!

If you're interested in purchasing this painting, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com to arrange payment and delivery. Please note that there is now a Currency Converter in both this blog site (scroll down), and my website (http://www.jackiesherwood.com/)