Pumpkin Field 2

 

That one reference picture I made of the pumpkin field (when I was on my painting vacation, during a short evening walk) has potential for more than one composition.

For this painting I selected an area with a lot of leaves and some (almost hidden) pumpkins and made a watercolour painting that is all about those large leaves. 

On the background I started drawing the leaves and pumpkins until I thought the composition was nice. Painting these leaves, their stems and the pumpkins was next. 

For all the shades of green I mixed different colours into a 'green from the tube' and the result really pleases me.

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.

Holly

 

Last weekend we (my husband and me) went for a nice signposted walk in the 'Kalmthoutse Heide', a beautiful Natural Reserve on the border between Belgium and The Netherlands, not too far from where we live. 

Very soon after I left the car, my attention was caught by a nice holly bush with lots of red berries. Of course I made some reference pictures and added some more holly reference pictures during our walk.

The holly inspired me to paint, so that is what I did. Mixing greens for a background, adding violet for contrast was the first step. After that had dried I used a watercolour pencil for the drawing of the holly branches and then I had to paint them.

At first, I wanted to add a special effect I had seen in an online short video, but after the background was made I decided otherwise. That special effect will be used once, in another painting. The green of the leaves was mixed with a blue, a yellow and sometimes a touch of violet for the darker areas. It was fun to create all these colours and to let the leaves at the edges of the painting fade away into the background.

The red berries were the finishing touch, a nice contrast with the green of the leaves and background, just as they were when they caught my attention.

This watercolour will not be used for a Christmas card this year - I already have them waiting for the right moment to send - but painting these leaves and berries did get me in a nice festive mood, forgetting the grey weather for a few hours.

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

If you are interested in my work, please contact me.

Wild teasel

 

During our painting vacation, our teacher Ad van Aart took us to a natural side stream of the river Waal for inspiration. The views of the river, the riverbanks and the side stream were great and I made several pictures and some drawings for future reference, but I also saw a large Teasel plant and I made a reference picture to use with one of the abstract backgrounds I was working with during the week. 

For this mixed media work I made a relatively dark red background in which the earth pigments are dominant. This was done as a wash and the background dried quickly, so I could use it the same afternoon.

Using my watercolour pencils I made a drawing of the teasel plant, using the reference picture as my guidance. I could not fit the whole plant on the paper so I used the shapes of the stems, the flowers and the leaves to make a good composition. The large leaves and the flowers have several layers of colour, the stems and the smaller leaves have only one or two layers. 

The plant was already withering and some leaves had a dry straw-like colour on the edges. The small flowers were already gone, only the large flower heads remained. I have always loved this plant and wanted to paint or draw it, so I took my chance and enjoyed making this mixed media work.

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

Blueberries in the springtime sunshine

 

This time of lockdown, closed museums and other restrictions is a great opportunity to go for a walk in our nature - as if we need to find an excuse for such a walk.

Last week we went for a signposted walk in the beautiful nature near Rucphen (Netherlands) and we chose the only walk we had not done before. There were forest areas, fields with horses or cows, a bit of moorland and we had nice views towards the small villages that surround this bit of nature.

As it is Springtime now, the trees and plants were just starting to show their first leaves and in a spot of sunlight I saw these blueberries. Making some reference pictures was only natural and I made a watercolour as soon as I had the time to do so.

For this watercolour I have used my masking fluid to preserve the light leaves against the dark background. Both the forest floor and the backlit bushes behind the small plants were much darker and I wanted to show the fresh green of the plants in springtime.

The background and forest floor were painted first, the masking fluid removed and then I painted the blueberries. After I had finished them, I added more detail to the forest floor, which was full of dried autumn leaves, small branches and other 'forest debris'.

The information about the paper and paints I have used, the size of this watercolour painting, its availability and price are all in my Tumblr blog.