Daily Sketch No.19 Old Market Place, Menton, Cote D'Azur

The tall palm trees in front of the market hall in Menton mimic the vertical church tower in the old town. The blue azure sky against the apricot and peach buildings are typical of this area.

Daily Sketch No.18 Hotel Negresco, Nice, Cote D'Azur

This iconic 5 star hotel is on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Walk across the road and you are on the beach. I liked the huge palm trees that line the promenade contrasting with the clean lines of the hotel.

Daily Sketch No.17 View from the Apartment Balcony, Airole, Italian Riviera

The view from our balcony is always interesting. Views of olive trees, mountains, houses, gardens and people going about their daily lives.

Daily Sketch No.16 Ventimiglia Alta, Italian Riviera

The old town of Ventimiglia (Ventimiglia Alta) is incredible - with old, crumbling walls, telephone and electric cables running everywhere, typical of Italy but a real place, no airs and graces, just a place where time has stood still, stuck in some kind of time warp. Most of the steep streets are narrow, with access only by foot. A complete contrast to affluent Menton in France just 10 minutes away, with its peach coloured, well-kept buildings.

Daily Sketch No.15 Biot, Cote D'Azur

Biot is a charming village near to Antibes. There are many artisans specialising in working with glass. Today was warm, not a cloud in sight, the sea a lovely cobalt blue. The pale pinky yellow sandstone buildings and orange roofs are typical of this area and on a sunny day like today look stunning against the blue sea.

Daily Sketch No.14 Airole Village Church, Western Liguria

The village of Airole where we have our little holiday apartment is just 10 minutes inland from Ventimiglia, the bustling Italian coastal town on the border with France. Only 200 metres above sea level, Airole is surrounded by steep wooded terraces. Olive trees and lemon trees thrive in this micro-climate. I liked the warm colours of the buildings set against the cool greens of the wooded slopes.

Daily Sketch No.13 Ville Franche Harbour, Cote D,Azur

One of my other favourite villages on the coast - Ville Franche. Restaurants and cafes line the harbour. Alleyways criss-cross the old village. A magical place especially on a hot summer evening with the restaurants full with people chatting and the street lamps reflecting in the water - I will be back to sketch this scene later in summer!

Daily Sketch No.12 Cafe Life, Menton, Cote D'Azur

Barga is only a 4.5 hour drive from France. Breakfast in Barga, lunch in France! I am on the Italian/French Riviera all this week and its a bit weird getting used to. People speaking in both French and Italian. The blue sea, exotic flowers, flash supercars, amazing pastries but the coffee is not the same as Italy! This little Piazza in Menton was full of life, people chatting over a coffee or a glass of wine in the late afternoon sun. Menton is our favourite town on the French Riviera. The buildings look Italian as the area used to be part of Italy years ago. Its relaxed and understated, not flash like Cannes and the apricot/peach coloured buildings are stunning. More sketches of Menton to follow this week!

Daily Sketch No.11 Castelnuovo Entrance, Tuscany

Whilst having my daily cappuccino sitting outside a bar in Castelnouvo, I did my daily sketch featuring one of the entrances into Castelnuovo, a town 20 minutes drive north of Barga. Castelnuovo is not as pretty as Barga, more of a normal working town but like lots of places in Tuscany, there is light industry which is good for employment. I will be on the Italian/French Riviera from tomorrow so expect something a bit different.

Daily Sketch No.10 Watermill near Barga, Tuscany

There are several old watermills dotted around the Barga area. This one is on the road to Sommocolonia. I liked the various outbuildings scattered around the main house.

Daily Sketch No.9 The Fornacetta, Barga, Tuscany

Just outside the walled city of Barga is The Fornacetta, a group of houses clustered around a narrow road that leads out to the surrounding hills.

Daily Sketch No.8 Hills around Lucca

The hills around Lucca offer wonderful wine and olive trails where you can drive around wine groves and terraces covered in ancient olive trees. The odd cyprus tree adds some vertical interest. The landscape is vastly diferent to the Garfagnana region where Barga is situated.

Daily Sketch No.7 Olive Trees in the Garden

Just down the road from us (35kms) is Lucca, a stunning walled city. The surrounding hills around Lucca are famous for the quality of its olive oil. We have a few young olive trees on our terraces which are famous for NOT producing any oil from the olives!, but the silvery green leaves provide some contrast on the terraces.

Daily Sketch No.6 Barga Duomo through the Trees

This area of Northern Tuscany is covered by thousands of trees, many of them Chestnut trees, the chestnuts made into the flour used for making pasta in times past. During Winter and early Spring, with no foliage on the trees, buildings can be seen but come Summer they vanish. This view of the Duomo in a month or so will be no more, just green foliage and tree trunks!

Daily Sketch No.5 Villa Biondi near Barga, Tuscany

This is the beautiful old Villa Biondi just outside Barga which is a Bed & Breakfast. I loved the box hedging leading up to the front entrance and the cast shadows of the trees on the faded facade. Sketched around 5pm.

Daily Sketch No.4 Barga Duomo with ‘Sleeping Man’ Mountain, Barga Tuscany

This is the most famous view of the Barga Duomo with the ‘Sleeping Man’ Mountain in the background so called as you can easily see the outline of a man lying down with his knees up. I drive past this view nearly everyday on my way down to Barga and everytime the colours are diferent depending on the time of day and the seasons. This was sketched around 4pm.

Daily Sketch No.3 Late Afternoon Sun, Barga, Tuscany

At the moment there is a wonderful quality of light around 4pm in the afternoon. I liked the contrast of the dark shady trees against the sun-kissed buildings. This spot in Barga, just below the Duomo is so peaceful, just a few cats lounging around in the sunshine and the bells of the Duomo chiming every 15 minutes.

Daily Sketch No.2 Farmhouse on the Terraces, near Barga, Tuscany

Sometimes inspiration for a sketch/drawing does not come visually but from what I hear around myself. A perfect Spring day, sitting outside with a coffee in the sun, the birds singing, a few buzzards circling around  and I was inspired! This sketch is the view from our terrace garden, looking across the valley where there is a lovely farmhouse with a tree-lined hillside in the background.

Daily Sketch No.1 Aristos Bar, Barga, Tuscany

This is the first sketch of a year-long project to produce a sketch/drawing everyday, documenting the medieval hilltop town of Barga and surrounding landscape in Northern Tuscany where I live most of the time. Some sketches will form the basis for future paintings but many will just simply be a record of the landscape throughout the seasons. These sketches will also cover trips to other areas of Italy, France, Northern England and anywhere else I may be! To be updated on my progress, please subscribe to my mailing list and become a member. If you also a sketcher, let me know and I can put your link on my site. Thanks and wish me luck!