A DAY IN MARSEILLE

Hi!
Marseille is one of the biggest city in France, (the second after Paris and just before Lyon), built by Grec sailors 600 BC years ago, on the  mediterranea cost.
Many french people will associated this city to Marcel Pagnol (a really famous writer from the beginning of 20th century). He has contributed to make Marseille very popular with a theater drama taking place in Marseille, followed by movies adaptation.
 But Marseille is also a city with a great history.
Attached to the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC, the sea port used to trade with many Mediterranean countries and also a part of Asia. .
It was there that Knights left France for Jerusalem cruisades (after the year 1000).
Today, the city is still reflecting this historic past when you walk in the streets.
In 2013 Marseille will be the culture's european capital.

on the first drawing, you can see the Basilique "Notre Dame de la Garde" concidered by marseillais (people living in Marseille) as guardian and protectress of the city.

Guillaume.

WEEK END AT PORNICHET

Hi,
two more drawings done in Pornichet before my vacation in Vannes.
The first one was done during a flea market
Guillaume.

28TH SKETCHCRAWL- VANNES

Hi,

My sketchcrawl took place in Bretagne (Britanny), in the city of Vannes, where I was in vacation.
Olve, my friend from Oslo came to join us. For both of us, it has been a great time.
You can check his work here: http://olvesblog.blogspot.com/

Here is mine:

HUGE UPDATE!

Hi!

Long time no see!
I don't know but some drawings escaped from my blog diffusion. So let's talk about them:

In May, I had the privilege to be invited by the school "Pivaut" to be member of the board of examiners for the studients animation diploma in Nantes, a city in west of France near the atlantic ocean.
It was really an interesting experience. The studients were extremly professional.
I came back home with those two sketches, the first one was done from the castel's moats and the second represent the cathedrale of Nantes.



































A few days after, I visited the garden surrending one of the most famous castel of Loire, the Castel of Chaumont.

Details of the entrance:



















Last year, when I was still living in Oslo I made a trip with my dear friends Shank, Maya and Olve to the Chritiansand zoo. I decided to show you those sketches now plus the one I made during this spring 2010 at the great zoo of Beauval near the city of saint-Aignan (50 km from Blois). I thought it was a good opportunity for me to group my norvegian work and my french work and for you to compare the evolution of my drawings.
So here are the Christiansand zoo drawings from 2009:































































And now the sketches I made at the Beauval zoo in may and june 2010:

"LITTLE BIG CASTELS"

Hi,

The valley of Loire is well known for its beautiful castels like Chaumont, Chambord, Blois, Chenonceau, Cheverny, etc. But some "little" castel around them, unknown from most of the tourists are also some fabulous treasures of architecture . Most are private property but you could visite them.
With my two sketches made on moleskine watercolor paper, I'm presenting you the castel of "Guet-péan"(14-15e century) and the castel "du Moulin"( 15e century, builded for Francois du Moulin, as gift because he saved the king's life, Louis VIII).
The sketch about the Guet-Péan was previously a disaster but I reworked it and finally, something presentable came...I mean , I guess? What do you think?
Both of them are thirty kilometers in south of Blois.

Guillaume.

27TH SKETCHCRAWL

Hi,

for this 27th sketchcrawl, I spent the day turning around the cathedral. it's one of the highest point in the city. Behind the cathedral, next to the city hall you have a nice garden called "jardin de l'évéché". From there you can see a nice panorama on the "Loire" river bank, the neighborhood called "Vienne" and the bridge "Jacques gabriel"(last drawing).
Two hundred meters in front of the cathedral a stair called "Denis Papin (the steam machine's inventor) let you go down to the bridge, with an impressive perspective view (first drawing).
Fortunatly when you have to go up, a nice bar terrasse is waiting for you at the end of the stair. It's where I took a little break for coffee and...sketched some tourists.
A lot of street are called "degree", making reference to the degree you have to "climb"in Blois! One of them in front of the cathedral we lead you to this old house I draw.



