Celebrating Luxembourg's industrial past at the Fête des Hauts Fourneaux

For this month's sketchcrawl we decided to head to Belval again, in the South of the country. The site of the old blast furnace was open to visitors for their annual "Fête des Hauts Fourneaux".

I always find this location very impressive, but seeing it come alive with activities and music made it all the more interesting.

Inside the blast furnace, a group of men were demonstrating how it used to work on a miniature model. Their protective gear with their silver outfits, thick gloves and big helmets reminded me of a sci-fi movie.

It was very impressive to see molten metal come out of the pipe at regular intervals, reminding everyone that the protective gear was indeed essential for this task.

It's hard to believe that Luxembourg's economy once rested entirely on metallurgy. Witnessing such demonstrations is essential not to forget that past.

After a while, due to the wet and slightly cold atmosphere outside, some of us found refuge at a neighbouring café for a pleasant session of drinking, drawing and chatting.

Sketching with the USK Netherlands

The Urban Sketchers Netherlands organised a sketchcrawl in Maastricht last December. Since the city is about 2 hours away by car, some of us sketchers from Luxembourg decided to go and join them for the day.

I arrived just in the nick of time for a workshop help by René Fijten. The idea of the workshop was to document a place going from the general feeling to a detail. René is a great teacher and he was kind enough to translate everything for the non Dutch speakers so we could all benefit from the exercise as much as possible.

For the first exercise, René asked us to sketch the general view of our meeting place, describe it as we saw it. Was it a busy place? a small location? etc.

Then we stopped at a passage. Again: what were our impressions?

We then had to choose one of the facades that were more interesting to us and document it.

And finally, finish with a small detail.

I found this approach very interesting and a good exercise to keep in mind when sketching outside. I think it would make for a very interesting composition on a big double page, for example.

After the workshop, and after lunch, I joined other sketchers at the bookstore Dominicanen, an old church re-purposed as a library and a gorgeous place.

There were tons of great spots to sketch in there, but I decided to challenge myself with a birds-eye view over the hundreds of clients on the lower floor.

It was such an interesting viewpoint that I did a second sketch, this time focusing only on the people. So much can be said about a place merely through the body language of the people there!

Only too soon it was time to share all the sketches and for the group photo. The USK Netherlands made a great little clip documenting the sketchcrawl.

Lazy Sunday afternoon on the Mosel bank

For the August sketchcrawl we went to Remich, at the border with Perl, Germany. Or rather, we went to Perl, at the border with Remich.

It was Leen's brilliant idea to sketch on the German side, thus enjoying the beautiful sights on the Mosel river while avoiding the crowds.

Under the shade provided by trees, we had a variety of subjects: the boats, the people, the landscape, the café. I chose to sketch a boat (ship) that had just docked called Iris.

We were quite the novelty there, with many people stopping to observe us. It was after I heard the third Luxembourgian person around us that I realized that forget Remich: this side of the river is actually where all the Luxembourgers go to enjoy the Mosel river.

This sketch is off to greener pastures

One of the skippers of the Iris stopped by to admire our work. He hinted not very subtly at the fact that he would love to keep my sketch, so I obliged. It is always flattering to have an admirer.

We had planned to meet again at 3 pm to share our sketches, but it was so nice to be in the sun and just sketch and talk that when we looked at the time it was almost 4 pm. High time to go for a drink and sketch each other and counter-sketch in retaliation!

It's difficult to capture an Italian woman's natural elegance on paper. Maria Grazia did not approve

It was a fun afternoon and I highly recommend to anyone going to the Mosel to enjoy Remich in Perl.

INCAOS - CASINO

The April Sketchcrawl with the USk Luxembourg took place at the Casino - Forum d'Art contemporain in Luxembourg city.

We were curious to see what the Casino looked like after it had been closed for some months for some works.

The whole ground floor was changed and a cafeteria was added, the one thing I always thought was missing at that museum.

A few of us braved the wind and sketched outside. There was just time enough for this sketch before it started raining.

