Feldis Monthly

We always enjoy our monthly weekend away in the mountains.  This time with lots of snow and COLD! weather.  We also noticed many new vacation houses.  Every year more and more...

 

Feldis Monthly

Every month we go up to the mountains for a bit of R&R (rest and relaxation!)  Still no snow, but it won't be long.

 

Drawn quickly in the cold, painted in the warmth by the fire.

It's been so long since I've posted here.  Time seems to be a fleeting thing. 

Hiking the Hoodoos

I am just back from a short but fantastic trip hiking the canyons of Arizona and Utah.  We started off in Sedona where we met this most amazing color red

 

From there we went on to the largeness of the Grand Canyon. Such an amazing space and color that I have a hard time defining!

 



 

We drove throught Navajo country and the painted desert on our way to Zion.  I even drove on Rte. 66 in Flagstaff (well, just for 2 blocks, but still!)

 



 

Zion Canyon was small by comparison, but great because we could hike right down in it, along the river to the narrows, touching the great walls of red.  We stopped for lunch at the Emerald Pools.  Well, I guess they are emerald in the summer...

 

 

Our final destination was Bryce Canyon.  This was the highlight of our trip where we hiked the hoodoos.  They are amazing things.  We could look at them all day and see so many different figures.

 

 

Every day I wished I had more time to spend painting these fabulous colors.  In any case, I would definitely recommend going in November.  A little cold but not too many people.

 

If you want to know more about the hoodoos, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo

 







 

Würzburg

While the Zürich Sketchers were out enjoying the beautiful weather with their sketchbooks, I was enjoying Würzburg, hiking through the vineyards along the Main, and drinking too much wine! Beautiful city with an amazing view from the Festung Marienburg.

 

Saw this guy everywhere...

 

Birdseye

We have been enjoying super warm, sunny weather on our yearly holiday, escaping the rain and cold of Zürich!

They are tearing down this iconic building in Gloucester, MA.  Built in 1916, birthplace of the frozen food industry, Birdseye started out by freezing fish.  Empty for many years, it will be cleared for a hotel.  Sad to see it go.

You can see more of our holiday on Cape Ann here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mlst/sets/72157646630759059/

Back to Sketching

After a long unexpected pause, I've finally gotten time to sketch.  These from up in the mountains:

 

43. Sketchcrawl in Neuchâtel

As one can guess, Easter Saturday brought cold and a bit of rain to our National Sketchcrawl.  We still enjoyed sketching the beautiful (even in bad weather) city of Neuchâtel.  Here a view of the rooftops above the city:

We sketched until we froze and had to flee to the warmth of the Natural History Museum where we saw a very interesting exhibition:

 

Then of course a quick photoshoot at the cafe as I had to catch my train. 

 

 

Not as many sketchers as usual but still a good group.  Looking forward to the next time we can get together to sketch, hopefully not on a holiday weekend!

 

 



 

Time Out

How nice that we have a time out in the mountains once in a while!  It's been so long since I could sketch outside and I really miss it.
Here is the alp neighborhood with its various houses:  the old, the new and the modern:

 

And in spite of the snow, I captured this scene with a watersoluble colored pencil (von Albrecht Durer, paynes gray) and was surprised by what happened on the paper when pencil hit snowflake.  Very cool! (!)

 

I am looking forward to warmer weather and more outdoor sketching opportunities!

 

More from Rockport

We enjoyed a short and very exciting time on the coast of Cape Ann.  Main Steet has many cool buildings to draw, one of which is the Italian hangout St. Peter's

 

Evenings were long, sunset already at 4:15!

 

And then came the blizzard storm that lasted 2 days.  It brought much snow, icy cold and HIGH waves.  Very scarey!

 

These waves almost came into the house!  The power of nature always amazes me! Interesting to see the summer place in a different season. 

 

Christmas Greetings from Gloucester, MA

We were lucky enough to spend time with family on Cape Ann and came upon this cool Christmas tree.  Made from lobster traps and decorated with buoys.  The best! 

 

 

Wish everyone a super start in the new year with many great sketches! 

Salzburg

A very quick trip to Salzburg.  Just a few hours to tour this beautiful mountain city, enjoy the first moments of the famous Christmas market and make the mandatory urban sketch.  Amazing Christmas atmosphere if not a bit kitchy.

 

Happy Halloween!

Though no time to actually carve this swiss version of the Halloween Pumpkin, I luckily was able to sketch it.  Wonderful spending time with my sketchbook again. 

 

Sketching in Zürich

I met up with fellow Urban Sketcher Janna Wega from Linz. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon sketching in the city.  She was in Zürich for one month, working on a project using small Post-it notes.  A little idea of what she is doing here:   http://www.jannawega.net/

My sketch of Zürich

 

And Jana hard at work:

 

 

It's always interesting meeting other travelling sketchers!

 

 

 

Home Again!

We enjoyed lovely warm days on the coast of Cape Ann, just north of Boston.  Everyday was beautiful.  We swam in the icy cold ocean water

 and strolled along fascinating coves filled with seaweed and a million tiny shells:

 

 

and along the breakwater stretching beyond the lighthouse at Gloucester Harbor:

 

 

 

And of course we ate well.  A must every year:

 

 

 

 

It's always great touching base with the old "hiemat".  I'm already looking forward to next summer!

 

 

Cool Mountains

My search for a bit of cool air was in the mountains.  It was still hot but the evenings brought a cool breeze.  Perfect for sleeping.  This view from a shady bench:

It's not Barcelona!

But we still enjoyed a beautiful sunny day sketching in downtown Zürich.  The view across the lake, my version:  (3 people, 3 different versions!)

the 10 meter tower still up from Zürich's Festival:

and finally the great action of people at the flea market on the Berkley Place:

Here I was thinking a quick course in drawing people in action would be helpful!
Now I'm looking forward to results of our fellow sketchers in Barcelona!

Former Bahnhof Affoltern

Another interesting train station. This one newly renovated as a bar. The automated train station has moved across the street. 

 

 



The bar is open on Tuesday evenings and sometimes has a garage band.

Zu Vermieten! / For Rent!

Bahnhof Rafz.   Most of the old train stations here are now being repurposed.  Modern automated machines have replaced the person at the window.  In this train station there are rooms available for office space or living apartments. 

 

I'm sure there are more of these good old stations around.  Is there one in your neighborhood?

Weekend in the Mountains

We spent a quiet weekend in the mountains.  No hiking for me this time, just recuperating.  Another 4 weeks.

Spring has started up there too.  Lovely greens, but also a bit of rain.  This view from our garden.

Sketchcrawl of a different kind!

I had many good intentions to sketch with the group in Basel but was stopped by a little inconvenience!  I had to be satisfied with the view out the window:

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I 'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's sketches as finally today we had a little bit of sunshine!  Next time I'll definitely be out drawing!