Thursday 30 August 2018

Copper beech in springtime - first leaves


Last spring my husband and me made some signposted walks in Natural Reserves in The Netherlands. We made lots of pictures and I have painted from those references since then. 
These delicate new leaves were showing themselves during our walk at the 'Oude Buisse Heide' and I could not resist taking a picture. The tree is a Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Atropunicea)  and that is one of my favourites because of its beautiful colours and majestic shape. 
I had to 'gather courage' before I started to paint them, but now I have made the watercolour painting I am really happy with it.

To create the depth in this scene I  have used a trick from photography. The branch with the fresh leaves (my subject) is well defined, all other branches, leaves, trees, bushes etc are painted as vague shapes. The result looks a bit foggy and I like that atmosphere for this painting.

For the highlights on the branch and in the leaves I have used a Watercolour Stick on the dry painting. The structure of the paper helps me get that broken line.

More information about this watercolour painting (size, colours used, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com  

Tuesday 28 August 2018

In the Dunes

 

The reference picture for this painting was made by my husband Peter during a walk in the dunes with colleagues - so I was not there and only saw the pictures afterwards. 
The pictures stayed 'in stock' until inspiration would hit me. 
I am still trying to paint according to the advise I was given during my painting vacation - atmosphere first, details only when needed - and this scene is perfect for such a painting style.

A few days ago I have made a visit to my art supply store and I bought some Winsor&Newton Watercolour paper and of course I had to try that. Only after I had opened the plastic protecting the block I found out that this is a cellulose paper so I had to adapt a bit, as I usually paint on cotton paper. (W&N also has cotton paper)
This paper is different than my usual quality but I like the differences and they are not hard to deal with. 

These Dunes at the end of winter are showing only the dark branches of the bushes (that will be green in summer) and the sand in between. While working I changed the scene a bit to get a better painting and I am really happy with the result.

More information (size, materials used, availability, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 


Friday 24 August 2018

Highland Cattle in the 'polder'


This year we have a very dry, very hot summer and now (halfway August) lots of trees and bushes have begun to change to their autumn colours. The colour change varies from subtle to very visible and even loss of foliage and an early shedding of fruits (acorns, chestnuts, etc.) is happening now.
Our walks in parks or nature reserves are colourful and inspiring me to make reference pictures so I can paint later.

We made a short walk in the area of the 'Broekpolder' near Vlaardingen (Netherlands) and a large part of that area is being grazed by Highland Cattle. They can be seen almost everywhere and they are not shy at all. This mother and child were in one of the lower fields, following the path that was made by some other members of the herd towards the water.
They are partly hidden by the high grasses and make a nice point of interest. 

Sketching them on smooth paper is easy, I had to do that to explore the forms of the cattle as I do not often draw or paint cattle. To copy that initial sketch to my watercolour paper is a bit of a challenge as the surface of my watercolour paper is textured. In fact this took me more time and use of the eraser than the initial drawing in my sketchbook.

Once again I have tried to focus on atmosphere in my painting, so the Highland Cattle  had to be recognisable but not very detailed. The field has many grasses and herbs and that gives a very colourful view. The bushes are very close to the water and have not started to change colour but the trees are further off and already changing to their autumn colours.

I am still exploring this 'new path' I have chosen for my paintings and I am looking for variation in my choice of subjects in order to find out what suits me best.
So my travelling along this 'new path' will be continued, but I do not really know where it will lead me.

More information about this watercolour painting (size, materials used, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Monday 20 August 2018

The Border Marker


Walking one of the many beautiful signposted walks in the area of the 'Kalmthoutse Heide' we found this broken stone. My husband made some reference pictures for me and I started planning a painting.
The stone is one of the border markers that line the border between Belgium and The Netherlands and our walk passed that border a few times. 

This broken stone, cracked and covered with moss on most sides inspired me to change the scene from a 'normal' border landscape to something more mysterious.

Watercolour is an ideal medium to create a foggy or mysterious atmosphere and I have been experimenting with the colours in my palette, water, layering mixtures, more water, wet - in - wet and wet - on - dry techniques and this is the result. 
I am happy with this painting, it was a great exercise and the result is very close to what I hoped it would be.

Unfortunately my picture does not give full credit to the real painting. 
The painting has a green glaze to it and my simple photo - adjusting programme cannot show that easily.... so tilting the computer screen may help to see what I really made. 

More information about this watercolour painting (size, materials used, contact information, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 



Friday 17 August 2018

The white tree - white on black


A few months ago we walked a long signposted walk in the area called 'Huis ter Heide' and near the end of that walk we spotted several white trees. This was the first and I quickly made a reference picture. Later we saw more of these dead trees, totally white, standing between the other trees and bushes, making a very special sight. These trees were at some distance of the path, so we did not get near enough to guess what kind of tree it was. This walk was before the dry and hot summer we had this year so the rhododendron bushes were in bloom and the fields had lots of flowers.

