Going out... after a month!

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This morning I went out to draw, after almost a month and a half! 

I've been very busy, and although I missed my sketching promenades a few times, I was so distracted with work that days kept going and going, a month passed by, and I almost didn't realise. But yesterday, with the biggest of my ongoing work projects almost finished, first came a very intense tiredness (I was literally falling asleep every time I sat down), and today, after having slept, the realisation of how long it was I didn't get out to sketch.

This morning I had a bit more than an hour, so I took my stuff and the car and started looking for THE place to draw. The problem about having been so long without my sketching routine, is that, without realising, I was much more exigent choosing the spot, probably because it was the first time after what I felt it was a long time. So I spent like more than half an hour doing turns, parking, getting down, walking a bit, saying to myself "no, this is not THE place", getting in the car again, driving for a while, stopping, getting down, and so on. After a while I realised that if I continued like this I would not have any time left to sketch, and I just stayed where I was, in Echenevex, in a little square facing a corner in Rue du Bourg. Of course, after that many turns, I couldn't finish but a house before I had to leave, but OK, I plan to go out sketching more often from now own :)

Poster for a Scientific Conference
2016 edition

http://www.carolinadeluca.com/event-posters

Last year I made a poster for a scientific conference that took place in Amsterdam, do you remember that poster? 
It was a conference about tracking detector mechanics, and I explained a bit about the idea behind the illustration and the poster design here. This year I was contacted again to make the poster for the 2016 edition of the conference, so this is what this entry is about!

These conferences usually take place every year, and usually they change venue every time. For this edition, the meeting will take place in the German city of Bonn. I have never been in Bonn so, before starting with the real work, it took me a bit of documenting myself to get a feeling of the place. And yes, behind every illustration, every poster, every graphical work, there's always some investigation involved.

I watched some documentaries, asked some friends, and did a small research about the the personality of the city, and about its emblematic points. When this was clear, I decided what I wanted to emphasize from all that, and I started drawing buildings, walls, skylines...

I drew various buildings, that I've just dropped together in this image above: the ancient city house, a piece of an ancient wall that is still standing, the ancient post office, the University, the Cathedral, and then a skyline. 

Bonn is also the place of birth of the great Beethoven, and so I drew him as well (but this will come later ;) ).

Then, I turned the city into a particle detector.

I decided what structure I wanted to give the poster, where the text should be, where the image would be, and so on. After that I drew the basic structure of the detector I wanted to build, and I cut the various buildings into pieces, using my computer, and deformed them to fill in the detector structure I had created, trying to build Bonn as realistically as possible.

Once this was done I started painting the various parts, using the real colours the buildings have, and sometimes tuning them a bit so they would be more outstanding, more contrasted, more balanced... 

When I had the broken Bonn ready, I drew the cables, the cable boxes, and the metallic structures that also conform a particle detector, and merged them with the rest of the city. When this was done, the detector was already built!

And now what I'd promised... a bit about Beethoven. Well, I invite you to look into the poster and see if you can find him. If you did find Wally when you were children, then you should be able to find Beethoven too!

Learning to keep proportions

Another exercise we are doing with my 10 yr students, starting to learn composition and to reproduce proportions when drawing. They are now half way to finish the exercise, and the class is tomorrow, so I finished mine today. 

One of the good things about me doing their exercises is that I get to use techniques I haven't long used. This one I did it with different graphite pencils and pencil colors. It was a bit since the last time I did a full drawing using only this technique!

And now another challenge: can you name all the utils in the drawing?

Self-portrait

This is me. With my very serious face. I think usually I smile a bit more :)

I did this self-portrait as an exercice for the 10 yr old children who are in my drawing and painting classes. (I always do the exercices myself first to check them out, and make sure they are not too easy, too boring, too difficult).

This one was quite fun to make, and useful to start learning to draw faces, and to learn to identify zones of shadow to give the drawing some volume. So they did it with their own pictures a couple of weeks ago, and the result was pretty great. Kids learn so fast.