I like how the letters of the Casino were shifted and spell "Incaos", a remnant from an exhibition a few years ago. It feels like an insider joke.

Sadly I had to leave early, so I didn't have time for more than one sketch. It was great to see a few new faces. Hopefully more regulars for our group.

Ping...

... and pong!

I should probably say table tennis, but ping pong sounds so much more fun!

Last week, we met with the Urban Sketchers Luxembourg for our monthly sketchcrawl, this time at the National Sports Centre, d'Coque, in Kirchberg.

It is the perfect place to take shelter from the cold, the wind and the rain, and it offers the possibility to sketch a more sportive environment.

That day, a table tennis competition was taking place, a great opportunity to try our hands at sketching a sports event.

At first I tried to sketch one or the other player in particular, but it quickly became apparent that it would be more frustrating than fun, so I focused purely on very fast action drawings.

I have to admit I'm not a particular fan of table tennis, but watching the games was pretty interesting.

After a while, I noticed that most players, even some of the younger ones, have their own styles, some more theatrical than others, specially when serving.

One of our regulars, Denis, invited us all for a drink at the refreshment stalls to celebrate his birthday. Perfect moment to share our impressions and watch some of the games.

In the end, I was so engrossed in trying to capture the action that I didn't even find out who won the competition. 

I did, however, learn that ping pong can be a pretty impressive sport.

And yet it moves

Eppur si muove is the title of the exhibition held at the Mudam when we went there for our monthly sketchcrawl with Urban Sketchers Luxembourg.

The exhibition focuses on the links between the fields of the visual arts and technology, as well as the influence that the history of the sciences and technology has exercised on contemporary arts.

It was the ideal place to take refuge on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

I was immediately attracted to an installation with a vespa, showing its different parts and how they fit together. Like an autopsy of sorts. There was something kind of poetic in the way all the parts were hanging from the ceiling.

Unfortunately I forgot to check what the name of this piece was, but here is my attempt at capturing it.

Imagine all the pieces floating in the room

 Most of my fellow sketchers were more interested in a colourful installation by Jean Tinguely called Fatamorgana Méta-Harmonie IV. A button on the floor activated the machine, which then started making various noises.

Each part had a different colour, though

It was a very popular attraction, with many people waiting to see what the machine would do next.

I was surprised at the number of visitors in the museum, to be honest. Excellent occasion to quickly capture people on paper.

A guided tour was taking place. Unfortunately I was too far to hear what was being said

People gazing at the Christmas market

For the last sketchcrawl of the year, the Urban Sketchers Luxembourg decided to aim for the Christmas market in the capital.

This time around we were quite the crowd, with 10 people spreading around the place to sketch the little houses, the people, the surrounding buildings.

I started with the best intentions of capturing a scene of the whole market or at least a portion of it, but somehow only managed to focus on a funny little statue on top of one of the stalls.

The drunk Santa was just irresistible.

Luckily, the weather was quite mild for the season and there was a big crowd, which allowed me to sketch my favourite subject: people.

People being people, though, I did not have many cooperative models and had to be as fast as possible, so I ended up mainly with a collection of hastily jotted squiggles.

 

It's ok, though, for a collection of squiggles always looks better than one squiggle alone :D

After a while it started feeling cold, so we headed to one of our favourite cafés, the Kaale Kaffi.

Everyone was pretty much at the Christmas market, so we were able to sit the whole group at the big table.

Nothing like sipping on a ginger lemon tea while drawing with sketching buddies to finish a lovely afternoon.

Les Rotondes et La Buvette

Last Saturday I met with other sketchers for a sketchcrawl organised by LUCA at La Buvette, the pub at Rotondes in Bonnevoie.

The Rotondes used to be buildings where trains were repaired and stored. They were repurposed a few years ago and have now become this trendy place where various cultural events take place, such as exhibitions, concerts, plays, etc.

Unlike so many places in Luxembourg it is not overly clean and organised. I love the occasional messiness of the place.

Undeterred by the cold, we started out on the outside, where the food truck is. I couldn't resist sketching the trailer and the many seemingly randomly placed cables with their colourful lightbulbs. I'll have to add some colour to this sketch sometime.