At the moment I made my reference picture I had already decided that I would use it for one of my 'white on black' paintings.
I have not only used white gouache and watercolour paint for this painting, for the tree I have been drawing with silver metallic and white (Graphitint) pencils.

The pencils are a nice addition to the gouache and watercolour, they allow me to show the details of the smaller white branches. 

Painting this dead white tree and the surrounding landscape was a nice challenge for me, especially because it had been a few months ago since I had painted a 'white on black'.

More information about this painting (size, availability, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Wednesday 15 August 2018

The park of the zoo - Planckendael


The park of the Zoo usually has a lot of inspiration for me. Of course I go to the Zoo for the animals, but the park with its trees, bridges and other landscape elements also has its charms. This scene was inspired by a view in the Zoo of Planckendael (Belgium).
I was inspired by the view of the bridge, surrounded by all those trees and bushes so I took some reference pictures, not knowing when I would use them for a painting. 

We were there in the summer of last year and the reference picture shows lots of greens, but today I was in a mood to paint with Earth Colours. I have added blue and violet for the shadows and the bridge.

Once again I have painted atmosphere, not all the details. All of the foliage is suggested, as are the trees in the background. Even the tree in the foreground and the bridge are not  as detailed as I would have done a few weeks ago.

More information about this watercolour painting (size, materials used, contact information, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 


Friday 10 August 2018

After the storm


A walk in Natural Reserve 'De Biesbosch', close to my home is always nice. This time we  saw this broken tree trunk, a left-over after a storm.
I used the pictures we made for a watercolour painting, concentrating on atmosphere, following the advice that was given to me during my painting vacation.

I have painted most of this painting in the wet-in-wet technique, layering paint to make the shadows deeper. The trees in the background are only suggested now and the field has only a few shadows to suggest different grasses.
The broken tree is the last thing I have painted, taking care to suggest (not to show) most of the details.

All of this looks easier than it is, layering dark colours is something that needs to be done with great care; a bit too much water in the brush and all previous layers will disappear.
The structures in the trees and bushes were shaped by paint and water, a result that cannot be reproduced. 
It really is an exciting experience when this happens the 'right' way. 

The next weeks, months, years I will practise this technique as much as possible, mostly because I do love the paintings I get in this way.

More information about this watercolour painting (materials used, size, availability, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 




Wednesday 8 August 2018

Landscape studies - clouded sky using different materials

The last days of my painting vacation were dedicated to my own work, concentrating on my 'strong points' and trying to improve those.
Our teacher and coach Ad van Aart advised me to concentrate on atmosphere - in a landscape - and try to limit myself to atmosphere only without adding too much details. 
One of the mornings I had seen and photographed a very cloudy sky over the fields opposite our vacation home, Milonga and we decided that that memory would be the guideline for the next studies.

I had found a set of Conté Sketching Crayons, bought it and wanted to try that in my first studies. In that way I could 'explore' the landscape and the atmosphere I wanted to create and get used to working with these crayons.



These crayons work almost like charcoal and it was easy to get to know the material.
The atmospheres of both my drawings are different and I liked doing both of them.
The foggy effect on the horizon is made with the grey crayon, that was a very nice surprise for me.





The next day I was going to make one large watercolour study but there was a bad spot in the paper, so after I had started the cloudy sky I decided to divide the paper in two parts, sticking tape right over the bad spot. In this way I had two studies, beginning with a lightly clouded sky, a green horizon, some bushes and....
The largest one became darker and darker, adding gray to the sky and to the bushes and fields. You don't want to be outside in this weather!
The smaller one had to remain lighter so I used a different brown and less gray colours. I also suggested more details in the fields by adding shadows. This suggest that you have a chance to get home before the rain starts to fall.


There was time left, so I tried the same study, now with a very different palette. The heat of the day was not in my favour, so the paint would not flow as nicely as it had done in the morning. The fields changed into a lake, the cloudy sky into a clouded sunset and the whole picture is friendly and nice now. 

Doing studies of the same landscape for more than one day was a great experience. Every version did teach me another lesson and I really think I can continue on this path when I am painting at home, without guidance of a teacher. I do still remember the tips I was given and will use these advices to my benefit - and the benefit of my art of course!

More information about these studies (materials used, availability, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Tuesday 7 August 2018

Painting over Atlas pages

One of the workshops our teacher Ad van Aart had prepared for us was called 'Ãœbermalungen' - or Painting over.
We were encouraged to take pictures from books or magazines he had brought for that purpose an to paint over them, in a reaction to the subject of that picture. Usually books and magazines are printed on very, very smooth paper, so I could not easily paint over them with my watercolours. The other participants to this painting vacation used acrylics or oils, so they did not have that problem.
My pencils would work though, so I took out all my pencils and started looking for a page or picture that attracted my attention.
I ended up taking atlas pages, one for the colours, one for the map on it.


