Walking near the Thülsfelder Talsperre (Germany)

 

During our short stay in the North of Germany we made several signposted walks and one of these is the experience path around the Thülsfelder Talsperre, a reservoir in a very unusual place. The reservoir is made to regulate the water flow in the river, so the nearby towns will not get flooded after heavy rains. The walk around the reservoir is about 10 kilometres long and in the southern part it passes by some smaller side arms of the lake. The walk includes one large and several smaller bridges, this is the first of the small bridges we passed. We did the walk anti-clockwise as it is meant to be done.

We came to this wooden bridge after we crossed a piece of moorland and directly after the bridge was a small area of peat moor. The path was dry and easy to walk though.

During the walk I made lots of (reference) pictures and I decided to challenge myself with this bridge.

A view like this is not my usual subject and I made really sure that I got the perspective of the bridge right before I started to paint.

As it is springtime the foliage is still nice and fresh with bright yellowish green shades. The reflections in the water show more clouds than are visible in the sky, but that is not unusual and depending on the angle of the camera. For this reference picture I chose to have the  horizon high.

After all the effort I put in the drawing of the bridge I also took care that the painted result would be 'right'. So there are details, but not too many, it still has to be a painting.

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.

Forest walk, Dwergter Sand (Germany)

 

During our short vacation in Germany we had a nice time walking in the forest close to our vacation home. On walking distance there was an 'Experience path' with a forest theme. The signposted walk had over fifteen information panels about forests, trees, nature and forest management and we learned some new things in the hours we spent walking.

Of course we had the camera with us and some reference pictures were made, even though we were in the same forest area as the evening before. The forest in springtime is a nice place to be and of course different from autumn or winter. 

For this watercolour I have tried to mix the bright, fresh greens of leaves in springtime by using a light blue and some bright yellow shades. As the herbs and bushes are still growing, the forest floor is visible, with patches of green scattered on it.

The fact that we walked in a cloudy afternoon is probably the reason there are no recognisable shadows, just a patch of sunlight in front of us on the path and the forest floor.

I have tried to paint a forest in spring mood and I think I succeeded well.

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

As free as....

 

A few months ago we saw three storks in the sky while we were on the road to.. (that I do not remember exactly) As my husband was driving, I took the camera and made two reference pictures from the driving car before they were too far away.

The drawing is made for the May challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' which has 'Animals in the lead' as its theme. I really had to think about that one, wait for inspiration to hit me.  And then I saw another May challenge, in a Facebook Group with  'Freedom' as its theme.  Also not one of my most favourite themes. But then it happened...

The proverb 'As free as a bird in the sky' gave me the inspiration I needed and I combined both themes in this work.

Using the reference pictures I made a new composition, enlarging some of the stork images and keeping some other small. This drawing is made with several types of pencil on a watercolour under painting, made up with two shades of blue in the hope to reproduce that very blue sky we had that day.

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

Ahlhorner Kellersteine I - watercolour painting

 

While we were on our short vacation I did not take painting materials with me as the conditions in a vacation home are not great for painting. So the reference picture I made of the first one of the Ahlhorner Kellersteine was used for a graphite drawing while I was on vacation. There are two dolmens at this site, the other one will probably be painted later, there are several reference pictures.

Now I am back home, I can use my studio again so I took advantage of a free afternoon to make a watercolour painting using both the picture and the drawing as my references.

This scene needed a bit of negative painting with all those birch trees, both behind and in front of the dolmen. I decided to suggest the branches, foliage and some of the trees behind the dolmen instead of trying to paint all of them. A graphite drawing is very different from a watercolour painting and these suggestions give better, more painterly results than trying to include every little detail of the forest surrounding the dolmens. 

The result is what I hoped it would be so I am confident that I can draw or paint some of the dolmens we visited during our short vacation in the North of Germany.

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.

Thülsfelder Talsperre (Germany) - charcoal and pencil drawing

 

The last full day of our short vacation in the North of Germany we went for a walk around the Thülsfelder Talsperre, a small reservoir made to prevent nearby towns from flooding in times of heavy rains. The walk around the reservoir is only 10 kilometres so ideal for a walk. The walk is signposted and there is a lot of information about the lake, water management and the nature surrounding the little lake.