Spot the sketcher

I have to say we were quite the troopers out there. The day was pleasant but pretty cold. At some point my hands turned a shade of purple. It got so bad that I didn't even feel the heat emanating from the glass of mulled wine I was holding.

Luckily, the inside of the Rotondes is just as interesting as the outside, and we warmed ourselves up at La Buvette. The servers are very friendly and we enjoyed the cosy afternoon atmosphere.

Isabelle is one of the latest sketchers joining our group

I'll have to go back when the weather is nicer. These round shaped buildings are so interesting, they deserve more attention.

In and around the Notre-Dame Cathedral

For the USk Luxembourg sketchcrawl in December, we decided to explore the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg city.

The weather was quite mild for November, so I decided to tackle the exterior of the building, finding my vanishing point, etc. That did not, however, prevent me from sketching a tilted bell tower, hehe.

It is not my first attempt at sketching the cathedral, but it is the first time I take my time doing it. The belltower and spikes are definitely the trickiest parts, but also the loveliest, in my opinion...

... until you actually enter the cathedral. Which is surprisingly big.

Maybe because the cathedral is nestled between other buildings, so it's a bit difficult to evaluate its actual size.

It is very lovely, with colourful stained glass windows, and has just the right amount of ornaments. 

There are many interesting details that might escape your notice if you don't pay attention, like the fact that each column has a different pattern on it.

I didn't have the patience to actually represent those patterns on my sketch, nor did I feel like working on the perspective. I just picked up a few watercolour pencils and started skribbling.

And while the result is probably not a masterpiece, I did enjoy myself immensely and find the sketch more interesting than the other one above. 

So there was a garage sale at Knuedler

Last Sunday, Urban Sketchers Luxembourg met at Place Guillaume II in the city centre to participate in this year's last vide-grenier (a sort of garage sale) in our own way, sketching.

It was a great occasion to see the Knuedler in a different light and draw people, unusual objects or just the whole place.

Our group of regulars was joined by Marisol, a Canadian sketching enthusiast who has recently arrived to Luxembourg.

Most participants decided to tackle the task of sketching the whole scene, so I just followed the flow and did the best I could.

I love the lion overlooking the place

Unfortunately, as October weather goes, it started to feel a bit chilly after a while, so we took refuge at Kaale Kaffi, always a great place to end the day and have a "sketch-off".

Marisol, Christine, Carlo, Denis and Nancy

Next month, we'll have to find a place indoor. The location is yet to be determined, but the date is already fixed for the 8th November.

Sketchcrawl among a crowd of artists

Last Sunday, our local Urban Sketchers group had its monthly sketchcrawl in the Grund, where "Konscht am Gronn" (Art in the Grund) was taking place.

This event happens every first Sunday of the month between May and October, and artists from Luxembourg and the Greater Region come to sell their art in what is basically an art market.

It has been taking place for a few years now, but I have to admit that it was the first time I actually went there.

We met at Scott's pub and had a pre-sketching drink on the sunny terrace. I was happy to see a couple of new faces and some that I hadn't seen for a while. It is particularly great to see the usual suspects who are slowly becoming friends.

We dispersed in search of our desired sketching subjects, but we didn't have to go far. For my part, I actually only went about 10 meters before settling down in front of a street musician playing an old music box.

This gentleman told me he would be back in October

It was lovely to sketch to the sound of songs from Mary Poppins and witness people coming and going. "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down", and a bit of music coupled with a few sunrays make the sketching even more fun.

We quickly became the focus of interest of some of the passers-by. Some of them probably thought we were part of the artists exhibiting there.

After putting our first drawings together we headed to a different location in the direction of Abbaye Neumünster.

The view from there on the corniche above is absolutely beautiful and I never get tired of sketching it. We only had 30 minutes, though, because we had very serious business to attend to, namely gathering for another drink to sketch and chat.

A view of Luxembourg-city without a crane would be incomplete, haha

I managed to add a few new faces to my sketchbook. None shall escape my portrait attempts (*evil laughter*)!

