Category Archives: Le Touessrok in Mauritius
Sun, Cyclones and a Great Holiday in Mauritius!
A Mauritian Sailing Boat at Sunset
We have stayed at The Shangi-La Le Touessrok on the East coast of Mauritius before and it is always a great place to be when the weather is cold and stormy in the UK.
This recent trip was no exception , even though we arrived at the end of one Cyclone and then another smaller on came along too. However that didn’t cause us any issues and the warm beautiful beaches and the lovely golf course at Ile Aux Cerf made every day a very warm and delightful experience. With temperatures well over 30C dipping in and out of the sea and the fabulous beach side pool was just the thing we needed in January!
Time too for some sketching, which is quite tricky in such heat, but it is fun to to be sitting on a sunbed juggling the sketchbook, paints and brushes. I use a 11 inch by 10 inch format 300 gsm sketchbook when travelling, and these watercolours were in Volume 13 of my “Travels with Brush” books!
So here are the very quick watercolour sketches done during the time we were there, some on the spot and some from photos taken and a couple from photos from previous visits to the resort.
Mauritius is a great and very friendly Island to visit. Nestled in the Indian Ocean, it is a long way from the UK but well worth the journey for the warm weather and relaxing way of life.
Happy Travelling
Brian
Happy Hour at the Beach bar!
Towards the Reef
Boats and Mountains
Sailing at sunset
Fishing Boats
Turquoise Sea and Surf
30 Degrees, hot sun in January-Whats not to like! -Mauritius in 2020
The view from the Lounger at Le Tousserok beach. Sketchbook watercolour 9 inches by 8.
Hi Everybody
We have just returned from 10 delightful days in Mauritius, staying at the Le Tousserok Shangri-la Resort on the East coast. It is a long way away but the beautiful January weather makes that journey worthwhile.
For us it is a mixture of Sun and Pool and Golf as well when we are there, and The Shangri-La is a great place to stay at. Of course it wouldn’t be a holiday for me without the watercolour kit and so I also get some time for a few watercolours of the sea and the boats and mountains.
I think its the only place that I have ever been to where I can sit on a comfortable lounger at the beach and paint watercolours!
So here are those watercolours, some just sketches in my Sketch Book. This sketch book is a Khadi papers one and very handy on travel. There are also a couple of watercolours that are larger and were painted in the comfort of our balcony.
I hope you like them and this vision of just a little bit of this lovely Indian Ocean island.
Mauritius is an Island formed from huge volcanoes and large Basalt rocks are everywhere. It is also very fertile and Coconut Palms and Sugar cane grow everywhere, making the island very green. You are never very far from the mountains which make for some wonderful scenery.
“The Mountains by the sea”. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches paper.
Everywhere around the coast are many small fishing boats and the fish in the restaurants are very good.
“Fishing boats and a shack by the beach”. Sketchbook watercolour 9 by 8 inches on Khadi paper.
“Yachts at Sunrise”. Sketchbook watercolour 9 inches by 8.
There are fisherman all over the island, some fishing from the shore and some standing for hours waist deep in the sea catching their supper.
“Fishermen and boats by the sea”. Sketchbook pen and Ink watercolour 9 inches by 8.
“Boats at the shore”. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches watercolour paper.
We have now visited Mauritius on quite a few occasions and have always enjoyed it there. The people there are delightful and even though it is far away it is so lovely to go there for some seriously good weather in January
I hope you will enjoy this and maybe my other posts on Mauritius and elsewhere .
Have look at my Artfinder site too, maybe something there will catch your eye.
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Happy travelling
Brian
10 Days on Paradise Island!
Mount Bambous from The East Coast of Mauritius
Hi All
We have just returned from 10 days in Mauritius, we think of it as a paradise island, especially in January when the UK is cold and the weather is so fabulous in Mauritius.
We returned again to the Shangri-La Le Touessrok Resort , on the East coast at Trou D’Eau Douce, which we really like, and where as well as great facilities and beaches there is the very challenging Ile au Cerfs Golf Course to play.
I have never played golf anywhere except there that requires a lovely 15 minute boat trip to get to the course, it is really a great experience.
There is something very special about painting watercolours whilst sitting on a sun bed on the beach, but some of these watercolours were done like that from photos or memory as well as painting the scene right there on the beach.
