Camping plaats 72

 Faber-Castell Pitt, S, 10 x 15 cm

Gerjak Tago Settler

 

Best Campsite Ever

Pen & Watercolour

260 x 360 mm

Terschelling Classic 300 grs

Camping Sketcher

Last week we went out camping. The weather was fine, the children enjoyed playing in the mud and the campsite wasn't too crowded. So good opportunities for finally reading a good book and making some sketches. I've not had the time nor the peace of mind to do those things for a long time. Now, after a few days back at the office I still have difficulties picking up the usual pace, going from deadline to deadline. This afternoon I've decided not to bother too much about that. Actually this evening I picked up working at a painting which has been patiently waiting for me on the easel. It was fun getting to know each other again. Also says my wife and our kids.
The sketch shows the tent my son and I used. My wife and daughter camped next to us, in their own one.

Summertime

It looks like summertime finally begins: lots of sunshine and high temperatures. Time to pack your camping gear and hike.
Five years ago we bought our first family tent. We went out to Italy, with our two kids. Mostly it's nice weather in Italy, but not that time. We had very low temperatures at night and lots of rain at daytime. On our way back home we even had a snowstorm on the Brenner. In June!
At least we discovered our tent was waterproof, although it was very cold at night. Luckily our daughter was too young to remember how cold it was during the nights. All she wants nowadays is going to a campingsite. Allthough she rather go with a camper. Maybe that's a result of the weatherconditions we experienced than in Italy. You never know. At this moment we haven't made plans where we're going to this year. Our son doesn't care, as long there's a swimmingpool with a big slide.
I made this drawing when I used the tent at a short paragliding holiday in the Jura. I didn't use the sleeping cabin, which make the tent twice as big, because wife and kids stayed at home.
Pen and watercolor on 300 grs Fabriano.

Multitool

I think that stainless steel is one of the most difficult surfaces to draw. For this drawing it took me a while (and several colorsketches) to make it look like stainless steel. It would have been easier to draw my Swiss knife. Perhaps a nice subject for another drawing.
Nevertheless multitools are very handy. When you're camping, hiking, cycling are even at home, sometimes you can make great use of them. I think the governement should give them for free!
Ink and watercolor, 4" x 6".

IF - Packed

With the first showers of rain to prove Autumn is coming our way, the camping gear is packed and stowed away on the attic. Waiting for next years Summer. My wife has already picked a place where we might be going. A place with lots of nice playing spots for the kids and good conditions to cycle. It's even near the sea, so could one asks for more? Perhaps sunny weather, because this year we had numerous days to test if our tent was waterproof...

Poof!

This week's topic of Illustration Friday makes me think about the sound you hear when you ignite the camping cooker.

Canned

This weeks topic of Illustration Friday reminded me of our search during our recent holiday for fresh mushrooms. Although we were camping in France, we just couldn't find fresh mushrooms. Only canned mushrooms. And to top it, we didn't have a can opener in our luggage so I had to use my old armyknife to open the can. Of course that didn't work out well also, I'll spare you the details, so we were glad that our meal at least tasted as it was supposed to be.
And we couldn't find the wine we liked last year so much, either! Not to mention the weather. It was once again a remarkable holiday.

Short stay

We were in France for a short stay. After two days on a really busy camping, we left and went looking for a small and quite camping. My wife directed us up in the hills, to the borders of a small lake where there would be a small camping. And finally, there was indeed a little, tiny, quite campingspot...
The place belonged to a very old hotel, which was apparently balancing on a cliff. According to the hotelmanager, madame Michelle (age: 250+), there was absolutely nothing to worry about. The hotel has been there since her parents founded it and it was supposed to last there for at least another hundred years. So the civil engineers had assured her after a landslide a few years before World War II had formed the cliff.
Although she was very firm in her statement we didn't mind to sit in our tent on rainy days, instead of booking one of the available rooms. Strangely enough the hotel didn't have any crack or other signs of disasters to come. It only needed an update in the bathrooms (authentic French, if you know what I mean!), new plaster on the ceilings and some fresh paint on the outside (as most buildings in France, if you know what I mean!)
Anyway, after a few days we left and we now even sort of miss madame Michelle and her 65+ son Christian.