France has an ongoing love/hate relationship with Plane trees. They beat them into submission through hard annual pruning, and force them into becoming magnificent, tortured-looking, sculptural Goliaths.
No town square, high street, or front garden, is complete without these speckled-trunked and twisted trees. They stand there like huge camouflaged columns, reminding you that YOU'RE IN FRANCE.
In fact, there are so many of them here that the expression Rentrer dans un platane simply means 'to crash into a tree'.
24 comments:
Love those sketches.
Plane trees in towns and Lombardy Poplars in the country - both of them get hit by motorists, but there's more chance of nutting a Poplar, I think.
We wondered what type of tree they were. They looked very strange and tortured without any leaves when we visited and it did amuse me that they seemed to be everywhere.
cheers
Ah la nostalgie . . .
Beautiful drawings.
I feel like I've had a short tour of France.
yes me too.
This put me in mind of the willows on the Levels. Nothing says Somerset lanscape, more than the pollarded willows, leaning heavily into the rhynes.
Thank you, kind Lady.
Since I had not heard of this tree before, I looked it up. It seems to be related to our Sycamore, one of which I have in my front yard. It sheds some of it bark every year and has a very artistic look to it. I love my tree and hope nobody runs into it.
Your artwork is just lovely, Cro.
I will have to look these up. Love the drawings.
lovely watercolours, Cro.
I really like the second drawing.
Your drawings are wonderful. (And you didn't make my brain hurt at all!)
Wonderful! I have just discovered your lovely blog and am now following...♥♥
Hugs,
Anne
Are those sketches yours Cro? They're lovely.
I also love the sketches Cro,you make them look hauntingly lovely..thankyou for such an interesting blog.
Lovely sketches - they remind me of Cartier Bressons' Paris sketches. You clever thing.
Yes, all mine. From deep in an old sketchbook.
Hello Anne, and welcome!
Dear Cro ~ (Re: Eggs) ~ there were a LOT left...they are still in the frig...we could send you some...;^)
Thank you for visiting!
Yes, that's me Dream Shed!
Yes... the sketches are really beautiful....perfect. J.
Time was I'd be filling sketch books with observations like this. Great sketches - makes me so want to make marks again.
Just catching up with your blog full of sensuality and wry observation: the thrill of meeting Stravinsky, the sausage recommendations, and the green ware, not to mention your character-filled drawings. London planes as I know them (ironical eh) were also planted in NZ streets and I remember childhood fascination with their nobbly crowns. About the time I became a council gardener, a new parks superintendent allowed the local trees their head, which was an education for me and one of my jobs was pruning to restore natural shape from their pollarded state.
On now to those gorgeous costume images...
Les platanes le long des rues et sur les grandes places des villes partout, that's what evoques happy childhood memories of summer vacations in southern France :-)
Those sketches are wonderful! I do envy people who can draw/paint so well.
I'm definitely enjoying your blog, Cro. And I commiserate with you over your scruffy neighbours! It looks a complete mess! We just have a manic DIY-er who enjoys converting bedrooms at 11 o'clock at night!
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