Rowan - a watercolour painting

 

After the Conté drawing I had made of the rowan bush I wanted more. 

So I prepared a sheet of watercolour paper with a gold-yellow background and started drawing the composition of my Conté drawing using a brush and paint. For a plant like this, no pencil drawing is really needed (for me) and I loved the small changes this method gave me.

The leaves were painted in the same colour scheme as the Conté drawing: with a dark brown and a red earth colour. 

After cleaning my paint water and returning to my work I decided the berries were not needed here, the branch looks like the birds have already eaten them. The Autumn colours of my palette make that very probable.

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.

Rowan - a Conté drawing

 

Last week my husband and me went for a not so very long walk (because it would be a very hot day) in a forest we never visited before, 'De Krochten' in the province of Noord-Brabant (Netherlands). 

We enjoyed the walk, surrounded by buzzing insects but not in danger of stings and lots of shadow under the trees. Along the path were many rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) bushes and I looked for a nice branch to make a reference picture. I have always liked to draw or paint branches with berries on them.

Today I made a drawing using my Conté Crayons and tinted paper. Of course these are not the natural colours of the plant, but I liked to try a different set of colours. Of course I do not have green Conté Crayons (yet), which urges me to be more creative in finding other colour schemes. After the branch and leaves were drawn I decided on the colour for the berries.

There are more layers in the front leaves and berries, the background leaves have one layer of Conté and the shapes are only indicated.

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.

Kelp forest - for a challenge

 

This month the challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about the world under water. This month I have been on a painting vacation, in my own country, far from the coast and in a time when the rivers are almost too dry for ships to pass. So I had to imagine something.

A kelp forest was my idea but I had to look for (free) references to make my painting. The kelp forest is imaginary - from memories of documentaries - but for the shark I needed a reference.

In this work I also used metallic watercolour paint, for the shark and the top of the leaves where the light strikes them. 

The information about all 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.

Variations on an acorn - a pencil drawing

 

The last half of the last afternoon of my painting vacation was dedicated to something easy as in not a very serious subject compared to what I have done the rest of the week. Of course I made the most of my subject, an acorn found under one of the big oak trees near our residence.

When I did show my plan to our teacher and coach Ad van Aart he said something about going extreme with the subject and that is what I tried to do.

I had brought my whole box of watercolour pencils and I wanted to use them. The green acorn was the first on the paper, using the colours of the subject for my drawing. I also added some water and applied more pencil layers after that had dried for depth in my colours. The shadow is only one pencil layer.

After that I started the bigger drawings, using colours that are also in the first drawing, but not 'as the original is'. Looking at my drawing now, it may show the autumn colours of that acorn if it would have been on the tree for so long.

I am happy to say that I did surprise Ad with my final work, he did not expect me to do something like this. It was fun, making a surprising composition out of a subject that does not look great as first sight.

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. 

Ruins 'Kloster Allerheiligen' - three works

 

Almost ten years ago we visited the 'Kloster Allerheiligen' in Germany and I made some pictures for painting. The works I made were never doing justice to the ruins so I decided to focus on other subjects.

This painting vacation I wanted to revisit these pictures and try to make something better. Of course our teacher and coach Ad van Aart helped me.

At first I made a drawing using pencils and a fine liner (the third work from above) to get the composition right. 

The second work (in the middle) is done with Chunky Charcoal, suggesting the day or the spiritual presence that can be felt in such ruins. I really liked the fact that straight lines are not really possible with this material and I got the feeling/atmosphere I was looking for.

Then came the suggestion to do a night version of this scene. The buildings are to be grey and the sky is to be black. Here I had to find out where the light comes from and create a credible drawing. With this very black charcoal that was a bit of a challenge, a mark made is a mark on the paper that can only be 'erased' with more black around it. 

The results are what I hoped for and maybe I will never do a watercolour painting of ruins like this, because the straight lines that are to be found in architecture - even in ruins - usually make me very unhappy.

The information about the materials I have used for these works, their sizes and availabilities and - if you are interested in my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Flickr account.

Stone circle - five works

 

During my painting vacation I was looking for a way to paint/depict the spiritual feeling I can get at certain sites. Our teacher and coach Ad van Aart helped me find my 'voice' in this.

After the cap stone and the dolmen I needed a new subject and I made up a stone circle.  The work at the bottom is a first try on composition. It is not quite finished but the other participants of the painting vacation called this stage interesting so I just left it this way. For the composition I did not need to go further.

