Trees along a sunken road

 

Some weeks ago we were for a short vacation in the Val Joly region and made a walk in the Parc de L'Abbaye de Liessies where we were walking in a sunken or hollow road during that walk. 

The road was so much sunken that we could just see the top of the sides and many tree roots were visible. My husband (who had the camera) made some nice pictures of these tree roots.  During our short vacation I made a drawing after one of these pictures and this time I wanted to make a watercolour painting. 

My reference picture for this watercolour painting is made from a different angle and shows the tree from the drawing and a second one, both with a lot of their roots exposed. The high side of the road is also visible.

The second tree, on the right side of the painting was the biggest challenge with its roots so intertwined that I really needed the 'help' of my reference picture. Usually I paint the sketch I made on my watercolour paper and from memory but in this case that did not work well for the many details.

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.

Felled tree - a pencil drawing

 

During our short vacation in the Val Joly region we also made a walk just across the border, in Belgium, starting at the Étang du Vivier in Sart Eustache.

The walk was challenging for us so we did not have much time or energy to make pictures but this felled tree was just beside the path and we did stop for a picture here. The stump was at the other side of the path so we presumed that a large piece was 'missing', taken away by the foresters.

The picture inspired me to make a drawing on a large size paper as the tree was really large and details would not be possible on a small size. 

Using my Graphitint pencils I first made a layer of pencil drawing and used water to 'awaken' the colours that are special to that type of pencil. After that had dried I added more layers of pencil for more depth and details.

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.

View through tree roots - a pencil drawing

 

During our short stay in the Val Joly region we made a walk that started in the Parc de L'Abbaye de Liessies and in a hollow road we saw how the sand was washed away from the roots of some of the trees. My husband had the camera and made some reference pictures for me.

This was the most 'dramatic' one and I made a pencil drawing while we were on vacation. 

These days I only bring some drawing materials with me on vacation because drawing is easier in less ideal circumstances such as not being in my studio.

This drawing is a small size and I will probably make another work using this tree as my inspiration.

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.

View through - a charcoal drawing

 

During our short vacation in the Val Joly region we made some walks. 

This tree we saw in the Parc de L'Abbaye de Liessies when we were walking a hollow road. The trunk was open at the bottom and there was a small 'see through' that made me ask for a reference picture (my husband had the camera).

Back in our vacation home I used the reference for a charcoal drawing, making sure the opening in the tree trunk was left white (the white of the 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.

Yellow blossom

 

The little blossoms in my painting are really very small, I first only saw the little round balls on the branches of the bush we were passing by, but some of them were opened and the flowers are beautiful little bells.

The bush is a common sight close to our home, in the 'public' green areas between blocks of houses these are planted and grow nicely. The people from the landscaping department take care of these bushes and unfortunately I do not know what the name of the plant is. It is most probably from the Berberis family that has up to 500 different plants.

To make a reference picture I had to adjust the camara on my phone and I managed to get a good reference for a painting.

Inspired by the colours of the bush I made a background and after that had dried I added the branch that I photographed. 

At this point I decided to add more colour, mostly in the lower part of the painting, suggesting branches and leaves by creating an uneven layer of colour. In this part I also added some flower buds, these are only suggested with little amounts of yellow.

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.

Blossom - pencil and paint

 

Every walk in the parc area close to our home has new blossoms, leaves and other signs of spring and of course I make pictures of all that beauty as references for drawings and paintings.

This time a little white blossom, left alone on the branch after a strong wind and I really have no idea what tree or bush it grows on.

On a black paper I first made an initial drawing with my Watercolour pencils and after that I painted the flower with Metallic watercolour paint. That is a new material for me so this was an experiment. The paper I used is not fit for much water, so I was very careful with that.

After the paint had dried I used my pencils again for depth and the details of the little blossom.

For the leaves and the branch I only used pencils, no water, to show that the blossom is my subject but it does not exist alone.

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.

Blossoms in bud - a pencil drawing

 

Walking home after having done some shopping I saw these small buds on a bush by the footpath. Of course I made some reference pictures for a drawing.

These white blossoms or buds look best on a black paper and I chose medium size for this branch.

Using my new Drawing pencils I made this work. These pencils work great and I am still exploring the possibilities of layering and mixing colours and saturating the colours when I don't need mixing - like with the white petals.

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.

New Leaves

 

The March challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about changes coming with the new season. Nature wakes up.

For my painting I made some reference pictures during a short walk in the park area close to our home. These references have been waiting about two weeks before I had time to paint, but here it is, my submission for the challenge.

On a coloured background I painted the branch with fresh leaves, not all green yet. Some trees and bushes have leaves that start with another colour and become green after they had some sunlight. Often the 'base colour' is a reddish brown, but these had a purple/mauve base.

