Mont St Michel at Sunset for PaperArtsy Orange and Pink Challenge

So, this is what happened! As soon as I saw the new Lynne Perrella stamps, my favourite set was 036, with the beautiful woman's face on the island. It immediately made me think of Mont St Michel. This is a very special place for us as we pass it on our route to our place in Brittany and as it sits on the border of Normandy and Brittany it is my ' are we nearly there yet' place. The timing of our crossing normally means we pass by at sunset, a time when many photographers have captured its beauty. I had already wanted to do a sunset for the challenge as this is what orange and pink brought to mind. The French translation is the lying down of the sun. I love that.

I didn't have much time to work on my project for PaperArtsy's blog as the stamps had just come off the presses by the time I needed to be finished so I ran to Col and showed him the index sheet on-line and said, 'look, I'm going to do Mont St Michel!'. He looked blank and said, 'I think they need to adjust your medication again'. I thought if I explained he would see it, and stop teasing, so I said, 'look, this is the island with the humble buildings at the bottom and the sea, and the woman with her innocent and reverent beauty represents the abbey at the top of the mount, she is our abbess. I'm going to call her Adela'. He said he just didn't get it and no-one would know it was Mont St Michel. I totally lost my confidence and had no time at all to play around with ideas or designs.  But it was still in my head. Probably because I love the stamp and I love the moment of driving past there when I am tired after a very long journey, and I know dinner and bed are near, and it is such a magical sight with such a wonderful history.

I used an 8 x 8 inch canvas board from PaperArtsy and prepared the background with Infusions. I raised the lady up on foam pads in relation to the other buildings and used a large number of other Lynne Perrella stamps, some of which I stamped up several times and cut up into pieces. The ramparts at the bottom are made from 033 and the abbey is from 006 as is the castle. I used the church from 033 whole but also made it into little houses. I had intended to paint the rooves brown and all the windows glowing yellow and I may re-do it like this for comparison as I feel this is how it looks as you drive past at twilight, but Colin advised, if something is meant to be surreal, i.e. the face, don't then try to go for realism.

And does he like it now it's done? 'Course he doesn't!!

I am entering this into the orange and pink paperartsy challenge.