Moselle Valley, walking - a charcoal drawing

 

Last Autumn we revisited the Moselle Valley and made some nice walks. This scene is from the 'Zitronenkrämerkreuz' walk starting in Ensch.

At some point we had to cross a small stream using a bridge that had seen better times. All was safe but we were extra careful.

I made pictures of the stairway/path back up the other bank of the stream to use as references for a drawing or painting.

Today I made that drawing, using Willow Charcoal end some of my Tinted charcoal pencils on a tinted paper.

The result is what I hoped for. Maybe I will use this reference picture another time, but for now I am happy with this result.

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 Flickr account.

Near Rucphen

During our walks in the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands) we did see a lot of young trees, new leaves, blossoms and other signs of spring.  
In our Natural reserves there is also a lot of dead wood, tree trunks standing or lying where they died and left there as food for insects, shelter for birds and small animals and in the end to fertilise the soil. Of course the dead trees that are hazardous will be removed and some are removed to give more open spaces in what once was a production woodland.

Near a crossroads there was a tree trunk standing and another one lying on the ground, both were pine trees, and just behind them was a young birch tree.
The contrast between the young tree and the decay of the other two inspired me to make some reference pictures.

For this painting I chose a larger size paper than I have used over the past months, to give the trees some space on the paper. 
The background is only suggested, as is the foreground. That bit of forest floor near the crossroads did not have any bushes or other plants. There are a lot of possibilities for signposted walks with dogs or horses and some paths for recreational bike rides so the sides of the paths are relatively 'clean'.

The information about the paper and paints I have used, the size and availability are to be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

A walk in the woods - watercolour

Last week we had a day off from work and went for a walk in our beautiful nature again. We left early and walked a signposted walk in the woods near Doorn. The area has some hills, left over after the last Ice Age and the woods have different trees and bushes than those in the southern parts of The Netherlands. There are no plantations for the production of wood for instance, the hills make the harvesting difficult compared to the flat landscape in the south of our country. 
Of course we enjoyed walking there and I have made some reference pictures for this watercolour painting.

Because the trees and bushes are different the green is brighter, more yellow in this early spring. Beneath the trees is mostly shadow and fallen leaves, with some patches of grasses or herbs. The foliage on the trees is not a closed canopy yet and the sky is still visible. This will be a much darker place in summer, when the sunshine cannot reach the ground so easily as it can now in springtime.
While we walked we heard lots of birds singing and sometimes I am sorry I cannot paint that. 

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of the painting can be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

A walk in the woods - mixed media

Last Sunday, during our walk in the woods near Rucphen, I made some reference pictures for landscape drawings. The first drawing is in my previous post, this second drawing is a mixed media, inspired by the colours of the grasses and bushes in the background.

Of course these colours cannot be depicted by a charcoal drawing alone, so I made a watercolour underpainting, using the light blue of the sky and the bright green and yellow of the bushes and grasses.
On my dry underpainting I worked with Tinted Charcoal pencils, so the drawing has not the deep black of charcoal, but the hints of colour I wanted for this drawing.
The paper I chose has more structure than the paper I use for a charcoal drawing and I have not 'filled the holes' of the paper so the lines are broken and my underpainting is still visible.

The information about the paper, paints and pencils I used and about the size and availability are in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

A walk in the woods - charcoal drawing

This Sunday morning we did get out of the house early again to be in the woods for a walk when it would still be quiet. This time we rode to a small place called Rucphen and walked in the woods for almost two hours.

Some parts of the woodland were thick with bushes, some parts were more open. There also was variation in the kind of trees, this part had mainly fir trees. There are some birches in the patch in the background, the separation between the different patches in this woodland is very clear. The nature management organization plans to change that, but growing a forest takes years, not months.

This part of the woods was nice and open, with patches of sunlight on the ground, some shadows and the tall trees that once were planted for the production of straight planks.
Now there is much more space between them and that inspired me to make some reference pictures and to make a charcoal drawing as soon as possible.

I did doubt about the technique I wanted to use and decided that the more laborious one will be used later. So there will be another drawing with trees, some bushes in the background and....  later!

The details about the materials I used, the availability and contact information are in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com