The second version is made with willow charcoal to explore the spiritual feeling. Following this version I made one with Chunky Charcoal which is much darker than Willow charcoal.

The watercolour versions are made on panorama size paper, the stones on the left and the light coming from them shining to the right. First only Indigo and a second painting with an earth colour on request of Ad.

The charcoal drawings and the watercolour paintings do show the spiritual feeling I wanted to show in these works. All four are different, but the idea is there. I am really happy with these results.

The information about the materials I have used, the sizes of these works and their availabilities and - if you are interested in my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Flickr account.

Dolmen - five works

 

The second project in my painting vacation was a dolmen, capstone and supporting stones or at least what is left of the structure.

The first thing I made was the pencil drawing as a study for the composition and to get an idea of the structure of the different stones. After that came the Conté drawing on Terracotta paper as a 'mood' study.

Then out teacher and coach Ad van Aart suggested a second Conté drawing, with less stones for a better composition. That is the one on the grey paper.

After that study I reduced the amount of smaller stones to three and made a watercolour painting in natural colours. The grey-blue and the earth colours ate what is to be expected in a landscape.

There was more to be tried with this scene so I reduced the supporting stones to the absolute minimum of two - as suggested by Ad - changed the direction of the paper from 'landscape' to 'portrait' and used colours from the 'Twilight series' of my palette.

The results are what I hoped for. As mentioned in my previous post, this week I intended to paint the spiritual feeling that a dolmen is holy ground and my watercolours really reflect that feeling.

The information about the materials I have used, the sizes and availabilities of these works and - if you are interested in my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Flickr account.

Capstone - three works

 

This painting vacation I wanted to explore the spiritual aspect of some ancient sites. Dolmens are burial grounds and can thus be considered holy ground. Sometimes I can feel that, especially when there are no other people around.

The first reference I have used is a picture of the unbroken capstone of the Ahlhorner Kellersteine II that I made about four years ago. I have not used that reference before.

Our teacher and coach Ad van Aart advised me to start with a pencil drawing to 'explore' the structure of the stone, its shadows and light spots. That pencil drawing is the third picture from above.

I continued with dark charcoal, now exploring that spiritual energy of the site and ended with a light within the stone. Another light is above the stone in the clouded sky, as if the sun shines through very dark clouds.

The third work is a watercolour where I was challenged to let the light radiate from the stone. 

The stone was simplified more and more in each step.

The information about the materials I used for each work, their sizes and availabilities and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Flickr account.

Snowy owl - a graphite drawing

 

In the 'Dierenpark Amersfoort' are also several birds and this Snowy owl was posing for pictures. 

So I made a picture and tried to draw the bird today, the first drawing on my new Terracotta tinted paper. The water soluble graphite is not the best medium for this dark paper but I gave it my very best.

This was the first time I made a drawing of an snowy owl and it is not the easiest bird. The bird in the cage was behind bars so I had to guess the shape a bit.

The water soluble graphite is not as opaque as is needed for this dark tinted paper, so if I want do make a 'perfect' drawing of a mostly white owl I will have to use other drawing materials.

All these things made that I also added 'experiment' in the tags, knowing this is not my best drawing, but I do share my whole art journey here and that means also the not so very great works.

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.

Siberian Tiger - a Conté drawing

 

Last weekend we visited the 'Dierenpark Amersfoort' and had a great time. 

At some point in the main route we saw this Siberian tiger, that walked towards the large window where  lots of children and adults were watching. Close to the large window the tiger laid down as if it was posing for pictures. My husband had the camera and made pictures for me.

Today I found time to make a drawing, using my Conté Crayons because these have the best colours for the tiger. To get the best result for the orange-ish fur I had to mix some colours but that is the fun of working with a limited set of colours.

This time I added more white after a first spray with fixative, to make it stand out even more. Of course I used my fixative again after that. This technique is something I have seen in a tutorial and I use it when I think I need it.

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.

Japanese Crane - a graphite drawing

 

Yesterday we (my husband, two young guests and me) were visiting 'Dierenpark Amersfoort' in the company our son's family. The walk through the zoo was not fast with a total of five children with us, but we all enjoyed the day.