Bonjour,

Pour ce 27e SketchCrawl, j'ai passé la journée autour de la cathédrale. C'est un des points le plus élevé dans la ville. Derrière la cathédrale, à côté de l'hôtel de ville se trouve agréable jardin appelé "Jardin de l'Evêché". De là, vous pouvez voir un large panorama sur la "Loire", le quartier appelé «Vienne» et le «pont Jacques Gabriel" (dernier dessin).
Deux cents mètres en face de la cathédrale un escalier appelé "Denis Papin (inventeur de la machine à vapeur) vous permet de descendre vers le pont, offrant une impressionante vue en perspective (premier tirage).
Heureusement quand vous avez à remonter, une agréable terrasse bar vous attend en haut de l'escalier. C'est là que j'ai pris une petite pause pour le café et ... esquissé quelques touristes.
Beaucoup de rues sont appelés "degré", faisant référence au degré que vous avez à «escalader» à Blois! L'un d'eux en face de la cathédrale, vous conduira à cette vieille maison que j'ai dessiné.

Guillaume.

AROUND THE CATHEDRALE

Hi,

Long time without update!!!
I don't have any excuses like: "I've been really busy!" or "the winter was so cold and long!" or "I had a lot of work!". NO! NO! NO!
NO!
In fact, I've been abducted by Extraterrestrial people..................You don't believe me?
I really would like to tell you more but unfortunatly for me and for you they erased my memory. Then, I won't be able to tell you the uncredible adventure I had.
So, maybe it will be better to tell you: "Yes I was busy working!LOL!

The new "old" sketches I show you were done in february and april. Again, the cathedral is the focus point, surrended by roofs. It's the way I composed my sketches but it 's also the way old city were organised in the past: church as the hearth of the city . In the view I sketched, you have the feeling that houses are attached to the cathedral. Take it off and buildings will start to move or fly (Too much imagination, I guess!).
The hight of the church was also a geographic reference used by pilgrim to find their way. On the second sketch you can see on the right an horizontal line representing a distant forest and so the real building altitude.

The city color are mainly light grey for building, dark grey for roof (done with slate) and red for chimneys. On my first sketch I used red colored pencil to translate this chimney's patchwork, unique color accent from winter time. I will experiment again this technic in the futur.

Guillaume.

Il y a bien longtemps que je n'ai pas posté de sketch
Je n'ai aucune excuses comme: "J'ai été très occupé! ou «l'hiver a été si long et si froid! ou "J'ai eu beaucoup de travail!". NON! NON! NON!
NON!
En fait, j'ai été kidnappé par des extra-terrestres .................. Vous ne me croyez pas?
J'aurai vraiment aimé vous en dire plus, mais malheureusement pour moi et pour vous, ils m'ont effacés la mémoire. Alors, vous en serez pas plus sur l'incroyable aventure que j'ai vécu.
En fait, je ferai peut-être mieux de vous dire la vérité: "et bien oui, j'ai été occupé à travailler! LOL!

Les nouveaux "anciens" croquis je vous montre ont été effectuées en février et avril. Comme précédemment, la cathédrale est le sujet principal, entouré par les toits de la ville. C'est la façon dont je compose mes croquis, mais c'est aussi la façon dont les vieilles villes ont été urbanisées dans le passé: l'église comme coeur de la ville. Vous avez l'impression que les maisons sont attachés à la cathédrale. Retirez la et les bâtiments commenceront à se libérer ou à flotter dans les airs (Trop d'imagination, je suppose!).
La hauteur de l'église a également été un élément de référence géographique utilisé par les pèlerins pour trouver leur chemin. Sur la seconde esquisse, vous pouvez voir sur la droite une ligne horizontale qui représente une forêt lointaine et vous donne un peu une idée sur hauteur de ce lieu.

La couleur des bâtiments de la ville est principalement gris clair, voir beige, gris foncé pour les toits (en ardoise) et rouge pour les cheminées. Sur mon premier sketch, j'ai utilisé un crayon de couleur rouge pour traduire cette impression de patchwork caractéristique de la ville de Blois, unique touche de couleur durant la saison hivernale.
Je reviendrai sur cette technique pour de futur sketch, en accentuant l'idée cette fois.

Guillaume.