Nancy, Anneke and Christine

__________

PS: For those wondering about it: I still have some sketches to share from of my time in Civita and Rome. I will get back to those in my next post.

Sketchcrawl in a heat wave

For last Sunday's sketchcrawl, we met in Niederanven with the aim to go sketch the Aarnescht region.

However, with the intense heat wave going through Luxembourg and the weather forecast announcing storms, we decided that hiking was not the best option for the day and we stayed in Niederanven instead.

We started with a sketch in the park of the Kulturhaus, where we were sheltered from the sun by beautiful trees.

I spy a few sketchers

However, in spite of the lovely cool shade, my brain seemed to be completely fried, so I was glad when Leen offered to go sit in her garden, sip an early apéritif and eat delicious watermelon.

The usual suspects were there and we drank wine and drew each other.

Leen, Carlo, Denis, Zeta and Rosemarie

Sometimes, when your brain is fried by the heat, all you need is a quiet sketching session around a drink with a few friends.

La petite France

I did my very last sketch from my trip to Strasbourg on Sunday morning before we took the train back to Luxembourg.

I used to study in Strasbourg, but back then I didn't really sketch. Which means that I had never even tried to draw the typical Alsacian houses before.

It was a lovely feeling to be back in Strasbourg for just that purpose. Granted, I mostly got to draw cars, but even just this one sketch made me happy.

So this is my first and only attempt to draw a part of the Petite France, Strasbourg's most iconic area, so far. The many tourists passing by seemed to like it. So do I.

Quai du bain aux plantes, Petite France, Strasbourg

Our group was pretty popular with passers-by and the weather was lovely, just warm enough to be pleasant.

We were even filmed by an Australian TV crew who was preparing a documentary on how sweet life is in Strasbourg. I think our group of avid sketcher was a boon for them.

If you ever glimpse me on Australian TV, let me know!

Oldies but goldies with the USk France in Strasbourg

Last weekend the annual national Urban Sketchers France meeting took place in Strasbourg. It is only 2 hours away by train, so of course I had to be there!

This time, Luxembourg was quite well represented, with 6 sketchers in total, Tessy, Aniela, Arnaud, Jean-Paul, Sandra and I!

The organisation was flawless. There were 2 different sketchcrawl routes to choose from every day, an official meeting place (Café Atlantico) and even a dinner on Saturday evening.

On Saturday, most of us decided to go on the "belles carrosseries" route. It was dedicated to places where we could find old cars. The day was a bit rainy, so we stuck to the 2 garages that were on the programme.

We stopped first at H.H. Services, where we stayed the whole morning until early afternoon.

There were many beautiful cars being repaired, like this Mercedes 300 SL...

Even without its "wings" it was beautiful

...or this MG PA 1935.

I wonder if it used to be a race car. For some reason, it looks like one to me.

Do not ask me any details on the cars. I am a total noob when it comes to cars.

The atelier was full of sketchers and there were many interesting subjects to choose from. The atelier was invaded by sketchers, so the tricky part was to find a spot with a clear view of the chosen subject.

Sketchers sharing their drawings everywhere

After H.H. Services, we went to l'Atelier de Jojo, which specialises in repairing old 2 CVs and other old Citroën cars.

Is there a more iconic French car than the "deuch"? I don't know, but I can't think of any.

Such a fun atelier!

I only had time to draw one car before we left for the "headquarters" at Café Atlantico, where I saw some old friends like Tula and Marion, for example.

Dinner was next, with an evening of Flammekueche or tarte flambée, miam!

More on that and the rest of the weekend in my next post.

PS: "Oldies but Goldies" is the title of one of Lapin's publications. Check it out on his website. It is really great!

Sketchcrawl in Limpertsberg

Last Sunday we met at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg and went out sketching from there to the area of Limpertsberg.

Limpertsberg is one of the residential areas around the city centre and is particularly known for the many highschools located there.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of new faces, people who seem eager to sketch on a regular basis.