In the Japanese Garden I made some pictures of the Japanese Crane (Grus japonensis) as references for drawing. During the lunch (and playground) break I made a little sketch in my zoo-sketchbook but this crane deserved better.

So today I made a better, larger drawing using my water soluble graphite.

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

Corner stone 2 - a pencil drawing

 

That corner stone, so small a detail on the reference picture my husband sent me, I had to draw it again, differently.

The first drawing was for a challenge, this one is for me.

Using my water soluble graphite pencils I made a larger drawing of the ornament, used some water to wash the graphite and added more pencil on top of that for depth. This technique also works with monochromatic drawings.

This time it is only that stone in my drawing, nothing to indicate where it is. And that is how I want it to be, because it is the ornamental stone that inspired me.

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

Corner stone - a pencil drawing

 

The theme for the July challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is all about 'your creative journey' which can be read as creativity while travelling. I have already made a painting that could be the start of a new path in my artwork and now I have used a picture my husband made for me from his hotel room in Paris.

The view was not inspiring me to do a painting, but one detail did catch my attention. The red brick wall had two beautiful stones on the corner and I made this drawing of one of them adding the structures close to the stone to show its 'natural habitat'.

The stone itself is as detailed as I can get it, using watercolour pencils, water, more pencil for the depth and contrast I want to get.

The wall and the roof behind that wall are only suggested.

Of course this is not a perfect work of art, but I really wanted to draw details like this for some years now so this is the first in what I hope may become another new path in my art journey.

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.

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.

Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) - a pencil drawing

 

These days the bindweed (Calystegia sepium) shows its white flowers everywhere in our neighbourhood and I made some reference pictures for a drawing.

Using my Drawing Pencils I had to find a way to show that the white of the flower is not so very white at all. Using light colours I shaped the flower and added the darker background later.

The colours of the flower are created by the shadows in the petals and the light on them. Not to forget the reflected colours of the grasses around it.

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

Woodpecker - a pencil drawing

 

Today the prompt in the Sketch a Day app is 'peck' and after looking for some translations of the word I decided to draw a woodpecker. The translations were not inspiring and I am not the only one using a prompt like this.

I have gathered an 'archive' of magazine pages full of nature pictures, so after a search I found a picture of a juvenile great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) and used that one for my drawing.

At first I planned to use water soluble pencils, use water on the bird and add more layers of pencil, but changed my plan while working. This is only pencil, no water added. All pencils are water soluble but give enough colour to make a nice woodpecker on this tinted 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 Flickr account.

Sunset fantasy

 

Today the prompt in the Sketch a Day app is 'bright' and that made me think about bright colours at sunset.

So I picked some colours (limited palettes always work nice) and started painting an imaginary sunset seen at the shore.

Of course there have to be clouds in the sky so I can paint the bright orange colour under the clouds, where the light of the setting sun touches them.

The dark foreground can be water or sand, that does not really matter. The whole scene is imaginary, painted for the atmosphere.

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

"Double Exposure" 2

 

After the first experiment with painting a 'double exposure' I wanted to explore the idea a bit further. This time I painted the addition to the landscape as my first layer and the landscape itself on top of that.

The idea of adding something to a ditch with pollard willows came up while talking about the first painting with the tree roots. What to add was the question and I decided on Goldfish.

So first I painted two fish swimming as the fish in my Zodiac sign swim.

After that dried I created an imaginary landscape with a ditch, pollard willows, bushes on the horizon and some structure in the grassland. Just like the Dutch 'polder' landscape I live in. This might be imaginary, this landscape is based on the views we have here, not far from where I live.

This was fun, the addition of the goldfish is not dominating the painting and that is what I wanted. To make a more equal 'double exposure' where the first image does not dominate the second or the other way around I need to experiment and practice a bit more. That is something to look forward to.

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.

"Double exposure"

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch a Day app is 'Double' and some of the inspirational images provided by the app are 'double exposures' in photographs and drawings.

That inspired me to do a double exposure my own way, using watercolour.

The first layer is an imaginary landscape, a forest path as we walk often when we are enjoying our beautiful Nature Reserves. The second layer is made after a reference picture I made of some tree roots showing in the sand path.

These two belong together, the root picture was made on a path very similar to the imaginary one I painted.

For the second layer I decided on a not so natural colour, a violet to make it stand out against the first layer. After making a large 'stain' of violet on my painting I started adding the shadows around the shapes of the roots with more of the same violet. 