Painting on a different canvas

This last month I've been very busy, so I haven't gone out to sketch, or made a drawing for myself. It is always like this, there are times of the year where everything is quiet and I can do more personal projects, and others were work keeps coming and coming. Usually after Christmas, with Spring and Summer at the end of the corner, it's when work starts coming in, everything at the same time :) 

Lasts weeks I've been working non-stop on a longer project, but some days ago something different came up. It was a shorter project, and really different from what I usually do. I was so curious I managed to squeeze it in, and worked on it while waiting feedback on the other. That's time management!! ;)

So I started drawing a tree. An oak. I am lucky because I do love trees, and I do love drawing them. And even more lucky because I have some favorite trees, and the oak is one of them.

First, I drew the structure of the tree. Really the structure, so later I could use branches, holes and intersections as reference points:

Then I started to paint it, with the color palette I'd been asked first, and later on introducing a few changes:

After some color tests, I was satisfied with the result:

Then, I added some roots. A bit realistic, so they contrast with the branches, but with curls, so that they still talk with the part above

And well, today it was the day to make it in its final version, on its final canvas, not on paper, not on a wall, not on anything I usually do. Can you guess what is it? ;)

La Fôret 

http://www.carolinadeluca.com/illustration

These days I am very busy, with little time for personal projects other than taking an hour to go out to sketch... which I didn't manage to do in more than a week :) But between this week and the previous one I found little moments that I profited for myself. 

It was already some time that I had an idea for an illustration, one without any context, but just for the pleasure of drawing, and just for my pleasure while doing it. It took me some days, stealing time from here and there, but today I finished it. It is funny, because it is quite difficult to see a fox... but while I was drawing this picture I saw a fox three times in the same day. I wonder if they are always there, and it was me who just by then I was ready to really spot one.

Luckily, I didn't see any bear... 

Little village life

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Little villages as where I live do not have many services. In fact, in Crozet there's only a bakery (boulangerie), and not much else. But, once a week, the barber comes in with his portable barber shop and parks it in the parking lot next to the bakery. 

Isn't that authentic?

After finishing this entry, I grew curious and looked in the web thinking maybe the man had a website... and I found this article 

http://crise.blog.lemonde.fr/2012/12/14/patrice-et-son-camping-car-coiffeur-pour-hommes-itinerant/

If you are curious too, don't hesitate to have a look!! His, it's a story of courage and survival...
The article is in French though ;)

Celebrating my birthday the best I can!

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Today I'm getting many messages from family and friends, everyone wishing me a great day, so I took their advice and went to draw!  

Since this afternoon I had to go to Pougny, a little village next to the Rhone river, and I had some little time over there, it was the perfect moment to sketch a bit. That zone is a bit further from Geneva and thus it hasn't been as much urbanised as where I live, and it was easy to find a place to park and seat for a while. I didn't really have much time, so this one is a very fast sketch. And that car over there, that's where I parked ;)

Sunny Sergy

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Nothing's better than going out to draw after having delivered a draft and are waiting for feedback. And it could not have been a better timing, as today it was a sunny and not that cold. So I went out and didn't need my gloves nor my hat nor anything special to keeo some warmth. And when I finished, I wasn't freezing cold! 
In fact, this winter is being a bit strange. Not so cold, with plenty of sunny days, and only with a week of snow so far. I enjoy these days, but I can't help feeling a bit worried... 

I almost never finish a project and start right away with the next one in line, but usually I need at least a day to disconnect from what I've been doing. So after sending in the draft, I took my stuff and went out, not too far, to Sergy, where I've been before. What I realized afterwards, is that I'd drawn this very same road back in October last year. It is one of these roads that make a whole turn, so how could I imagine?

