Plane tree, Westersingel Rotterdam - a pen drawing

 

Once again, the large plane tree we saw in Rotterdam last week. This large tree inspired me to do more than just painting, this is the second drawing I made using my own reference pictures.

For this work I used line markers/fine liners on a white paper, different nib sizes for the difference between the huge tree trunk and the smallest little branches.

These smallest branches and the fruits hanging from them are in the drawing this time, it was as if this drawing asked for them to be present.

This last week I wanted to find out how different techniques can influence the way I depict the same subject, in this case a tree of impressive proportions. Impressive for being in the city and for growing in such a wet environment, many trees can't handle that well.

There are differences between the watercolour, the pencil drawing and the ink drawing that are not only explained by the different papers I have used. To be honest, I have no preference between the three of them, all are works I am happy with.

In the future I will probably be doing this again, when a subject inspires me to find out how it can be depicted with different techniques.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Plane tree, Westersingel Rotterdam - a pencil drawing

 

This is the same tree that I painted and wrote about in my previous post, this time on paper with a different size and with pencils. This very large tree deserves more than only one watercolour painting.

For this drawing I have used only pencils and I did not even need to use water and a second layer of pencil to make this 'portrait of a tree'. My reference pictures do not show much more of the height of this plane tree so I can only hope to be believed when I write that it is much higher than my drawing shows.

For this drawing I did not add the smaller branches and the fruits hanging from them. These are of course part of the tree, but as there are so many smaller branches and fruits they might 'take over' this drawing and that is not what I wanted to happen. Only the main structure of the tree is here and for me that is impressive enough. 

Maybe in a next drawing, when I am using other materials, I will add these smallest branches and fruits again.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Plane tree, Westersingel Rotterdam

 

In the city of Rotterdam some very old trees are still standing. Yesterday we passed by this impressive plane tree on our way to an museum and I had to use the 'panorama' setting om my camera to make a picture of it.

In fact the tree is more than five times as high as I have painted here, with several huge branches growing from the trunk that has 'turned' while growing, but I wanted to show the width of it, using one of the lower branches as my main subject and leaving the rest to the imagination of the viewer.

The tree stands close to the water of the 'Westersingel' on a lawn that stretches along the water. Just at the roots of the trees no grass is growing, only dark earth is visible. On the opposite side of the water there is another piece of lawn with some smaller trees, a street and large houses. These houses and the trees on the opposite side of the water reflect in the water. This all is only suggested by using one diluted layer of colour.

The tree is my main subject and it is painted in several layers of dark brown colours and where needed a touch of green for the algae on the trunk and large branches. Also the lawn the tree is standing on and the fallen leaves on the opposite lawn are painted in more than one layer of paint.

By doing this I wanted to make a portrait of the tree, showing the width of the lowest branches and still placing it in the surroundings it has been growing in to this impressive size.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Nest - a pencil drawing

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch A Day app is 'Nest' and I really liked the idea of drawing a nest.

The scene is imaginary, a bird's nest in a fork in a branch, surrounded by more branches and the beginning of foliage.

I enjoyed using my new pencil set on another shade of coloured paper.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Paint - a pencil drawing

 

This month the challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about professions, work, labour. The meaning of the challenge is to depict a profession and I decided on the (house) painter. That profession is/was 'in my family' and if needed I can also do the paintwork in my home.

I wanted to keep it simple, only one open tin of paint (the Dutch 'verf' means paint) and a brush with the paint on it.

This time I have combined Graphitint an Metallic pencils, using water to 'awaken' the Graphitint colours and adding a layer of pencil on top of that for depth.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in m y original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog. 

Park Noordhoekse Wiel

 

This month there is a contest about 'the most beautiful spot' in Papendrecht, where I live. To enter the contest you have to describe your favourite spot and/or make a photograph. As I am not a photographer (I do not have nice equipment, just a phone with a good camera inside) I went out to make a nice reference picture for a watercolour painting. As I have to make a picture of the painting to enter it to the competition I still am following the rules a bit.

