International Fake Journal Month

The month is over and I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Aix-en-Provence, France and the surrounding area. I used cotman watercolors and a maruman folding sketchbook. The sketchbook was quite fun and I will probably have to order another. I ended up doing 23 different pictures in the 30 days which is great for me. Several of them were worked on over the course of two or even three days so I was pretty close to doing something in this journal nearly every day!

I really need to invest in a photo editing program so I can actually work with my photos or scans. These are scans and they really didn't turn out that well but my camera needs really good light in order to take nice pictures of these and I just haven't had time during the day to do this.

Cloister of Saint Sauveur

Four Dolphins Fountain


Glass from a cafe and a statue in the market square of a boar. The statue looked very out of place among all the tables, boxes and trucks.

The Cours Mirabeau is the main street in Aix and is lined with beautiful large trees and several fountains in the center of the wide street. This one is a thermal, moss covered fountain that is ancient.

Store front and Senanque Abbey near Aix

Wine with dinner and a market vendor

Fountains in Aix - the Rotunda fountain, fountain detail near Hotel de ville and Hotel de ville tower

Couple at an outdoor cafe and fountain near the Hotel de ville

International Fake Journal Month

So, today is the first Day of April and also the first day of "International Fake Journal Month." Mike and I have decided to have fun with this together. While I was considering my options he just couldn't resist and we've both decided to spend the month in Aix-en-Provence. He picked out his new journal last Friday night at Borders. Since he's a writer, he picked a nice sized lined moleskine that came in a pack of three. I guess he'll find another way to use the other two. I ordered a lovely fold out Maruman sketchbook. I've always wanted to try one. I picked up a pack of Sanguine (love that name) pitt pens and am planning to use real watercolors (not just the pencils I tend to carry with me). Now, off we go...

And a little bit of fun in my real journal, though again, not much sketching from real life going on at the moment. This first one is cheapo markers, something I've never used in my journal before but I liked the brightness of the yellow.

"Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes and annual free trip around the sun." This was inspired by an quote (origin unknown) in "The Awe-manac" by Jill Badonsky. This has me stuck with Monty Python's "Galaxy song" in my head.

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving

And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour,

That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned,

A sun that is the source of all our power.

The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see

Are moving at a million miles a day

In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour,

Of the galaxy we call the "Milky Way".