Going back to Farges

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This afternoon I was in Péron again, and I had an hour to draw, so I decided to go back to Farges. I hadn't been there since a long time, years, almost since we arrived in the region and were looking for a house. We then came to Farges to visit a house, and I loved the village. But in the end life brought us to another beautiful village, and Farges is not close to anything in my routine... until now. And it didn't disappointed me, I liked it as much as I'd done back then. It was really fast to find a spot and sit to draw in my foldable stool. This is the main road that traverses Farges, it is called Rue de la République, and it unites the village with the other villages around. With the snow that have fallen in the night, Farges had everything to offer.

A beautiful winter morning

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Winter has arrived. Finally! Now let's hope it stays for a while, just until it is supposed to, not more, not less (I do love spring as well). 

It has been snowing for some hours since yesterday morning, generally very softly, but steadily. The snow we accumulated is not much, but enough to cover everything with a few cm layer which the low temperatures will conserve for a few days. But this morning was so sunny and beautiful. Fresh snow, sun, and an intense blue sky. After two weeks raining non-stop, this was a day I had to enjoy. So I left my ongoing work for the afternoon, and went out to draw. I wanted to get higher in the mountain, so the snow layer would be a bit thicker, but I didn't get too far from home. Just next to my village, in Echenevex, I found this old farm and, well, I felt that was the place for today :)

Have a nice weekend!

A moment in Péron

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Last days it has been raining everyday, every time, all the time. Dark and wet days, very humid though not cold, but still the humidity has a way to making it down to the bones... I had work to do, so I stayed indoors, missing going out to draw. Today it is rainy and dark too, but I had to go to Péron in the afternoon, so I took a moment to draw. I've never been much in Péron, maybe twice, and not in the center of the village, but it wasn't difficult to find a spot. Luckily, because I didn't have much time! The drawing is dark, but so is the day...

Ah, and I'm starting the year with a new sketchbook, quite happy about it! :)

Fun with watercolors

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Nothing is better than a quiet afternoon, a new brush and a new watercolor box to have fun! I love watercolors. A lot. I love their transparency, and the game with the water. As unpredictable as they can be, they allow for a great variety of effects, can be combined with different techniques, and they are prefect to playing with and leave the hours pass by. What a wonderful way to start this year!!

Last page of my sketchbook... 

for the last day of the year

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It was just a coincidence, but some days ago I realized that I had only a page left of my drawing diary, and it was only few days for this year to finish. Obviously, I couldn't resist the symbology of it, and went out today, last day of the year, to honor this 2015 full of drawings. 

A couple of weeks ago, a friend recommended me to go to Mourex, which I didn't know, so off I went... The village is really nice, and really small, I'd almost say it has a single road and one intersection. But as tiny as it is, there were many charming views, although today I was kind of limited because of the rain and, ideally, I wanted to pick a spot where I could park and draw from the car. After many turns (I don't think I've gone over and over on the same road that much ever before), I decided to take the risk and draw outside. It went OK, it just started raining towards the end, so I packed my stuff and left... but the sketch was already done :) I'm still getting used to this new watercolor box, but today it was easier than the previous day in Divonne, and we'll have time to get to know each other better in 2016 :)

Happy New Year!

Marché de Divonne

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This morning I went with my father to the market in Divonne, he to walk around, and myself to draw and use for the first time the new watercolor box Father Christmas brought me. I noticed its pigments are much more concentrated, and so with a tiny bit I already get very bright and intense colors. The color palette is also a bit different, but in the end things worked out nicely, and I got my sketch of the market done :) 

Now, time to warm up a bit again, I get so cold when drawing in the shadow!

Felices Fiestas! Joyeuses Fêtes! 
Merry Christmas!

Vesancy, a village to get lost...

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This morning I went to Vesancy, a little village in the Jura, between Gex and Divonne. I had never been there, but when I was leaving home this morning, a friend told me that the town was beautiful, and recommended me to go. I had no clear plan to draw, but just wandering around a bit until I found something, so off I went!