The blue colours of this map of the South Pole were inviting to draw anything that would come to my mind. I started out cutting the edges and glueing the atlas page to a sheet of my own paper. I added some of the darker blue shapes to the white paper as if the map continues there. The South Pole itself just asked for the signpost with directions to some random capitals (India, Mongolia, Uganda and Great Britain) and the violet one with the little star in it which is for me.


On this map I could draw the road I had taken on my way to Milonga. The road is marked with my stops for gasoline, coffee, some rest, taking pictures (the Abbaye St Michel) and the residence of Milonga, where I had been painting in the days before this workshop.

Of course this was not exactly over-painting, but I have done as much as possible with the materials I had at hand and luckily the whole group appreciated my efforts.
I did enjoy making the plans for these 'works' and executing them and the results are as I hoped they would be.

More information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Abbaye St Michel


On the way to the location of my painting vacation I made some stops. For coffee of course but also one for taking pictures. I followed the signs to 'Abbaye St. Michel' and was very happy with the views I had on that beautiful building.
Together with our teacher Ad van Aart I selected this view to be painted in watercolour. It includes both buildings and trees, the items I wanted to pay attention to this painting vacation.

In fact the building was not giving me the trouble I had thought it would, because of the trees and branches in front of the church I could work in a more 'painterly' fashion on the architecture.
The tree on the right gave me most of the trouble here and the advice to add some dots of a green mixture over the dark shadowy shape after it had dried completely was the best I could get here. Now I have to remember this for the next times.

I am very happy with this result, I really had not thought this could be the outcome of my turning off the road and following a sign towards an abbey.

More information (size, materials used, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Monday 6 August 2018

Apple tree study


My painting vacation was all about learning. The workshops were meant to awaken our creativity and the time for 'free work' was to improve our skills. Our teacher Ad van Aart gave us the encouragement we all needed and guided us to better paintings.

One of the things I wanted to improve was my skill in painting trees, especially in placing the shadows in a tree with summer foliage. The garden of our residence for that week, Milonga was perfect for my purpose.

For this study I chose a branch of one of the apple trees and started out to draw it. There was not much time, so I took only one branch, not the whole tree.
After the drawing - or sketch - I took a piece of watercolour paper and tried to paint with only the drawing as my guideline.

This study was a nice experience. The drawing took most of the time I needed and after I had done that it was not hard to remember the difficult areas of the branch with apples  while painting the watercolour version.

More information about this study (paper and paint used, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Workshop 'Metamorphosis'



My painting vacation was filled with lessons and workshops by our teacher and coach, Ad van Aart. The second morning was dedicated to 'Metamorphosis', starting from a very basic painting or drawing we had to add something new in the second painting, again in the third and fourth and.... as far as we could go. Every addition had to be reproduced in the next version before adding something new.

My beginning was one of the blind contour drawings of the morning before. I am sure no one will recognise the bunch of flowers standing near the gate of the garden but it makes a great starting point for 'unlimited creativity'. 
I added the lantern that is there in reality for the second version, number three had light and shadows and for number four I had to think a bit longer.
A surprising element was needed here, so I splashed some violet paint over my paper and started connecting the dots. A spider's web emerged and although it did not really change the initial base into something completely new, I do like the result. As I could not reproduce this stage it had to be the last one.

I have used light study paper here because that dries faster than the heavier watercolour paper I use normally. There are five colours in the initial drawing and two of these colours were used as Watercolour Markers for version two and three. For version four I only added violet paint.

This was a bit challenging, but really fun to do.

More information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Sunday 5 August 2018

Study of tree trunks - watercolour, charcoal and ink

This year my painting vacation was in Milonga, in the Northern part of France.
Our teacher and coach was Ad van Aart who really did a great job.
The first day we started with an exercise in 'blind contour drawing', a difficult thing for me. We were finding our subjects in the beautiful garden of Milonga.
After a discussion about the results and a lunch we started painting, using one or more of the drawings we made that morning.


This is the first one I made, only watercolour. (the white edges are caused by the tape)
The background was made quickly, wet-in-wet and soft. The tree trunks were added after the background had dried. I have taken care to suggest (not show) all details of the cracks in the dried wood and the structures of the little mushrooms that were on the right trunk. The left trunk is the one in front, so I have chosen another, lighter mixture for the browns and greys of the wood.


On a background of bright colours I have been drawing the tree trunks with charcoal for my second study. This time I have added more details to the drawing, as charcoal has only one colour. This study does have a different atmosphere than a watercolour painting and I like the contrast between these two.


This is the third and final one for this week. I made it one day later than the previous two so there was a bit more time to think about my approach of this one.
Our teacher suggested a background in only one colour and I wanted to paint the tree trunks a little different, not exactly as in the first study. 
I placed the tree trunks a bit to the left on my paper and used a pen and calligraphy ink for the details of the cracks in the cut off edges where the branches used to be.

I really liked doing this and it was a good start for the rest of the week with more and more challenges, lessons and coaching to come. I will write about that in my next posts.

More information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com