I had thought I could let the violet flow a bit over the paper, but I should have done that as a first layer. Now I was having the risk that the first layer would disappear and add itself to the violet. Which was not what I wanted. 

This idea is nice enough to explore further and find the best way of doing this while experimenting.

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.

The path - a charcoal drawing

 

In the Sketch A Day app we can see the prompt and some inspirational images connected to the prompt for the next day, maybe to get inspiration overnight or to work in advance to post as early as possible. Most of the times I just try to find inspiration for an original approach  but this time I started my drawing in advance.

I have drawn an uneven, ragged wooden path over a marshy area in the landscape. The poles that keep the path high and dry can also be seen in the distance where the path curves to the right.

Where this path is bringing the walker is meant to be a mystery.

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.

The old echo well - a pencil drawing

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch A Day app is 'Echo' and I had to think of an echo well at once. Now how to make a nice drawing about an old echo well....

Of course I wanted to add trees, so the well is (now) situated in a forest. There has to be green moss on the stones and on the trees and some larger grasses on the forest floor.

As I do more often these days I made a drawing with watercolour pencils, used water and added more layers of pencil for depth in my colours. The background is only pencil to suggest distance.

I really enjoyed making this small drawing and exploring the possibilities of both my pencils and the chosen paper.

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

Emperor Penguin - pencil drawing

 

A few days ago the prompt in the Sketch A Day app was 'South' and that made me look into my 'archive' of reference pictures taken from magazines. I wanted a penguin as these animals live in the southern part of our planet.

The picture of an Emperor penguin was selected and I made this drawing with different types of pencils.

I really like the result, so I decided to show it here.

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.

Church door 2 - charcoal drawing

 

After I had made the drawing of the 16th century Church door in Eppe-Sauvage I wanted to draw our own church door as well. The reason I wanted to draw it is not so great, our church will most likely be withdrawn from worship next year. So this is not only a drawing 'because I can do it' but also making a memory.

Our church is 20th century (a few years younger than I am) so it is a modern building. The church looks like a square block of stones, but it has some beautiful details. There is a line of windows between the solid walls and the roof so light can come into the building from every angle. The church front is mostly glass with stone walls at the sides and some vertical structures to carry the weight of the roof. The horizontal white line is the floor of the choir balcony being part of the front of the building. The entrance is made with slate or another natural stone and behind the first set of doors is always another set of doors as a protection against the weather. When the first doors open, a rain storm does not 'enter' the building directly.

The glass parts of the church front are all black, reflecting nothing. As I did with the first church door I drew I wanted to draw the church front first and then decide on the doors. 

These are left 'open' as I did with the church of Eppe-Sauvage, I really like the mystery that comes into my drawing this way.

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.

Dark weather - charcoal drawing

 

For the title of this work I also thought about 'Poor sheep' because I have tried to draw - or better not to draw - the white sheep in the high grasses.

With 'not to draw' I mean that the sheep are almost white and using charcoal I have to take care that I do not make the paper black or grey or even grey-ish where the sheep are.

When I went out to make my reference picture, the grass had been mowed so I just had to rely on my memory from a week earlier. 

The pollard willows are also part from memory part from reference. The reference picture was made in the Parc area close to our home where several lines of pollard willows are to be found with various lengths of branches.

The weather is also from memory, we usually don't go for a nice short walk when the clouds look like this.

I wanted to make a drawing with dark clouds, rain, pollard willows and sheep and I am really happy with the 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 Tumblr blog.

Sparrowhawk - a pencil drawing

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch a Day app was 'hawk' and as I went looking for a nice reference picture in my 'archive' of nature pictures I found this Sparrowhawk.

I decided to make a drawing on tinted paper using my Drawing Pencils. 

Working with these pencils is nice but it can be difficult to get a sharp point because they are softer than my other pencils. The result is not very detailed but that usually is just how I like it to be.

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.

Dead branch - a pencil drawing

 

The June challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about minimalism and Less is More.

During our walk yesterday I saw a dead tree branch with lots of colours in it but the little orange mushrooms were attracting most of my attention. Of course I made some reference pictures and as we walked on I realised that this was perfect for the challenge.

Drawing the dead wood in only black, white and grey using graphite pencils and giving the mushrooms their own colour would be as minimalistic as I can get.