Despite the fog that had descended this morning, the sky in Vesancy was bright and blue, and the day quite warm for being winter. And I am thankful to my friend because indeed the village is gorgeous, undamaged, and well conserved. The town seems to be built around the château de Gex and the church, and from the cemetery where I was drawing, the houses seem to crow together leaving no space for anything else. 

One other day I will come back, Vesancy, and get lost in your little streets and corners. I'm sure you have plenty to offer me!

A corner in Prévessin

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Wednesday night I went to my weekly model drawing session in Ferney, and when I got there, the model asked me if I could drive her home, as she was with the car in the garage. She lived in Prévessin, and it was only a small detour for me on my way back home, so I took her with me. We arrived to Prevessin from Ferney and at some point she indicated me to turn left. It was dark, but I could see that in the middle of the whole residential area Prévessin has become, there was this small road that had remained almost intact, with its old houses and farms, and with its beautiful corners. So I decided that next time I would have a moment to go out, I would come back there. 

Today I really didn't have much time, but it was so sunny I really had to profit, so I took my stuff and went out. The time was so short that for the first time I had to set an alarm to stop drawing and run to my car. Time can fly when I am drawing!! I chose a spot where I would get some sun, and drew this quiet and charming corner between Chemin de Magny and Chemin du Marais. Today, time was so short I didn't become cold at all :)

Drawing in the fog

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Today the day started sunny, but already in the morning the fog descended from the mountain, and ended up covering everything. In the afternoon, the fog was quite dense, and the ambient very humid and cold. I had a moment, so I went out. Also this time I brought my father with me, and we drove a bit before finding a spot that would convince me. It is sad, but as many beautiful and authentic places as there are around, many others have been turned into urbanizations, and even if they can be nice to live in, they've lost all of its character. Finally, we ended up in Mury, a very small village close to Echenevex, where houses and old farms still live together. As last time, at some point, my father stepped in, and this picture, together with my cold feet, is the result! :)

My father's favorite place

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Today my father brought me to his favorite place, so I would draw it for him, and gave me nice conversation while I was doing this sketch. This is a little road that goes from Chevry to Naz Dessous, called Route de la Source, and that continues high and almost to reach the source of the river L'Allondon. In fact, I found I have drawn it before, but from another location. It is funny since I didn't know the place, but I drive regularly through the road that cuts it high in the top, and just a detour right hand would have brought me here. 

While drawing, at some moment my father stepped into the frame, so that's him over there, looking at the fields. Then, when I was finishing, I got to meet the people who live in one of the houses. They were passing by with their car and stopped, curious to see if their house was in my paper. I love when these unexpected conversations happen, and when people is happy to see and recognize their place. 

I definitely had a very nice afternoon in this very beautiful sunny winter day. Now, time to warm up!

Finding new places

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Today, after a bit more than a week, I finally found a moment to go sketching. I had work to do, but I must say that the cold holds me back a bit as well and I find time to progress with other indoor projects. This morning I had to go to Chevry, so after that, I continued driving until I found this nice place in Véraz, a small village that belongs to the commune of Chevry. It is a small road with no exit called Chemin du Moulin, as there used to be a mill there. Since last time I posted a drawing, the snow that had fallen in the valley has melted down, but the grass is as green as ever, and the cold has backed up a bit. Although even 7 degrees is a bit low when one is without moving for a moment!

Building a story up

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What does come before, the chicken or the egg? What does come before, the idea for a story and then the illustration, or the illustration and then the need to make it live and evolve to build a story? Sometimes it is clear, others I am not so sure. 

The drawing I am posting today is one of these cases where the story and the illustration came together, or maybe the story had been growing up inside me before the drawing came, or maybe I got inspired during my excursions to sketch the little villages around mine. Most probably a bit of everything. 

A while ago I posted an illustration of a little road which inspired a story in which I am working on now. When you work a story out, the first thing you need is a storyboard. That is, a set of simple drawings put in the format of a graphic novel that will mark the evolution of the story. After that one can start doing the serious illustration work, so now I am making different tests of composition, color, characters, and others to define how is the place where this story will take place. Today's illustration is one of these tests. 