The reservoir has a dyke on the North and East, the other sides are shaped more naturally though there are dykes at a small distance. The first hours of our walk there were some dark clouds which had even darker reflections in the water. During the walk there were a lot of (reference) pictures taken, but I had to pick one that was good for a drawing to make that same afternoon. Other pictures will be used for watercolour paintings.

As said, the clouds were dark and the reflections were even darker. The opposite shore was backlit, so there were only contours visible and the reflections were equally dark. The exact shoreline was not to be seen but it is safe to assume that it is in the middle, between the bushes and their reflections. There were some small ripples in the water made by the wind or some swimming birds.  The herbs and the tree in the foreground are also only silhouettes and in fact the blue of the sky and its reflection are the only colours in this scene. 

All that makes this scene perfect for a charcoal drawing with a bit of colour added.

The result is what I hoped it would be so this was a great end to a wonderful day.

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

Ahlhorner Kellersteine I (Germany) - graphite drawing

 

Our vacation home last week was close to a route that connected over 33 sites with dolmen, standing stones and grave hills. The route is 330 kilometres long, so we did only visit some sites that were close to where we were staying. On the road back we also passed by several sites with dolmen, so we had our share of history last week.

One of these sites, the Ahlhorner Kellersteine I and II are located in a forest area, with a nice footpath leading there.

Of course lots of (reference) pictures were made and that afternoon, in our vacation home I made a graphite drawing, using my new box of pencils and graphite sticks.

My reference picture was made from underneath some trees, so the dolmen was seen in between the trees, not in an open area as most pictures show them. Of course I wanted something different.

Drawing all those trees meant a bit of planning but I am happy with the result. Maybe I will use this as a study for a watercolour painting.

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

Peat Moor, Molbergen (Germany)

 

Not far from our vacation home lies the Peat Moor of Molbergen. This used to be exploited, but now it is turned into a Natural Reserve with an educational twist. There is a 'learning path' with information signposted in the first, dry area of the Moor. We walked that path, learned some things we did not know yet and made several (reference) pictures. The area is beautiful and as there were some darker clouds that day, the reflections in the water were inspiring me to paint and draw.

As I did only bring drawing materials and some watercolours for an under painting, I started with a dark greyish blue and made my drawing with charcoal. Pencil was added in the foregrounds where some light coloured grasses were important for the friendly atmosphere of the drawing and in the reeds on the other side of the small peat lake.

The reintroduction of high water levels did cause some trees to die and the remains of those dead trees are reflected in the water which had not even the smallest hint of a ripple that morning.

Even though I have used heavier paper for this drawing, the watercolour under painting is not as nicely graduated as I hoped it would be. As I have used a very dark shade of blue, I could not hide the imperfections of the under painting with the charcoal  - a lesson learned for the next time.

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

A walk in the forest, Dwergter Sand (Germany)

 

Last week we (my husband Peter and me) were in Germany for a short vacation. As usual we went on Monday and returned on Friday so we had only a few days to explore the landscape, views and restaurants.

Monday afternoon, after several hours in the car, we went for a walk just behind the Parc, in the Dwergter Sand. When leaving the parc, you enter the forest area, so that is really great. We did buy a map with several walks to select from and we used that map well during our stay.

The first walk was 'close to home' and we did see a lot of the landscape, fields, patches of forest and a little stream nearby. Of course several pictures were made for reference.

This scene was selected because the sunlight was really highlighting the small hill in the foreground while the trees all were very dark - perfect for a charcoal drawing.

For this drawing I started with a watercolour under painting made with a few colours and left to dry overnight. This approach is perfect for the bright, sunlit hilltop to stand out in the final drawing. 

In the morning I added the charcoal and after I used fixative once I also added pencil colours (and a second layer of fixative) because I was not really happy with the foreground.

The drawing was now what I hoped it would be and looking again after several hours I was even more pleased with it.

The paper I have used did not really react very well to the wet watercolour, next time I will use heavier paper for a watercolour under painting.

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