As we were by the Grand Théâtre, we decided to sketch it, too. I find the building a bit tricky with all its slanted windows, but it was fun to try and I also found an interesting looking fire hydrant which served as a nice break from the building.

There was a party the previous day

All fire hydrants should be this original

It turned out the cycling Tour de Luxembourg was passing through Limpertsberg, so we had time to see a few cyclists rushing by before we headed out in search of a nice café or pub.

We found a nice Lebanese restaurant (L-Bey) that only served drinks and sweets at that time. Perfect for a short drink & draw break.

The people there were very friendly and even offered us some cakes. I definitely recommend this place.

Old and new sketchers :)

Time flies and we only had time for one more stop after this. Leen took us to a small park at the top of Limpertsberg where I saw these interesting trees (I think they were birches) through which cars and houses were peeking.

Levels are still tricky...

Our little group is getting bigger and more regular, which I'm very happy about. Plus, we are soon going to become the national USk chapter for Luxembourg, so that is very exciting news.

Sketching at Kaale Kaffi

Last Sunday we had our monthly sketchcrawl meeting in Luxembourg-city. We were hoping to go on the Vauban trail around one part of the fortress. Unfortunately, it was raining the whole afternoon, so we did the next best thing: we went to Kaale Kaffi.

Kaale Kaffi is a peculiar and very interesting place I first discovered during a sketchcrawl with Leen. It is a mixture between a coffee shop, a second-hand shop and an antiques shop.

From outside it looks like a regular second-hand shop, but when you look closely you discover that you can go in and spend time surrounded by a variety of old objects and clothes.

Most items can be purchased, which is why the inside setup changes on a regular basis.

So the rain pushed us to go in and we ended up spending over 2 hours there with Leen, Carlo and Aniela.

Carlo and Leen busy sketching. Aniela was on my left side

There are so many interesting things that the most difficult part is to choose what to sketch. I think I could fill a whole sketchbook with this place alone.

As an example of the variety of objects you can find there, I was sitting next to a mannequin set up in a running motion, standing by a table with an old candelabra and picture frame (complete with the old sepia picture) on it.

Run, Forest, run!

Next time I will try to make a sketch of the place as a whole. I think it will take me at least 2 hours, but it would definitely be fun.

If you are wondering where exactly this place is, I can only say that it is in the old part of the upper town. They don't want to advertise themselves too much and I must admit that I don't want it to become too crowded either. I have a feeling it might become our sketching headquarters in time.

Sketchcrawl in Esch-Belval

A few weeks ago, we organized a sketchcrawl in Esch-Belval with the Luxembourg Sketchers.

We were lucky to have Olga, a local sketcher from Esch, with us as our guide.

I was pleasantly surprised to see about 10 people turn up at our meeting point. Our group is getting bigger and bigger!

Our first stop was around les Hauts Fourneaux, the blast furnace, in Belval. This structure represents Belval's industrial heritage and is now open to the public.

Just a tiny part of the ancient blast furnace

Today, the Belval site is constantly expanding and its regeneration programme's ambition is to turn the ancient industrial site into a large scientific and cultural centre, with new offices, appartments, a busy music venue (Rockhal), a university and many public administrations moving there.

Olga took us to the high school from where we had a great view on the whole site. It is a perfect place to grasp the magnitude of the works being undertaken there.

I am very curious to see how Belval develops in the future.

Cranes everywhere

 

Sketchcrawl with LUCA at Villa Vauban

Last month, the Luxembourg Center for Architecture (LUCA) organised a sketchcrawl at Villa Vauban.

We were blessed with great weather and many people turned up. It was a lot of fun.

This time I felt a bit less daunted about drawing the building. After last time's sketching session with Leen there, I guess I'm starting to know the building a bit better.

Playing with contrasts

This was a great opportunity to meet new sketching enthusiasts, increase our small group of usual sketchers.

Zeta and another sketcher

We finished the afternoon with a nice drink & draw, one of my favourite parts of any sketchcrawl.

@ Weschtesgaart

I think we'll be collaborating more with LUCA in the future, which is a very exciting prospect.