bonheur: DIY watercolor

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DIY Painting A French Tomate

So it's happened again like clockwork.

On Sunday I fell in love again...

This time I fell hard for a box of French tomatoes.

I've been admiring them for a while now...not a good thing in France. If you wait too long they may be gone when you're ready to buy. Then you'll have to wait till next year. By the way this is a 'coulis' or package of tomatoes. Nothing like falling in a Big way for something. I'll be eating tomatoes morning, noon and night here - Coeur-de Boeuf, Ananas, Noire-de-Crimee,Sicilienne.

Just so you'll know next time you're in the marché this is a 'barquette' which normally holds raspberries or some other delicate fruit (never tomatoes or cherries/cerises).

And this a 'boîte' or a bunch (not a box).

Coeur de Boeuf from Brittany pretty well describes the shape of this tomato.

Though I'd prefer another name (as a semi-vegetarian) but nobody asked me...

Something to look forward to and plan on your calendar - a grand festival de la Tomate at the Chateau de la Bourdaisiere on the 7, 8 of September. Owner, Prince Louis Albert de Broglie is also the savior of fabulous Deyrolle on 46, rue de Bac 75007.

If you're nice to the sellers in the marche you may get a guide to French tomatoes - the varieties are endless.

Time to wet your brushes PBers and tackle painting some tomatoes plus a cherry and tomato-red nail polish I couldn't resist in Monoprix. First trace your drawing on top of your photo on the iPad. Then lay in some cool shadows.

A wash of water and drop in some warm Scarlet Red. Tilt your board to get the paint to move around.

Same thing with the cerise/cherry. Lay in some Cadmium or any yellow on top of the water puddle

Before you drop the red on top. Let it runnnnn! The paint will move on it's own if you let it. Just sit back and watch the action.

I probably should have stopped here while I was ahead. That's the tricky thing to watercolor. Not doing/tweaking/fiddling too much and knowing when to stop.

Hmmm...too late. C'est comme ca.

Take the plunge. Why not? If you send me the results I'll post them!

My messy paintboxes.

Dog-of-the day at marche Bastille

And nanny goats/chevre of the day.

Get out your paintboxes PBers

Ready steady GO!

reade more...

V comme Verte

Pale, pale green is unique I thought...

Then I looked in Amandine Guisez Gallienne's beautiful book, COLORFUL WORLD. Delicious pale green exists on the walls in Mexico, Finland, Mali, Rajasthan, on the Burmese border and elsewhere. I'd like to visit all these green, but I'm quite content to go back & have some more macs. Colors are always effected by what's adjacent to them.

A mixed color can look perfect when wet. Then it dries "down", much lighter and all wrong. Greens can be especially tricky to mix. It's not so easy to match a color exactly and takes a lot of experimenting..

Punch a hole in the color you want to match. Then hold it over the painted swatch. When you no longer can distinguish between the cut hole and the paint swatch you've got a match.

First time on rue Bonaparte I was just browsing. Next to Galeries Lafayette for a look but it seemed small and crowded. And 2 times I sat downstairs and had afternoon tea on Rue Royal.

I ordered a plate of 4 macarons -Citron, Caramel, Framboise, Chocolat. And a chocolate Religieuse mainly to photograph & then paint. I took only one bite - it's enormous!