They are all quick works, about 9 inches by 8, (they have to be with such hot sun!) and are in my Khadi Papers travel sketch book. They will provide the basis for larger watercolours to be painted here in the studio now that we are home.
Wherever you look in Mauritius there are little boats moored or sailing out fishing. They provide endless opportunities for sketches even if they were just a fleeting scene viewed as you drive by.
Anyway they were all fun to do and I hope you like them.
Mauritius is such a lovely island with delightful people who are all very friendly and helpful. They have a great multicultural population and although the locals all speak Creole to each other almost everybody speaks both French and English as they are the languages taught in the schools there.
With it’s large rainfall but beautiful sunny weather too it is a very green and lush island where the main crop is sugar cane, which you see everywhere you go and as well as exporting sugar the rum made from it is very good too!
So here are the watercolours from this trip.
Grand Baie on the North Coast
Boats at the beach
Big Mauritian Skies!
A farm by the road
The Ilot Mangenie at Le Touessrok. Secluded and only a boat ride away!
Two boats on the beach
Fisherman on the jetty
Now we are back in the cold of the UK, but with great memories of yet another wonderful trip to Mauritius.
Happy travelling!
Brian
Escape to the Sun – South Africa and Mauritius
The beach at Wilderness on the Garden Route. watercolour 14 inches by 7.
While the chills of February continued in the UK we have been lucky enough to have been travelling , and mainly golfing, with great friends, in South Africa and then relaxing, with a bit more golf in Mauritius.
The weather, the food, the wine and the people were all fantastic and we all had a great time.
Now you can’t golf all day so I have had a few hours to paint some quick watercolours along the way. For the first time in many years I decided to take little sketch book of 9 inches by 7 watercolour paper to do most of the paintings. The book, made by Khadi Papers proved ideal and not too large to use sitting on the beach too! The larger painting are 14 by 10 on Arches Cold pressed paper.
So here are the best of the paintings that I produced over the two and a half weeks away and I do hope you will enjoy seeing them. They were fun to produce, often only taking 30 minutes of so. You can see that in some of them!
First of all we were at a lovely Golfing hotel called Fancourt near George on the Garden Route in South Africa. A very nice place to stay and three lovely courses, so we played 5 times there.
In George and in Wilderness on the coast we found stunning restaurants. The Town House in George, probably the best steak I have ever eaten! The Fat fish in George, really good fresh fish and super wine, and maybe the best restaurant I have ever eaten in in our 4 visits to South Africa. It is called Serendipity it is in Wilderness on the coast. Truly magnificent and hosted by the most delightful Rudolf and Lizelle! Go there is you can!!
Enough of food, here are some watercolours.
The Golf courses provide lovely views of the Outeniqua mountains so here are my interpretations.
Early sunset at Outeniqua
Two holes, 5th Green and 14th Fairway on the Montagu Golf Course at Fancourt
The Heads at Knysna on the Garden Route
Boats sailing in the lagoon at Knysna. Watercolour 14 inches by 10
After a week golfing at Fancourt we then drove to Franschheok for a few days before flying on to Mauritius.
Franschheok is a delightful town and in the heart of the wine region of South Africa. We did some tasting, and too much swallowing, the highlight being the small but beautiful Vineyard of Stonybrook. Again lovely meals in Franschheok where all the restaurants we tried were really good. (Ryan’s Kitchen, Grande Provence, and Monneaux)
So time for a few more watercolour paintings there too.
The immense mountains that surround Franschheok. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches.
Vineyard and Mountains at Franschheok
And so on to Mauritius. The climate in Mauritius is delightful, hot , sometimes sultry and warm seas to swim in. Once again we stayed at the Shangri-La Le Touessrok which has access to the Bernhard Langer designed Golf Course -Ile Aux Cerfs.
These watercolours were produced there, painted exclusively whist lying on a sunbed!
These sketchbook watercolours painted there from photos or memory.
Boats sailing on the East Coast of Mauritius
Sunset
More yachts sailing!
Yachts on the horizon
And so back home to the UK, but wait , in the meantime Spring has arrived in Kent, how good is that!
Happy Travelling
Brian
My Watercolour Highlights of 2016
Happy Christamas and Best Wishes for 2017!
It has been a great year for us and I hope you too have enjoyed the Year and also this blog.
Retired life is good and our now 4 Grandchildren and their parents are a continuous joy.