I chose this spot, a 'meadow mill' in the park that is very close to my home. 

I made several reference pictures, different angles, different distances, but in the end this one was the best. Of course I was lucky with the clouds on the left. My reference picture was made this month, so in winter and the large trees are still bare.

The little windmill was taken in backlight, but even in full sunlight it would be very very dark as it is painted almost black with some white spots.

The result of my work is what I hoped for and I submitted this work for the contest, hoping for....

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Peacock - a pencil drawing

 

A few days ago the prompt in the Sketch A Day app was 'Peacock' and after looking for some references I decided to draw the head and neck of a peacock with my watercolour pencils on a black background.

As I did before, after the first layer of pencil I used a bit of water to 'awaken' the colours and after that had dried I added another pencil layer for depth.

I still have the idea that I am not really good at drawing animals, but with a reference for the proportions and overall shape I get nice results. 

My to-do list for the coming years is about getting more practice and building confidence.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Pine cone - a pencil drawing

 

The reference picture I made of this pine cone was waiting to be used for a painting or drawing and with today's prompt in the Sketch-A-Day app the drawing is made.

I used my new Drawing Pencils for this one, this time on a tinted paper.

Making the drawing was nice and relaxing, the result is what I hoped for.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Parc Vordenstein

 

Last summer we (my husband and me) went for a walk in Park Vordenstein in Belgium. The parc is on an estate and has nice paths for walking, woodland areas, fields, a pond and a small corner with cattle. After the walk there is the Orangery for coffee, tea or a lunch. We had a nice day.

Of course I made several reference pictures for later use and I did not do much with these until today. In one of the woodland areas we saw these two dead trees - there really are two of them, the smallest one is almost hidden in the background.

Of course I could make a charcoal drawing or a Conté drawing of the dead trees, but in this case I wanted to make a watercolour painting. They stand in the green bushes with green and 'red' trees in the background and I liked the difference.

For this painting I used some colours that are new for me and the sunlight on the leaves of the bushes is suggested by using fine salt on the wet (damp) paint.

I am happy with the result. The new shades of green are nice to work with and the salt did what I hoped it would do.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Winter in the forest - a pen-and-ink drawing

 

My first pen-and-ink drawing since I started painting and drawing. 

Of course I have used line markers before, but always as a part of the materials needed for the desired result. I got a set of line markers in a 'goodie bag' and I decided to try them on some basic, smooth paper with a prompt from the Sketch A Day app.

The theme was 'Nature' and so it is no surprise that I made this wintery forest scene. 

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Tree - a pencil drawing

 

A few months ago I bought a new set of pencils, a quality I had not used before, but the range of colours attracted me. These Derwent Drawing Pencils are for drawing landscapes and animals, exactly my kind of subjects.

The first drawing I made with these had to be an subject I know - a tree. Last weekend we went for a signposted walk in 'Voorne's Duin', starting and ending at the visitor's centre 'Tenellaplas' a large pond in the dune landscape.

The weather was fine for a walk like this and I made several pictures, not only of trees, but also of the dune valleys we passed through.

This tree with part of its roots exposed attracted my attention and inspired me to draw.

Testing the pencils that are new for me I found out that they work easily, I have been mixing by layering more than two colours in one spot. I have also been using the white of the paper or completely covered the paper with colour in some parts of the tree trunk, the branches and the roots.

These colours cannot be 'awakened' by adding water - as can be done with the watercolour or Graphitint pencils - but I am happy with the result I get with these pencils. As said, the range of colours is limited and designed for landscapes, trees and animals but that does not really bother me.

After I finished my drawing I have used some fixative (as was advised on the website) and my colours did not change at all.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work an - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Tree roots - a Conté drawing

 

Last spring we (my husband and me) went for a signposted walk in the 'Mastenbos' (Belgium) where I made several reference pictures for my paintings and drawings. Some have already been used to make nice watercolour paintings and this time I wanted to draw these tree roots.

