A colour chart, sketchbook pages, a daytrip abroad and a walk in the forest

After having bought some more colours for my new 24 half pan watercolour box on Saturday, I spent part of the weekend making a colour chart with all the 22 colours. I have to say, I love making colour charts. Mixing colours and seeing what new colours you can create. Especially with colours that you would normally mix together.

There's still room for 2 more colours, and someone mentioned in a Facebook group that you can actually squeeze in two more half pans. I might have to try that out one day.

I've kept up my practice of drawing (almost) daily. I really enjoy drawing portraits with coloured pencils and I have three or four coloured pencil in neutral colours in my pencil case.

I haven't done much sketching with watercolours in my new sketchbook yet, but it doesn't seem to take it worse than other sketchbooks.

Last Friday, I went on a little day trip with my Mum to Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany. We were so lucky with the weather, it was the only mild and sunny day in a period of cold and wet April weather. We had a great day there, good food, ice cream, visits to cafés, walking around the busy streets in the old town and finding a couple of art shops. Even if it's just for one day, a trip abroad always feels like a little holiday. That's the advantage of living in a small country like Switzerland, you can go to Germany, Austria, France, and Italy just for a day.

Yesterday was a public holiday, Ascension day, and after the cold and wet weather, spring has arrived again, bringing sun and mild weather. Perfect for a walk in the forest in the afternoon with my Mum, her neighbour, and Bobby, the neighbour's dog, especially as most people were stuck in traffic queues on their way to the south for a long weekend. I love being in the forest, especially now, when everything is so fresh and bright green. We also past a beautiful old gnarly mossy apple tree in full bloom, buzzing with bees, and stood in front of it for a few minutes, reminiscing about "my" lost apple tree, and how it would be buzzing with life too.

I have probably mentioned it before, but the special charm and beauty of this forest, that conveniently starts just a few hundred meters behind my parent's home, is that it is a natural, wild forest that is left to its own device. The only thing that is being done is when a tree falls over one of the paths, the bit over the path, and only that bit, is cut out. The rest is left as it is. A big part of the forest is covered in wild garlic, carpets of it covering the ground. The buds are just about to open and start blooming in a couple of days, but the smell already fills the air.

/>