October 10, 2013, Chateau Hambye
When you are taking a workshop there is always something new that excites you and Lin's direction today was just that for me.
"Challenge: Paint/sketch 5 things in the Chateau that interest you, in one hour!"
Off we went. One hour is a very short time when you have to make a decision on what you feel would be a good addition to your memories and help you create great paintings back in the studio so there was no time to decide. Find a place where you could sit and get to work.
My first sketch was of Anna's (our host) liquor cabinet. It was in the corner of the formal dining room.
Covered with a purple and gold cloth and certainly had a feeling of the vintage of the house. I am wondering now how I managed to sketch five things in the house in the time allowed. I started in the dining room, moved to the kitchen where next to the huge cooking fire place hung the chestnut roasting pan and the fire place spit winder. I am not sure of the names of either of these two things but they both had the age of the house. There was so much to sketch but I wanted to experience more then the kitchen and the dining room so moved to the foyer.
In the foyer I found another of our group. I found a place to sit and settled down to sketch what I thought would be a very good reference of the house. As all the furniture had been found and placed by Anna and Rob when they renovated the door locks were there, and by the look of them had been added to as the necessity for more security came to Chateau Hambye by each owner and since the beginning. So many bolts, handles and latches! I am not sure if each night they slide all the bolts but it certainly gave you a feeling that you were safe for the night if they did. I think it took me longer to sketch this lock set then anything else. Loved it!
I had four and needed five. Time was running out and so was the space on my page. I found a candle stick in a built in wall cupboard in the games room and quickly sketched it between the spit and the lock.
We now could look back at the history of the house, store our liquor, lock our door, turn the cooking spit in the kitchen fireplace, roast chestnuts and do it by candle light.
A great way to remember where you have been!
Over the fireplace was written:
AED*A*LE TULLIER_ADV us & J8F* ALLIET CONT*1772
What does that mean? I really can't tell you but it did add the age that we all were looking for to our beautiful home in Normandy.