Deelerwoud - moorland

 

A few weeks ago we (my husband and me) were for two nights in a hotel so we could go for some nice walks in our Natural Reserve 'De Veluwe'.

Our first walk was in the 'Deelerwoud', a beautiful part of the Veluwe and also protected. The walk passed some moorlands and we used a shortcut between the 'large' and the 'small' moorlands. Halfway that shortcut were some large trees and some benches for tired walkers at a viewpoint.. As it had been raining recently we did not sit down, but we enjoyed the view and I climbed on a fallen tree trunk to make some reference pictures. 

Because I was under the trees, some low branches are in the picture as well. These foreground branches are perfect to show the distance of the trees in the background. The foreground has mostly yellowed grasses and in the middle ground a bit of the moorland is visible, dark now that the plants have lost their flowers. 

The cloudy sky only adds to the autumn mood - it had been raining lightly during our walk - and I really wanted to paint this scene, the colours of this beautiful landscape were really wonderful and I do want to visit that area again.

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.

Light

 

Winter is coming, so the November challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is OverWinter(ing). That can be about going to a warmer climate for the winter months or about going out and coming back to hot chocolate and other comfort food or.... what may inspire us.

All those activities have in common, that we are looking for the light, because these are dark months with shortening days and grey skies. 

So I remembered a very old picture made by my daughter Mariska which shows a lot of candles burning in a church (or cathedral) in which the light and warm colours of the candles are a beautiful contrast to the cool colours and darkness of the building.

Of course I have simplified the scene a bit for my watercolour painting, but the idea is still there; the warmth of the candle light contrasted by the grand, dark building. 

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.

Dead tree - watercolour and pencils

 

More than a week ago my husband and me were on a very short trip to our Natural Reserve 'De Veluwe' and we started with a morning walk in the  Deelerwoud. After the rain had (not completely) stopped we had a great walk with beautiful views. We even saw some deer that were too fast to be photographed but we do have the memory.

Not far from the starting point of our walk we saw a really big dead tree, still standing as if nothing was wrong. Because there was no bark left we could not determine what tree it was, but it probably was an oak tree - looking at the shape makes that very plausible.

My husband had already made the picture before I could ask him and of course I wanted to paint that tree. And that is exactly what I did not do.

Because the tree was lighter in colour than most of the background I would have to paint around it and so I decided (also inspired by our current climate crisis) that I would paint around the shape of the tree and leave that negative shape as blank as possible.  I could either leave it untouched or add some pencil marks if the painting 'asked for it'.

After the painting was done I decided that the pencil marks would add to the result so I used three colours of my water soluble pencils to accentuate the shape of the tree and the branches. The tree still looks very much like a negative presence and that is what I wanted it to be.

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

Mushrooms - a drawing

 

We were on a very short vacation - only two days in a hotel near our Natural Reserves on the Veluwe and we made some nice autumn walks in our very beautiful nature. There have been wonderful views, beautiful trees, some deer that were too quick for the camera and of course mushrooms.

To the hotel I only brought my drawing materials (paper and pencils) and I used these to make a drawing after one of the pictures my husband made. 

Out of a dark, wet fallen tree trunk come some shining mushrooms that capture the light beautifully. On the tree trunk there is a fallen leaf in orange and yellow shades, adding some colour to the scene.

Using my pencils, I have layered colours to get the result I wanted, carefully avoiding the white, reflecting hood of the mushroom. The cracks in the tree trunk were really dark, especially after the rain of that morning. 

The result is what I hoped for and I had a good time drawing this mushroom.

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