The tree had fallen and the roots were exposed which is not usual, most of the times you see a large amount of soil and earth attached to the roots. That means all the soil had been removed - by rain or wind or both - from this fallen tree.

I made some reference pictures when we were there and I selected the best one for my drawing.

Only the roots are visible here, the sand that had fallen off and the tree trunk are not in the drawing.

That decision was made during the drawing process. I started with the roots and gave them as much details as possible with crayons and looked at the result. Nothing else was needed, so I signed the drawing, used fixative and called it finished.

The result is what I hoped for.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog. 

Snowdrops - a drawing

 

In my front garden are snowdrops, in fact two different types of them. These are the first to have flowers and I made a reference picture for this drawing.

Last time I went to my favourite Art Supply store I bought a set of 'try out' papers with different colours and different textures in a small size.

On one of those postcard size sheets I made this drawing, testing the colours on the tinted background.

The Graphitint pencils show 'different' colours when treated with water so I also tested that. After I had applied water and let it dry I added a second layer of the white pencil to deepen the colour a bit.

This was a nice experience, having these small size sheets of paper make it easy to test materials, colours etc with a simple subject - like these snowdrops.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing, its availability and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Snow - charcoal drawing

 

Last week we had a lot of snow, but it has been melting away because of higher temperatures. Last night and today it is freezing again, so what was left remains in its place today.

There is snow left on fields and I wanted to make a charcoal drawing of that last snow. So we went out to see a field that was still mostly white.

Very close to our home we found a nice spot for my reference picture. 

Today the sky is almost as white as the snow so the trees and their reflection in the water have the darkest colours. There is grass visible where snow has already disappeared and there is a trail of footprints - probably made by the moorhens that live here.

The result shas the atmosphere of (last) snow I wanted to capture so I am happy with this drawing.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in m y original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Garden lamp in the snow - a drawing

 

This week we had snow - we still have a lot of snow lying in the garden, on the streets etc. The garden looks beautiful and two of the garden lamps look really 'brave' in this snow. (the other lamps are higher and are not buried in the snow)

Of course I wanted to draw this and I used graphite pencils and a fine liner for the lamp structure for this drawing. This turned out really nice and I enjoyed working on the drawing.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Kalmthoutse Heide, winter

 

During our walk on the Kalmthoutse Heide a few weeks ago I made several reference pictures. Most of them have been used for paintings in the past weeks and today I wanted to paint this landscape.

At this point the signposted walk leaves the forest area we were in to enter the moorland the area is named after (Heide = moorland). Depending on the viewpoint some really beautiful landscape pictures can be made. 

Most of the year and especially in winter the moorland is empty and dark with only a few lonely trees or bushes. Of course the area is not really big, if wanted the trees on the far horizon can be reached on foot within the hour but the feeling of emptiness is not far from us.

That feeling of being in a large empty landscape is what I tried to paint this time.

The winter sky had some large clouds, almost white with some light grey shadows and the colour of the horizon was more yellow than blue or grey. Typical for winter in this part of the world and I liked painting it. The landscape has grasses that turned yellow and lots of dark plants, the remains of the heather and other plants, all suggested like I usually do.

The result is what I hoped it would be and I am happy with it.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Eucalyptus - a pencil drawing

 

My first drawing in the year 2026!

The prompt 'fresh' in the Sketch A Day app had some photo inspiration with it and I picked the Eucalyptus branch to be my subject. Mostly because I have wanted to draw one of these branches for a long time but never had the opportunity. 

In a floral arrangement I got for Christmas was a small branch and I used that one as my reference.

My plan was to draw the leaves only and the stem would be suggested by the shapes of the leaves. This works very well with this branch.

After my first layer of pencil I looked at the result and decided to stop drawing. The black of the paper is still visible and that adds to the atmosphere I wanted to achieve. 

The 'experiments' in this drawing gave me the results I hoped for.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.