26 TH SKETCHCRAWL- BLOIS

Bonjour a tous,

Samedi s'est déroulé dans le monde le 26e Sketchcrawl auquel j'ai eu grand plaisir à participer malgré la météo exécrable.
Blois n'offre pas beaucoup de lieux abrités de la pluie et du froid. Rares sont les bars offrant une vue intéressante. Il faudra attendre l'été et la venue des terrasses de café pour mieux apprécier ces escales.
Etant seul sur Blois à participer à cette journée artistique, j'ai opté pour la formule "voiture" qui m'a permis de découvrir quelques points de vue intéressants.
Ce choix était le bon puisque vers 15h il s'est mis à pleuvoir.
Meme si la récolte de sketch n'a pas été fabuleuse (seulement 2 sketches pour une après-midi!), je me suis permis de faire une petite mise en couleur, au rythme des "ballets" d'essuie-glaces!
Les bords de Loire feront certainement partie de mes lieux de prédilection pour cet été, en plus des ruelles étroites du vieux Blois.
Le sketch noir et blanc a été fait depuis un parking situé a mi chemin entre la gare et le chateau. Quelques toitures du chateau apparaissent derrière de vielles maisons bourgeoises.
Le sketch couleur (aquarelle) lui a été fait depuis les bords de Loire, coté quartier "Vienne" prés de l'héliport. On y voit l' église Saint Nicolas (12e et 13e siécle) au proportions trés massives mais élégantes, ainsi que le pont "jacques Gabriel" construit au 18e siècle. Le pont fut bombardé a maintes reprises durant la 2e guerre mondiale mais il résista et ne fut jamais complétement détruit, alors que le quartier au bord de Loire fut complétement rasé.

Bonne visite sur mon blog et a bientôt

Guillaume.


Hello everybody,

Saturday was the date for the 26th world's Sketchcrawl which I had a great pleasure to participate even if the weather was horrible.
Blois does not offer many places protected from rain and cold. Only a few bars could make interesting spots for artist. I will have to wait until the summer and the arrival of the cafe terraces to appreciate those locations.
Being alone on Blois to participate to this artistic day, I opted for the "car" which allowed me to discover some interesting views.
This choice was the good one because at 15:00 it started to rain.
Even if my productivity was not fabulous (only 2 sketches for an afternoon!), I allowed myself to make a little color version, following the rythm of "ballet" of windshield wipers!
The banks of the Loire river will certainly be among my favorite places for this summer, in addition to the narrow streets of the old Blois.
The black and white sketch was done from a car park half way between the train station and the castle. Some roofs of the castel appear behind the old "bourgeoise" houses.
The sketch color (watercolor) has been done from the bank of the Loire river, next to the "Vienne" neighborood, near the heliport. You can see the Saint Nicolas church (12th and 13th century) with its very massive proportions but elegant, and the 'Jacques Gabriel" bridge built in the 18th century. The bridge has been bombed many times during the 2nd World War but it resisted and was never completely destroyed, while the district on the Loire banks was completely erased.


I hope you will have a nice time visiting my blog.
see you soon

Guillaume.

BB KING TRIBUTE AND MORE

Hi,

I reworked recently this illustration, adding a bit of texture, trashing some part. I think I should drink more coffee when I work, it will help me to keep a loose style.
The second illustration is a tribute to BB King, the greatest bluesman on the planet!! Based on an ink wash drawing, I added some elements with photoshop.
Hope you will like them
Guillaume.

BLOIS, CITY OF THE KING

Hi everybody,

Blois is a small french city (around 48000 cityzen) but a great place for history and architecture.
This was the King´s residence in France until the end of the 16th century.
The wonderful royal castel is still here to remember us the glorious and prestigious past the city had.
The two sketches I show you today were done from the Place in front of this castel.
All around you have this complex view of roofs. It´s a part of the old city and all the streets are pretty narrow.
It´s a nice spot you apreciate to draw during a sunny winter day (no cold shadows coming in your back to freeze you!).
The cathedral drawn on the second sketch was build in 1697. Some parts older, from a previous church ( 12th century) are still visible (inside the crypt and on the base of the facade).

Soon I will tell you more with more sketches.


Guillaume.

OLD WORK

Hi,
here are some old sketches done with gouache painting in 2000-2001 during a trip in Malaysia.
Renting a motocycle, I was going early the morning in the middle of the rice field, on the Langkawi Island, catching the first sun light for those sketches.
The third one was done in the "Boh Tea Plantation", trying to keep my sketch dry from the rain.

Guillaume.

BYE-BYE NORWAY!

...and back to France!
But stay around, soon I will post from the city of Blois.
Thanks to many of you guys for the nice and encouraging comments on my work in Norway.
Guillaume.