Happy Halloween from Holland! - painting, cupcakes and sightings! ~ October, 2011

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painting copyright 2011 Judith Nijholt-Strong. all rights reserved.

Top o' the Pumpkin ~ October, 2011

gouache on paper with pen & ink - approx. 6"square

At long last, I managed a small, "quick",  painting this weekend. Just the top of a pumpkin, but I enjoyed working with the gouache paints again.

Halloween is not a Dutch holiday or a Dutch tradition, but in my house in Holland, I do still celebrate Halloween  - afterall, I am an American expat! Fortunately for me, my Dutch family & friends do enjoy what I make for Halloween and my step-sons love the decorations too! :o)

photo copyright 2011 Judith Nijholt-Strong. all rights reserved.

Halloween Treats ~ October 31, 2011

The pottery Jack-O-Lanterns, in the photo above, were all found in "vide greniers" (flea markets/car boot sales) in France, during several of our autumn vacations - and the real pumpkin, on the left, came from Friesland (thanks goes to my darling Dutch husband, the intrepid pumpkin provider). You have to go far and wide to source Halloween things! lol

Me, decorating the cupcakes in the wee hours of Halloween morning and I do mean the wee hours!

photo copyright 2011 Judith Nijholt-Strong.

all rights reserved.

Making cupcakes ~ October 31, 2011

When we are in France, I always find something Halloween related - they're more into it in France (though nothing like in North America). I didn't go into this shop a couple of weeks ago, but now I wish I had! Maybe next fall vacation ...

photo copyright 2011 Judith Nijholt-Strong. all rights reserved.

Halloween at "La Maison du Papier" in Limoges, France

October, 2011

Another sort of "Halloween sighting" found while walking in Limoges, France ...

photo copyright 2011 Judith Nijholt-Strong. all rights reserved.

Graffiti Man on the Petit Rue de Temple ~ Limoges, France

October, 2011

The walls of the buildings were not orange. I played with the saturation levels in the original photo to get that orangey color, but the graffitti man's eyes and tie were really that acid lime green!  A very "stylish" graffitti man, don't you think?

Tonight, for our traditional Halloween dinner (I like to keep hope alive! ..lol),  we're having Beef & Pumpkin Stew that I will be making with some fresh pumpkin that my friend in France sent home with me. She grows everything organically and is a marvelous gardener. This pumpkin was so large, she had more than enough to share. I'm very thankful to have such a lovely French "mon amie".

Happy Halloween ... everyone!

Judy

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Photo Friday: Take the long road home ~ Meyssac, France

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photo copyright 2011. Judith Nijholt-Strong - all rights reserved

Small Street in Meyssac - October, 2011

Meyssac, France ~  Corrèze department of the Limousin

We've returned from our Fall French vacation ... *sigh* We had a great trip, again! I have many photos to sort through, sketches to scan, etc., etc., new experiences to think about - and this weekend, Halloween baking begins in my house in Holland! :o) It's all going to take some time to sort out; I'll post about the trip when time allows.

About the pic above:
I've been going through the photos from the trip and I'm processing some of them in black & white. I'm liking the images better in black & white, rather than the original color versions. Seems to me, the feeling of the moment is sometimes better expressed without all that color getting in the way - but then, I've always been partial to good black & white photography. In my past at art college, I spent many an hour in a traditional darkroom processing rolls & rolls of analog/traditional film and developing black & white prints, which I loved to do - it's great to be able to do this now with digital imagry with no smell of hypo!!

On the recommendation of a good friend of mine (thank you friend , you know who you are), I've been using  the digital editing program, DxO Optics Pro - developed by  DxO Image Science . It's a marvelous program  - so says "moi"! :o))

doei,

Judy

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Photo Friday from France ~ River Garetemps & the village Mortemart, in the Limousin

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All images copyright, Judith Nijholt-Strong. All rights reserved.

River Garetemps and the village of Mortemart

Limousin, France ~ October, 2011

I'm seizing a brief moment of  'unshaky'  internet to be able to make this post (wifi signal is very weak here).

The pictures are of the ancient market square and a church cross in the village of Mortemart, which is located in the Haute-Vienne area of the Limousin (northwest of Limoges). And a couple of images by the River Garetemps near the Viaduc Rocherolles, which is located in the Creuse area of the Limousin (northeast of Limoges) .

We've been discovering different (to us) areas of the Limousin and of course, as always, those kermits are enjoying themselves .... and so are we! :o)

au revoir,

Judy

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Fall Vacation Time! ~ Off to France we go ...

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painting copyright 2011 Judith Nijholt-Strong. all rights reserved.

View of Chateau-Chervix, France  ~ 2011

watercolor with pen & ink on Fabriano Artistico HP watercolor paper

We're off , until the end of October, to the village of Château-Chervix, France (located in the Haute-Vienne region of the Limousin). We also plan to spend time in the upper Dordogne region of the Aquitaine, in the city of Périgueux and its surroundings. And hopefully, I'll get lucky hunting wild cepes mushrooms and collecting sweet chestnuts...yummy!

Not sure if I'll be blogging while away, but I will be drawing and painting in my moleskines - starting Volume #5 of my "Travels in France" moleskines. You never know, maybe I'll find a moment or two to blog ... but, maybe not! :o))) If not, then I'll be back blogging around the end this month ... just in time for Halloween. :o)

P.S. Regarding the View of Château-Chervix that I painted: All that remains of the medieval château (castle) is the donjon (tower) - which can be seen from distances approaching the village. Cool - you know when you're almost there. :o)

 

À la prochaine!

Judy

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