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

Leiwener Kapellchen

 

During our short vacation in Leiwen last May we made some nice walks. The first walk, in the evening after we arrived, passed by some landmarks between the parc where we were staying and the Moselle river. One of these is this little chapel, the 'Leiwener Kapellchen'. We looked at it from a high spot on the hillside and we made some reference pictures.

One of these references is used for this watercolour painting. Of course I changed the composition a bit to make the chapel stand on a 'good' spot following the rule of thirds.

From our point of view there was no sky in the reference picture, only rolling hills that may be hiding the river. As it was spring, the vineyards were mostly bare, the leaves had yet to grow on the vines.

This makes the structures of the vineyards visible, parallel lines with plants and a lot of bare soil. Not all fields are planted in the same direction which gives the much needed variation for my painting.

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

Quarry with tree roots

 

On our first evening in Sonnenberg (Leiwen, Germany) we made a walk as we had been in the car for hours and wanted some fresh air. 

That walk was very close to our vacation home and we passed by some nice views over the Moselle valley. We also had nice spots on the other side of the path and this is one of them.

On several places there are little quarries that have been washed out a bit further by the rains so the tree roots are visible. This was an inspiring one, the shadows create interesting shapes here so I made a reference piture.

Looking at the picture again I decided to make a drawing using my Tinted Charcoal Pencils on a tinted paper.

The bit of forest ground above the quarry is important to show where the tree roots come from and is is mostly in shadows so the contrast with the sunlit parts of the wall of the quarry gives more structure to the landscape. Without that part, the drawing would have been much more 'abstract' and that is not what I wanted.

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

Tree bark - Poplar

 

Close to our home are lots of poplar trees and the older ones have beautiful bark structures close to the ground - where I can see it best and make pictures as my reference.

One of these trees also has mosses growing in the structure of the bark and that one was my model for this work.

On a watercolour background I worked with my Graphitint pencils, using one wash of water between layers of pencil. 

After a strong wind I found a fallen leaf that was used for the second pattern in this work. I traces the outline of the leaf using a white pencil, colouring the negative space between two leaf shapes. I kept on working like that until I had 'covered' my sheet of paper with overlapping leaf shapes.

The white was not standing out as much as I hoped so I added white gouache paint in several layers to the white lines and the negative shapes that were coloured white.

Once again I experimented with structures and materials and I really like doing that. The result does not matter that much, even though I like the finished piece to be balanced.

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

Dead Tree, Sonnenberg - a watercolour painting

 

During our short vacation in Leiwen we made some nice walks in forest areas. During one of these walks I made pictures of a dead tree which I already have used for a Conté drawing. In my post about the Conté drawing I wrote that I would like to make a watercolour painting of that tree trunk as well. The details about the walk are also in my post about the drawing, so I will not repeat them here.

Here is the painting, made with a limited palette to make the dead tree stand out as much as possible. 

The dead tree did get some sunlight at the moment I made my picture and the pale colour of the dead wood contrasted beautifully with the darker colours of the forest behind it.

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

Yellow poppy

 

Last weekend my husband and me went to the Arboretum Trompenburg in Rotterdam for a nice springtime walk amongst the trees, bushes and plants. We were not the only ones so I did not make many reference pictures this time.

One plant that had my attention was this Yellow horned poppy (Glaucium flavum) and I made a picture, carefully keeping my own shadow out of the way.

The flowers were amongst other flowers but I only wanted to paint the yellow beauties so I made a background that could suggest more flowers and painted a composition of the flowers in my reference picture on that first layer of colour. Of course I added some more suggested structures, but the flowers are clearly the subject of my work.

This technique of making a background and painting the subject on it is not new to me, this time I used some colours that are relatively new on my palette, so I had to hope for the best in that first layer. The result is what I hoped for, even a bit better than that.

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

If you are interested in my original artwork, please contact me.

Fünfseenblick - panorama view

 

Last week we were on a short vacation in the Moselle Valley, in a vacation parc near Leiwen. 

On our last full day there my husband and me went to the 'Fünfseenblick' point to see a great view over the Moselle Valley. The river meanders a lot and from the lookout tower we could see a lot of river and a lot of river bends.

I did not climb to the top (I had to come down in a dignified manner too) but from halfway up I could make a panorama picture as reference for a watercolour painting. 

The painting was made that same afternoon, making the best of the shadow of the cottage and painting outdoors. Indoors was getting warm as the sun was shining brightly and the curtains did not help much to keep the cottage cool.

The result is even better than I hoped to achieve in a vacation home and I am really happy with this painting.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this work, its availability and my contact information are in my Tumblr blog.