What will happen in this little town?

First snow of the season!

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And yes, it was really my last chance to draw without gloves for a while! Between yesterday and tonight we've had the first snow of the season! It is not a lot, but something around 10 cm, and enough to cover everything in white for a while. Already in the morning, the sun came out, and together with soft breeze, it is slowly melting the snow away. So I went out quickly, before the snow in the roofs melts down, to capture this beautiful moment. This is Rue du Jura in Crozet, a little road in my village that I've drawn before, but today I drew it from its top, next to the church, and looking down towards the valley.

House portraits

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One of the fun things of drawing in the street is that, sometimes, you get to know people. In general, people who see you is shy, and many not dare to even say hello, because they are afraid of disturbing you. But others, they approach, they look, and comment. I like it very much when this unexpected chat happens. Sometimes, some of these brave ones even ask you if you'd do a drawing of their house, so that's even better :) 

Then, once agreed, I go to see the house, we decide things like the size of the drawing, the view, the season, whether it should be sunny or it doesn't matter, and all sorts of stuff like this. When the day arrives, I go to the house with my little foldable stool, my pencils, pens and watercolor box, and make the drawing. 

The drawing below was done for some friends of mine. They wanted a portrait of their house in autumn, if possible in a sunny day. It was kind of tricky this autumn to get a full sunny day before all the leaves had fallen, as autumn mornings are usually really foggy here, and then days become shorter and shorter, leaving less chance for some sun after the fog opens up. 

After waiting and checking the weather forecast for a couple of weeks, finally a sunny day came up! And so I went with all my stuff and my small sketchbook, and did the drawing in small size so I could finish it before the sun light vanished behind the mountains. Then calmy and once at home I did it big size, and this is what this beautiful house in Thoiry looks like!

Who wouldn't want a portrait of a house like this?

Before winter comes this weekend...

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After working working working, and with everything done and approved, I finally got some time to get out this morning. And I was lucky that I had everything closed today, as there's been many warm sunny days before winter comes this weekend, and apparently, if I trust the weather forecast, today it was my last chance to draw without freezing for at least some time! I had to go to Thoiry in the morning, so after that I continued driving a bit farther, just to the next little town, Fenières, where I found this sunny and open spot with old farms and streets to draw. After I'd finished, going back towards Thoiry, I realized the view of Fenières main road was much nicer from that direction, but that's something I'll draw some other day.

Celebrating with Music 
collection 2015-2016

http://www.carolinadeluca.com/card-design

Again this year time has come to share with you the illustrated card collection for this season! For all of the cards the drawing is hand made, with ink, then I give them color digitally. 

Celebrate with music, and have fun!

Monsters concert

Le cirque

 Fête au cor

Petite Sorcière

Drawing in Chevry

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After a full morning of working in my computer, it did me very good to go out and draw. It is not always possible to find time to scape and draw, but in the end, it is not much, and it pays off. Colors are gorgeous now, even if we're in the middle of a cloud of fog that never seems to leave completely! This drawing is made in a small road in Chevry, a little village next to mine. The road is right where the town ends, and it goes parallel to the forest where the river Allondon has its source. The place is just beautiful. 

In Pregnin, under the cloud

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This afternoon I went to Pregnin, a bit further below the mountain moving towards Geneva, but very close to home. A very nice little village where it's easy to find a spot to draw when I don't have much time. So this is Rue du Fierney, which takes its name by the mountain that is in front of it, as does the télécabine that goes up to the ski station in Crozet.

And finally some sun!