While I was working on this one I decided that I would not use water on the branch because it did not really need more layers than this first one.

The mushrooms were drawn with a layer of pencil, a droplet of water and more pencil to make them stand out as much as possible.

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.

Muiderslot

 

Today the prompt in the Sketch A Day app is 'slot' and in Dutch that word means lock or castle. I decided to go for a castle.

Several years ago we visited the Muiderslot and I made a picture from an unusual angle, the castle is almost hiding behind vegetation. That picture is still waiting to be painted, but now I have used it for this drawing.

Again I made the drawing with watercolour pencils and used water on the building to awaken the colours. More pencil for depth and some lines with a fine liner for the definition of the towers and to indicate the small windows.

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.

Glade

 

When the prompt in the Sketch a Day app was 'Glade' I first had to look up the meaning of the word. Of course I am never too old to learn and now I really know what a glade is.

So I made a drawing of an imaginary glade, using my watercolour pencils. The grasses and bushes were given a bit of water to awaken the colours and after that more layers of pencil colour for depth.

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.

Church Door - charcoal drawing

 

During our short stay in the Val-Joly region we also passed through the small town of Eppe-Sauvage. 

At that moment there was not much to do but we did want to see the 16th century Church. Unfortunately the church was closed and we walked around it. The main door in the front did attract my attention and I made a picture of it, to make a drawing later.

Later is today and I decided to use the Chunky Charcoal I was introduced to during my latest painting week.

With such a big chunky stick it is not the easiest task to get all lines in the correct place and I did not get an exact copy of the reference picture, but the result is better than I thought it could be.

While making the outlines of the doors I had wiped the charcoal down to suggest the plank doors and I planned to work on that a bit more. 

The door frame and the lower part of the wall that were made of a light natural stone became darker and darker as I had to correct the lines I had drawn initially. The upper part of the wall was made of red bricks and the darkest part of the composition. After some work on walls and steps I was happy how I suggested the different materials.

Before I got to this point I decided that the doors did not need extra work at all. The way I wiped down the charcoal from the top of the door post had a nice mysterious result that I like much better than the original plan.

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.

Roadside flowers, a white on red drawing

 

This is my last work for the May challenge of Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken about the colour red. On a watercolour paper I made a background using two shades of red, let that dry and made a drawing on it inspired by the roadside flowers I can see when I am driving home from work.

This time I used Drawing Pencils, so the work is sprayed with fixative.

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.

Ladybug - a pencil drawing

 

In the Sketch a Day app the prompt for today was 'Beetle' and I decided to draw a Ladybug on a postcard-size paper.

For the beetle I first put down a layer of colour and I 'awakened' it with water. The grass has only one layer of pencil colour for the contrast between my subject and its surroundings.

After the water dried I added more colour, using more pencils than in the first layer to get the depth that can be achieved with watercolour pencils.

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.

Wren - a pencil drawing

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch A Day app is 'Melody' and I thought of birdsong. There are many well-known songbirds and many of them were already featured in the submissions of the day so I wanted something different.

A little wren can also sing a nice song and they are such charming birds that I should draw them more often.

Using a Watercolour postcard as my paper I made a drawing first, added water to the bird shape and added more colour for depth and for the correction of my initial - not so perfect - shape. The branches and leaves are one pencil layer only for the contrast between my subject and its surroundings/background.

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

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.

Kasteelpark van Brasschaat - a Conté drawing

 

The May challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about the colour red. After I had painted poppies for my first submission I wanted to do something with red paper as my background.

From three shades of red (all in a set with a lot of colours) I picked the darkest one and made a Conté drawing of a landscape. Because of the red background I limited the palette for my drawing.

In fact this is in a parc area where my husband and me went for a walk, the Kasteelpark Brasschaat which is a public place now and a great place for a walk. 

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

Poppies in the roadside

 

The May challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about the colour red. We are challenged to work with red. That may be a composition in shades of red or just a single detail in red and all that is between these extremes.

Driving to my work in the morning and back home in the afternoon I can see the roadsides full of poppies and other flowers so that was my inspiration for this work.

First I made a background in two shades of green and took away some patches of colour using a bit of tissue paper.

After that had dried I painted the poppy flowers using three shades of red. Using the greens from the background I painted stems and leaves for the poppies and the whit patches that represent some white flowers. The brightest white flowers have yellow hearts.

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.

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.