If you are interested in my original artwork, please contact me.

Ferns - a graphite drawing

 

Last week we were in a vacation home in Leiwen, Germany and when walking away from the vacation parc there was forest in almost all directions. The first evening we went for a walk to stretch our legs after more then four hours in the car and I spotted some fern leaves unrolling. Later search suggested it was part of the Dryopteridaceae family, probably a male-fern (Dryopteris filix-mas).

As I had wanted to draw these young leaves for a long time - but never was in a forest area at the right time - I made a reference picture and made a drawing as soon as I could find the time to do so during that short vacation.

Using only graphite pencils I did not have to worry about bringing the right colour with me (I do not bring all my pencils on a short vacation) and I am really happy with the result.

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

If you are interested in my original artwork, please contact me.

Japanese cherry - blossoms

 

Last weekend we were walking near our home and the Japanese cherry (Prunus serrulata) trees that are growing on the side of the streets were having an abundance of blossoms. My husband offered to hold one branch for me so I could make a reference picture for a painting (there was a lot of wind and holding the branch still for the picture really helped).

For this painting I selected a rose colour that is perfect for flower paintings and because of that I rarely use it. With the help of some other colours I tried to make a loose painting of the blossoms and leaves that were in the reference picture.

The technique of flower painting is one I need to practise a bit more but I really like the result I got with this painting.

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

Contact me if you are interested in my original artwork.

Star Magnolia - a graphite drawing

 

Not far from my home (five minutes walking) are Star Magnolia trees standing in the residential areas and in Springtime they are beautiful. I have painted these before, but this time I wanted to make a drawing, using materials I did not have when I made the paintings.

Using a tinted paper and my water soluble graphite (tailor shape) I made the drawing. Of course some water was used as well after the first layer of colour was on the paper. After that had dried I applied more graphite, mixing the colours on the paper.

After I had finished the first branch with flowers I added some more to make a more balanced composition.

The result is what I hoped for.

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

My Chestnut tree in Springtime

 

It is Springtime and my chestnut tree has lots of buds that are opening now. Some will be only leaves, many will also be flowers. Of course I wanted to paint that once again.

For this work I made several reference pictures and I started with the tree bark in watercolour. Not too much colour because that is how my tree looks in bright sunlight.

After that had dried I added a branch with a flower bud and some new leaves at the end and painted that as well with watercolour.

After that I started with my pencils, adding details and depth by layering the colours on my paper. 

One branch was not enough, so I added three more, only using my pencils, looking for a good composition.

Of course this work is not 'perfect' but with this I am continuing my series with tree bark and leaves or fruits of the trees that inspire me.

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

The old one

 

In my previous post about the Mantingerveld I have written that there are some oak trees in that Natural Reserve and this is one of them.

The tree is old, large and it was not possible to get a good picture of the whole tree. The tree came in full view behind some other trees and bushes and stepping back would have meant that those bushes were blocking the view on the tree. So my reference picture does not show the whole tree.

My painting does show even less of the tree, I should have selected a much bigger piece of paper to do justice to the size of this oak tree. Unfortunately I do not have the facilities to paint that large. 

So I decided to paint just a part of the tree, placing it in the middle of my paper, making the trunk and the large lower branches as small as possible - so that the other branches would still have some volume - and just finding out what I would end up with. 

In May the leaves are still fresh green and small, so there was not much foliage to be painted. Most of the leaves are at the end of the branches, not visible in this painting. The structure of this old tree is still visible, because it is so early in Springtime and that is exactly what inspired me to make the reference picture and this 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. If you are interested in my original artworks, please contact me.

Juniper berries - a pencil drawing

 

Last weekend my husband and me went to the province of Drenthe (The Netherlands) to walk in the beautiful nature there. Before we went to our vacation home, we made a signposted walk in the Mantingerveld, a place where the junipers are still growing in great numbers. 

Of course there was more to see than just junipers (Juniperus communis and I have a lot of reference pictures for nice paintings, but I just had to make a reference picture of the berries and make a drawing. 

As known, the berries take two years to mature, the green ones are in their first year, the darker blue ones in their second year and those will fall off or be eaten by birds. The juniper is the only indigenous needle tree in The Netherlands and it is having a hard time because of changes in the landscape and pollution. In places like the Natural Reserve 'Mantingerveld' the forest rangers are working hard to preserve the junipers. Looking at the amount of trees in that area, they seem to be successful.

The drawing was made during our stay in the vacation home, I only bring drawing materials when we are going for a short vacation and so I am limited in subject choice.

The berries have multiple layers, I used some water to 'awaken' the colours and added more pencil lines on top of that. That was done to make the berries stand out as my subject.

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