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Fog is what defines autumn here. It starts with fog, and the fog only disappears when the snow is about to come, already in December. So one has to get over to the top of the Jura to see the sun on top of the sea of clouds. But, sometimes, the fog opens up in the afternoon, and so it did today! I took the bike and went just to the center of my little town, to draw this old coffee that is not longer a coffee, but an old farm converted into a house. These coffees were quite common in the region over the last century, you can check a bit of its history here:
http://www.ain-tourisme.com/fiches/Crozet/Site-et-monument-historiques/Cafe-du-Commerce/377906

At the airport

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Few days ago I traveled to Barcelona, taking my sketchbook and watercolor box with me, and with big (but unrealistic) plans to draw around. And then I only had time to make a quick sketch at the airport, while waiting for boarding, and not even in Barcelona, but still in Geneva! Next time, maybe... :)

Siesta time in Thoiry

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It is difficult sometimes to find moments for ourselves while kids are on vacation. But today, siesta time seemed like ideal! This is Rue de la Vierge, in Thoiry. In fact, it is called like this because there is a statue of a virgin there, but in the drawing, it is covered by the trees foliage!

Meeting a friend in St. Genis

Today I was meeting a friend in St Genis, and I had just a little time before meeting her, so I decided to leave a bit sooner and draw something. I went towards St. Genis, and actually, I did many turns with the car trying to find an "old corner" over there... but I couldn't find any that was actually intact. Probably there's still something left, I just didn't find it. After losing more than 1/2h looking for THE spot, I just parked in front of this crossing, and drew it from the car. This is one of the busiest crossings in St. Genis, where its two biggest roads, Rue de Lyon and Rue de Genève, meet, although not that busy at 2pm today :) But it was cold and raining... 

Having fun

http://www.carolinadeluca.com/illustration

In some way or another, drawing and illustrating is always a way of dreaming, and of getting those things in your mind to get life on their own. Sometimes the things I am drawing are just in front of me, and I just make them a bit mine when having them on my paper. Others, like today, they are ideas and stories, that get their way out from my mind and hands to the paper. 

This little town is peacefully quiet today. It must have a forest behind, but we cannot yet see it. Kids are surely at school, otherwise it wouldn't be that quiet. But it won't be always like this, as things change...

Today, Thoiry

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This afternoon I went to Thoiry. It is a village not that small, at least compared to others around, with many beautiful corners. As all villages that have grown up in the last decades, it also has some big buildings and not that nice corners, so one has to get lost in the small old streets to find these typical places. This is Rue de la Fruitière, and I already discovered some other thing to draw in that same street!! :)

Beautiful morning in Sergy

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Today I came back to Sergy. It was a sunny and fresh autumn morning, and wanted to profit the sun before clouds will hide it in the afternoon. I picked a sunny spot, to not get too cold while drawing, but oh! sun does move faster already, and after a while some bush was dropping its shadow on me! This is Place de la Mairie in Sergy, quiet, already a bit cloudy, and with autumn already starting to show up all of its colors.

Autumn is here

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Today we had the first real foggy morning of the season, announcing that yes, autumn is here! Behind the fog, the mountain is already changing colors, although today, as I told my children, it had disappeared :)  This is Rue du Jura, in Crozet, submerged in the fog.

In Sergy, under the rain

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Today I went to Sergy, I found a spot and even though I knew it would rain, I just hoped it would hold and I drew outside the car (I couldn't park where the best view was). But it started raining. At the beginning softly, so I was OK with an umbrella. But then harder and harder... I had to finish quickly and leave! Sergy, I will come back!!

La Foulée de Crozet, 2015 edition

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Beautiful morning today for a run in Crozet, and so sunny after the rain yesterday night. As well a beautiful morning to go out and draw. I arrived a bit late, but luckily just in time to draw the last runners getting to the arrival line :)

Today, Pregnin

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This afternoon I've managed to find some time to go out, and I've been to Pregnin. It is very close to where I live, just 10' by car, a bit down in the mountain. It is a very nice little village with many nice spots, but I like this little road a lot. And the view, well I just chose this one for convenience (a sunny place to seat ;)), but it could be beautifully drawn from every angle! This is Rue des Fontaines seen from the Rue du Fierney.

I couldn't get October to start without dedicating a little portrait to it!