time in the mountains

It has been ages since I wrote a blog post because we've been spending the last few weeks in the mountains with very little mobile coverage. And, to be honest, when we're in solitude-mode, I don't often have the motivation to connect to the big wide world and find out what is going on. It's nice to just be in a little bubble, away from it all.

So this blog post is going to be quite long as I do a bit of a catch up with lots of sketches from the last few weeks and a selected few photos. Hopefully it's length will satisfy your craving for news and allow you to forgive my long silence :-)

Is it possible to be in love with a mountain? If so, I have a bit of an affair going on with this one...

And although I've tried many times to capture my love in a sketch, I still don't quite have it. Perhaps that's the nature of trying to paint something you love, you don't just want accuracy - which is hard enough - you want to capture the feeling too.

From favourite, much visited haunts, we discovered some new treasures in the high alpine valleys around Barcolonnette.

We camped in the incredible Laverq valley at 1600m. Freezing cold nights with waking to just 2deg inside the van and the outside covered in ice. And one morning we were treated to fresh snow! Beautiful!

And in my sketch you might just be able to spot the little black and white dots showing the two boys in their wingsuits at their new exit point. (On the left orange wall, just below the top).

Lots of hiking to be done in the valley and here are just 2 of the many people taking advantage of a long weekend and beautiful weather.

And a fantastic treat for me especially are the incredible set of old buildings of the abbey.

Nearby, just below Tete de Louis XVI, a lovely little alpine hut. A ridiculous alpine start meant I had the whole place to myself. Perfect.

Over the hill in the valley leading up to Col de Cayolle.

Then a hop over the hill and into Italy and the dolomites. Lots of big, big hikes here, so the legs are now fit!

The perfect spot for an alpine hut? I think so.

Most days we've been getting lovely mornings and thunderstormy afternoons. That means an early start for hiking or climbing and siesta in the afternoon. Not much time for sketching. But some days I do find a shelter so that I can sketch even in the rain. Here I tried to capture the ominous, gloomy sky we get most days.

Still not many photos of us actually climbing, so you'll just have to just believe me that we've been cranking quite a bit. Even with the best intentions, the camera makes it to the crag and then just stays in the bag! But you never know, one of these days there may actually be a climbing blog post.

In the meantime, if you want to keep up to date with my sketches and photos, it's best to follow me on instagram - art.scatterlings

Until next time ... caio!