In this post I am revisiting some of my favourite watercolours of this year, which have originated in our travels around the World and visits around the UK. I have picked just seventeen, from around 50 paintings completed in the year.
Here is a reprise which I hope you will enjoy. For me this indulgent post is such a great reminder of the year.
I hope that you enjoy the Season and the New Year.
Many thanks for reading my blog, it is your responses and views that make it such fun.
All the best
Brian
January — Crillon-Le-Brave in Provence
Although we travel a lot in Provence we have yet to visit Crillon, maybe in 2017. A bit of artistic licence in this painting!
February. The joy of some winter sun in Mauritius and the fun of painting while lying on a lounger at the beach at Le Touessrok Shangi La Hotel!
The Beach at Le Touessrok Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
March. Painting at home a favourite view from our many visits to Northern Ireland. Fair Head on the Antrim coast seen from the beach at Ballycastle.
April.
Near us in Kent is Rochester and the River Medway. This painting is a “time travel” painting taking us back to 1937 (even before my time!) when the Sunderland Flying boats were being built at Rochester. So here is a Short’s Sunderland flying boat over Rochester.
May
With memories of a great weekend in Amsterdam with friends still fresh in my mind I finished these two paintings of this fine and fascinating city.
June
With the arrival of our new granddaughter in May local-ish travel led us to Malden in Essex. This painting , a new size for me is 19 inches by 8, but suits the scene quite well.
July
Back in France and a chance to paint in the sun , from sketches and photos. The trip from St Maxime by boat to St Tropez is the best way to get there. Lunch at the Mazarin under the green awning and then a painting of this quiet back water of St Tropez. A delightful day out!
August
More paintings in Provence An evening scene and big J Class yachts in St Tropez harbour.
September
Two paintings for friends this month, one of Great Dixter in Sussex, and the second of J Class yachts sailing off the Isle of Wight. I am glad they liked them!
October
A visit to Rye inspired this painting of Camber castle, built in the time of Henry VIII but now just a ruin. Rye in the background. Also locally the beautiful Leeds Castle here in Kent
November
I like to read the excellent Bernard Cornwell historical fiction books, some of which feature Bebanburg Castle,now Bamburg Castle. Again in the wider format to highlight the vast beach and sky!
December
This month I have been painting some scenes of Venice from my photos and a painting from a photo taken by Mitch Zeissler ( thanks for the permission, Mitch) showing the Mission Mountains of Montana, which was the subject of my previous post.
It has been a busy year painting ( and these are only some!) so I do hope you have enjoyed looking at some of my 2016 efforts.
Seasons greetings and Best wishes for 2017
Brian
It is January and 30 C — It must be — Mauritius!!
The Beach at Le Touessrok Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
Hi Readers
We sometimes like to escape the winter in the UK for a week or two and so this year we have just been to Mauritius.
Mauritius has a lovely climate, with a little rain so the whole countryside is very green, but the beaches are beautiful sand and the sea is very warm.
Most days in January the temperature gets up to 30C and even in the evenings it is very warm.
For my watercolour paintings it isn’t ideal as painting “en plain air” is very tricky (at least for me) but nevertheless I have managed to produce a few paintings during our holiday.
Some of them are for me unique as I painted then whilst reclining on sun bed on the beach at our resort of Le Touessrok. As one passer by said “well I have never seen that before!” Le Touessrok, now a Shangri-La hotel is on the East coast of the island of Mauritius, which is often described, especially by the delightful Mauritian people, as “Paradise Island”
At the end of this post I have added a couple of paintings that I produced on previous trips to Mauritius as they also give different aspect of the area.
We like to play golf there as well as soaking up the sun and the golf course, (which you get to on a boat!) is on Ile des Cerfs, and is very challenging, but beautiful. It was designed by Bernard Langer, a famous Golf professional.
Now we are back in the UK and it does seem cold here, but those 10 days in the sun will be good memory while winter is still here.
I hope you enjoy the paintings
Happy Travelling!
Brian
“Sailing By”. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
“Homeward Bound” Watercolour 14 by 10
“Fishing off the Reef”. Watercolour 14 by 10.
“Grand Bay, at the north of Mauritius”. Watercolour 14 by 10.
And a couple from previous visits
The view from the Green at 11th hole at Le Touessrok, Mauritius
The Bernard Langer course at Le Touessrok from the air.
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Thanks
Brian
