I managed to sketch in the village itself three mornings - it never ceases to amaze me how busy holidays can be! Between walks, sightseeing, sun-bathing, paddling in the pool and eating all the delicious food, not much time left for proper sketching. Well, I can't complain. I did manage to do quite a bit more than the last time I was there, when I had broken my arm 36 hours before travelling!
Montséret is a quiet little village of 600 inhabitants. But you don't see most of them, ever. I have no idea where they are, what they do, or if they are all vampires that hide during the day only to come out at night, when I have so much mosquito repellent on me that even vampires can't come within 50 meters! I think it's the same in all these little towns in the rural South - you can walk the streets and not meet a soul, or an open shop for that matter! We were lucky that the grocery store is still open, run by volunteers from the village, otherwise you'd have to get into the car to go to the next village for your baguette every morning! We did a lot of our shopping there! It's called the Epi-centre!
This is a view that's imprinted in my brain by now, the entrance to the village, a short distance from the villa we were renting. It was about 10 am, maybe a little earlier. And the shadows were still long, and the light bouncing around the place, making every wall glow! A few cars went by, but most of the traffic takes one of the other roads, as this street gets a bit narrow. The only person I talked to was our landlady's father, who was taking his morning walk. He went back and forth a couple of times, as he wanted to take his camera to take pictures of his granddaughter working in the fields for the vendanges, along with the whole school!
The next day, I went just beyond the top of the village, to sketch these old cottages and the trees that are so ubiquitous to the area, pine tree, cypress, and fig tree. And the stone walls, which in some parts are in bad need of repair. And by the way, the whole time we were there, we never saw a snake or a proper lizard. I wonder is it a seasonal thing? Other times, we've seen gorgeous iridescent lizards sunning themselves on the walls, and lots of dead snakes on the road. I like lizards, but I'm not good with snakes, by the way!
Third morning, I sat at the top of a street that looks down towards the cluster of houses at the heart of the village, with the blue hills in the distance. Two things fascinated me: the jumble of tiled roofs, and the glow of reflected light on the walls on the shadow side of the road, on my right. I will be painting a lot of glowy walls this winter, I think!
And here are the urban sketcher photos:
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