Megalith - charcoal drawing

 

This charcoal drawing does have a very unusual source of inspiration, a documentary about megaliths do be precise. There were some wonderfully atmospheric landscape shots in the documentary and I started sketching the one that made the strongest impression as soon as possible to remember that landscape and atmosphere.

My sketch does have a lot of notes - as usual - and I wanted to work from that sketch even before I had the time for a watercolour painting. Watercolour painting needs some preparation because the paper has to be soaked, stretched and dried again before I can start painting.

A charcoal drawing is quick because I only have to gather my materials and start drawing. To recreate the atmosphere of the scene in the documentary a charcoal drawing is perfect as although there was some colour in the scene the dark clouds and the solitude of that one standing stone made that me want to draw and paint.

Of course I am not finished with this scene now, there will also be a watercolour painting - when I have the time to prepare and paint properly.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Weeping willow - Autumn colours

 

It has been a while since I painted an imaginary landscape with the little weeping willow in it, so I made one today.

There are three weeping willows in this painting, the landscape may be imaginary, yet I wanted to paint a scene that might be realistic. So there are three trees on the bank of a pond that is situated in a small parc in a town. The town's buildings are suggested in the background. There may be a path in the parc and there are reeds in the pond.

As autumn is very very near, I wanted to paint the autumn colours of a weeping willow and I added a strong wind to complete the autumn mood. The leaves of a weeping willows turn yellow before they fall and turn brown so I have used several shades of yellow and a brown to paint the foliage that is still on the trees. Some leaves are already blowing in the wind, I have splattered paint to suggest that. The reeds are also bending in the same direction.

To suggest the reeds I have not only used a very small, almost dry brush with some of the colour mixes that are also used for the grass, but in addition to that I have used some watercolour sticks in their dry form to draw some sharp lines. Some of the lines in the trees are also a yellow watercolour stick.

The watercolour sticks are pure paint of the same quality that comes in pans and used with a wet brush there is no difference between the paint from a stick and the paint from a pan or tube. These sticks can also be used to draw lines and I like that idea very much so I have a few of these sticks in shades that can be used in landscape paintings.

The information about all the materials I have used, the size and availability of this watercolour painting can be found in my Tumblr blog.

Autumn Colours - a tinted charcoal drawing

 

During a short walk very close to our home - we did not leave our hometown - we could see the colours on the trees and bushes already changing. I made reference pictures of a branch of common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) with leaves that were having a nice shade of purple before turning to a reddish brown. The berries were looking great as well, though they were mostly in the shadows they had a nice glow.

For this drawing I selected a sheet of coloured carboard in a shade of green that was as close to the colour of the bushes in the background and I started drawing with my Tinted Charcoal pencils. 

To draw the leaves and berries I layered different colours as much as possible, sometimes blending them and adding another layer of lines. This process was repeated with all the leaves and berries until the drawing looked like what I wanted it to look like - or as close to that as possible. To indicate the background leaves and shadows I added some shapes with the 'neutral' coloured pencil.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

After sunset - harbour mouth

 

Last summer we went for a walk along the beach at the time of sunset and I have already made several watercolours using the reference pictures I have made that evening. After sunset we drove a bit further to see the harbour mouth, or the entrance to the Port of Rotterdam. We still were on the Maasvlakte.

At that time the tide retreated so there were not many ships in sight. Those that were visible were little spots on the horizon.

Much better visible are the Southern or Green harbour light on the side of the Maasvlakte and far away the Northern or Red harbour light on the Pier of Hoek van Holland. These colours could not be seen any more when we were there, it was too dark and they were back lit by the colours of the sunset.

The sun was already behind the horizon but the colours in the sky were still great. It was a calm day and we were very lucky to have such great views. This very calm atmosphere is what I wanted to paint this time and I chose a paper with a rough texture, so the colours of the sunset could blend better than they would have on paper with a finer texture. Because the scene was back lit, the foreground and the rock structure under the harbour light are dark masses without contrast or shadows. Both are made out of basalt blocks but that cannot be seen in the light conditions of the moment I was there.

As said, I wanted to paint a very calm after-sunset mood and I am happy with the result.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this watercolour painting can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Church on the river - winter mood

 

The little church on the river Waal did inspire me to paint it in more than one composition, as I wrote in my previous post. In that post I also wrote about the church itself and why I decided to paint it more than once.

This time the reflections in the river are not important for my composition, instead I painted the church in a winter mood using the colours of the sky to get that particular atmosphere. Of course I could have painted a very dramatic skyscape, but our winters often have very calm days with only a few clouds in the sky that disappear within a few hours after sunrise. 

That was the calm winter mood I wanted to paint and I chose my colours carefully. The trees are bare now so there is a tangle of branches in different shades of brown. The bushes, both beside the church as well as in the foreground are more dense and I chose different shades for them. The riverside still has the dyke but most of its vegetation is resting in winter, only some bushes and shadows are visible. There is a reflection in the river, but that is not the most important part of this composition, so it is only suggested with a minimal amount of colour.

It is a winter morning and the lights in the church are on - maybe it's a Sunday, maybe the volunteers are cleaning up or decorating for a festivity, everything is possible.

Painting a winter scene from imagination while it's end of summer (all the trees I can see from my window are still green and the sky is mostly grey) is challenging but I am really happy with the result.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this watercolour painting and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Church on the river

 

During my painting vacation we went to the river Waal for inspiration. We stayed a few hours to make sketches and pictures for future reference. Last painting vacation I did chose a theme for myself and I used the picture I made of a wild teasel for a drawing.

Of course there was more to see than only a wild teasel and I have made reference pictures and sketches inspired by the views of the river and a side stream with beautiful trees and bushes. On the other bank of the river I could see a small church - when I was in the right spot - and I made a sketch of that church as well. It was too far away for a picture, so I only have the sketch and my memories of the scene. I have tried to find the church on a map and I found that it is in fact very far from the riverside. To compose a landscape using the sketch as my guide I will have to use the church, the trees and bushes behind it and a bit of the dyke in front of the building and create an imaginary scene with these elements.

When I was there, it was still summer, with a blue sky and the trees and bushes were in shades of green, hardly distinguishable from each other. The paintings I want to make will have the colour scheme I feel like at that moment and I will be using the black-and-white sketch to determine the proportions of the church, the trees and the bushes I have been drawing.

Today I wanted to paint after that sketch and I have chosen to paint some reflections in the river as well, so the horizon is high in my composition and there is a lot of room for the water of the river.  I wanted some colour in my painting so I have made an imaginary autumn scene.

The results are what I hoped for - and even a bit better - so I will make more paintings using this sketch as my inspiration.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this watercolour painting and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.