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.

Tree trunk, Sonnenberg - a Conté drawing

 

On the last day in Sonnenberg (Leiwen, Germany) we walked towards the Fünfseenblick in the morning. The walk was a nice one with lots of forest areas to give us shadow while walking. Where there are trees, there are also tree trunks, fallen trees and fallen branches.

Of course I could not stand still to make pictures of them all, but I did make a reference picture of a tree trunk that was partially in bright sunlight.

Today I made a Conté drawing of that dead tree, maybe in the (near) future I will also make a watercolour painting using the same reference picture.

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.

Boulder, Sonnenberg - a charcoal drawing

 

During our short vacation in Leiwen, Germany we saw a lot of slate as the hills are mostly made of that kind of stone - which gives great wines - but at some points, during our walks we passed by loose boulders that did stand out in the landscape, even if they were not really big like the one in this drawing.

Not only trees inspire me to paint and draw, boulders, old boundary stones and dolmens inspire me as well. In the past I have drawn and painted dolmens, not so long ago I made a drawing of a nice old carved boundary stone and this time I have made a drawing of a boulder.

Using a tinted paper as my base I had to add white for the highlights where the evening sun hit the boulder. On the light paper that is not really standing out very much, but it is just sufficient to show the lighter spots of the stone.

The result is what I hoped it would be and I am really happy that I took the time to make the reference picture for this drawing (the others were walking on, so I had to hurry to catch up with them)

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.

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.

Sonnenberg - evening

 

Last week we were in a vacation home in Sonnenberg, Leiwen, Germany and enjoyed some quality time with our children and grandchildren (our daughters-in-law are counted amongst children).

Of course we had time for some nice walks and the first evening we went for a walk close to the vacation parc. Returning from that walk we had a nice view over the Moselle valley, but as we were a little down the hill (Sonnenberg is a hilltop) the valley was out of sight.

The sun was setting and the colours of the sky were very nice so my husband made a picture using the camera (my phone does not 'zoom in' enough, the camera is better for that) as my reference.

For the painting I simplified the view a little, the people were left out and some other stuff as well. I don't think a bin would have improved my composition to give an example of what was left out.

Getting the painting right was a bit of a problem. For the composition I have added some structure to the very distant hilltops and the trees may be a bit too dark. The danger of overworking the painting was very close so I stopped and this is the result.

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

Norddeich, dark clouds - for a contest

 

When the new Revival Collection watercolours were announced, I got a bit greedy and bought as soon as possible the four colours I liked best. There are eight colours, so I could have done 'worse'. The colours were waiting a few weeks for me to gather courage to try them and here is my first painting using them.

The reason I painted this work is mostly because I wanted to submit it to the 2025 European Watercolour Contest that is restricted to the use of these special colours (and a graphite pencil for the initial sketch).

Finding out how to work with four new colours proved to be  a challenge but the result is really nice. The grey and ash colours are much lighter than I thought so I had to add the purple and orange for darkness. While doing so I was changing the atmosphere of the painting from a very dark one to a much lighter one, a result that was unexpected but not unwelcome.

The reference picture for this one was made last winter in Norddeich and I had used it before in a charcoal drawing setting the horizon a bit higher to show more of the water.

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.