In the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands) - under the trees

 

The woodlands near Rucphen do not only have hidden fields to surprise a hiker, under the trees there is also beauty to be found. The woodlands are parts with oak trees, chestnuts and other deciduous trees and parts with mostly coniferous trees, as in this watercolour painting. The forest floor has fallen needles, fallen pinecones and there are grasses and ferns growing. The management of the forest area is going towards a mixed forest with both deciduous and coniferous trees growing together, in this part there is some work to be done though the bushes on the left are in fact young trees growing nicely. 

By removing some older trees the sunlight can reach the forest floor again and that is important for the young trees.

The patches of sunlight are the reason I made a reference picture on this spot and of course also why I painted the scene. There was a lot of shadow under the trees - the walk was really agreeable - but these bits of sunlight made a nice pattern for a painting.

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

View towards Schoonhoven (Netherlands)

 

Our amateur art association 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' does not only have a monthly challenge, in the springtime and summer there are also days with plein-air painting. Today was such a Plein-Air painting day and we were located in the old town of Nieuwpoort. 

Nieuwpoort is at the river Lek and today I wanted to paint a river view and a part of the (also old) town of Schoonhoven was included in that view. I took a position on the fortress wall of Nieuwpoort, a nice high spot with great views to all sides of which I painted only one.

There was a lot of traffic on the river, but there were also a lot of quiet moments, so I could see the trees and the church towers on the opposite river bank very well. I also added the groynes of the river side I was standing on to create a foreground to my painting.

Later in the day these groynes were almost flooded, there is some tidal movement as far inland as Nieuwpoort. It was a bright sunny day and I had to adapt to fast drying paint and wetted paper, but  after I did that I finished my painting without any real problems.

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.

A walk in the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands)

 

Last week the weather was great for a walk in our beautiful nature so we went to the woodlands of Rucphen and made a signposted walk, passing by the woodlands, the moorland and some small fields with flowers and grasses. 

Of course we enjoyed our walk and made several (reference) pictures. The sunlit fields were looking great so I decided to make a watercolour painting using one of my reference pictures. We were standing under some large trees and the overhanging foliage is really important for the composition. I know that because that is what I painted last and I have seen the painting without that foliage. The small bush on the right and the one on the foreground are equally important to 'frame' the scene.

The colours of the grasses are a nice challenge and I think I got them right. The pale, almost white stems and the pinkish shade of the grains are not in my palette, so I had to mix something. The result looks like summer and that is what I wanted, so I am happy with it.

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.

High Tea (mixed media with collage)

 

The July challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is 'Aan Tafel' or At the table. There are many ways to find inspiration with this theme, beginning with the call for lunch or dinner when we were young. Those who have seen a swarm of starlings coming to a feeding table can understand what my first thoughts were.

But a nice ending of a day out was what made me try this one: a collage with (parts of) tea bag packages, the sweet treats and the glasses with tea of a High Tea that was enjoyed after a nice walk in our beautiful nature (paintings of that will be made later).

Using my watercolour markers - and a brush with water - I made the illustrations of the sweet treats and the tea, drawing parts of the lines with a fine liner. Parts of the packages of the tea bags are cut out and  glued to the paper, completing my composition.

The result is not only a contribution to the challenge, but also a nice memory of a special day.

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

Visbeker Bräutigam (934)

 

 

During our short stay in the North of Germany we used one of our days there to visit dolmens and the 'Visbeker Bräutigam' was a pleasant surprise. Not one, not two but five dolmens in different shapes and sizes were to be seen. The one that gives the name to the site is a long one, very impressive. There is one dolmen that is as good as completely destroyed, one that is still buried in its mound and two others. All information is found through the added link to Wikipedia.

The dolmen I painted this time is number 934, sometimes named 'Brautjungfer' or bridesmaid. The names are taken from the legend that connects this site to another one.

The reference picture did not include all of the dolmen, but an important part of it is visible. These dolmens are a bit large for a good picture in the woods, surrounded by trees and more dolmens so I have made the best I could get.

Before I started painting, I made a detailed drawing of the placement of the stones, I had to get the perspective right - and keep it right while painting. The trees in the background hide the highway and the forest floor is still covered with the fallen leaves of last autumn. We were here in Springtime when the beech trees were not yet having all their foliage and these leaves were still a fresh, yellowish green. 

For the stones I took my time, that is my subject and should look good. Many of the stones are covered in moss so I had to mind their shapes very well or they would have been a large greenish shape without any definition at all. Here the drawing - and the fact that I painted each stone separately - helped to get the result I wanted.

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

Ahlhorner Kellersteine II - a charcoal drawing

 

A few months ago we (my husband and me) were for a short vacation in the North of Germany, where we visited the beautiful landscape but also went to see the dolmens in that area. We followed the guidelines of the 'Strasse der Megalithkultur' and we did see a lot of these beautiful sites.

One of the sites we visited was the site of the Ahlhorner Kellersteine and of the two dolmens at that site I have painted only one. So today I have made the second one the subject of my work.

As it was already afternoon I did not have time to stretch and dry a piece of watercolour paper so I decided to make a charcoal drawing instead. There were two reference pictures, one from the side and one directly from the front, looking down into the inner chamber of the dolmen with the broken cover stone in a nice angle in front of the chamber. 

For the drawing I have only used my charcoal, so no watercolour under painting, no added colour using pencils, just the black and white of charcoal and paper. Of course I would have added some pencil work if the drawing needed it, but it is good as it is now and I am happy with the result.

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

Polder landscape - Netherlands

 

Last week, on our day of plein air painting I did not make any extra reference pictures, so I decided to make an imaginary polder landscape combining the usual elements.

There is a horizon line with trees, bushes, a church tower and some buildings. Of course there are fields of grass, divided by ditches crossed by little bridges. A dirt road and a fence must be included and for this part of the Netherlands I cannot forget the pollard willows.

This scene is made up with elements that are very close to my home, but cannot be seen together in one view. For example, to see that little church tower with the ditches running towards it you would have to stand on the pylons of the power lines for the railroad track. The railroad track is half underground and there is no road beside it. As that is not encouraged in The Netherlands I have used my imagination.

Making up this composition was fun and I enjoyed painting it. The colours used were selected to get a summer sunshine atmosphere to the painting and for a change I painted on rough textured paper. The result is what I hoped it would be.

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

Weeping Willow 6

 

Another experiment with the working sketch of the weeping willow as my reference. This time I have used oil pastels on watercolour paper and painted with watercolour afterwards.

The oil pastel lines are suggesting some branches and leaves of a weeping willow tree, like when the viewer is standing under such a tree. The oil pastel lines are broken because of the structure of the paper and that is what I wanted. 

After the oil pastel lines were in place I painted the weeping willow is very familiar to  me now with colours that suggest a sunny summer day. Some of the branches are in the water of the pond where the tree is standing. Weeping willows are always beside a pond or a larger area of water that is how they like it.

Some smaller details in the foliage were added with a smaller brush this time and the background is only suggested. It could be a large field of grass on the other side of the pond with a few bushes in the distance.

The experiment with the oil pastel did not work out as I hoped, the lines do not contrast the painting as much as I wanted them to, due to the colour choices I made so there is more experimenting to be done in the future. Despite that, I am happy with the result.

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