De Moerputten (The Netherlands)

 

Last month we (my husband and me) went for a nice signposted walk in Natural Reserve 'De Moerputten'. During that walk we made several pictures, for the photo album and for reference. Some of these pictures have already been used for drawings and paintings and here is another one.

The view point is high, here we are on the abandoned railroad and from that dyke we could see over the marshes below. As these marshes were used for peat harvesting there are some straight canals in the landscape, once used to transport the (dried) peat by barge to a road or railroad for further transport to the customers.

This also explains the horizontal lines in the landscape, that are remains of smaller canals that were also used for transport over water.

At one point we had an inspiring view of one of these canals with a very clear reflection of the sky (and some of the reeds) so I stopped to make a reference picture. The canals are not used anymore, so the banks are overgrown and at some points vegetation has taken over parts of the canal, but that irregularity is what attracted me to the view.

Making this watercolour painting was a nice experience, finding my way to recreate the atmosphere of the moment we were there.

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.

Venkantbrug, de Moerputten (The Netherlands)

 

Our walk in Natural Reserve 'De Moerputten' started (and ended) at this bridge, the 'Venkantbrug' or bridge at the side of the fen.

This bridge is part of the abandoned railroad and we had to climb up some stairs to get on the railway embankment (or dyke) for the first part of our walk. 

As we walked towards the bridge, the view of the landscape behind it was beautiful, the colours in the sky were nice, so I asked my husband (who had the camera) to make me a reference picture. At first I wanted to paint only the landscape, but later I decided otherwise.

The landscape is still there and I also indicated the nice pink colours in the sky, but the bridge is very present in my work. For the bridge I also used a line marker to emphasize the difference between the shapes of the landscape (the fen, the trees, the grasses) and the straight lines of the metal bridge.

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

'De Moerputten', tree - a drawing

 

During our walk in 'De Moerputten' (The Netherlands) we walked over an abandoned railroad for a while, but of course we also had to return to where we started (and where we parked the car) and that part of the walk went down the slope and over a boardwalk. Where we had to go down this group of trees stood. 

Of course the trees are much taller than on this drawing but the hollow parts, the shapes and colours of the trunks just above the ground interested me the most.

The drawing is made using my Tinted Charcoal pencils - of course I should be using them more often but I can say the same about much more of the drawing materials I have gathered over the years. The colours of these pencils are mostly a bit muted, moody and not fit for every nature scene but this time I decided to give them a try.

The result is what I hoped for because justice is done to the characteristics of these trees that attracted my attention and inspired me.

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.

Dead tree in 'De Moerputten' (The Netherlands) the watercolour painting

 

After our walk in 'De Moerputten' I made a drawing of this dead tree and I wrote in my post about that tree that I would make a watercolour painting of the tree in the near future.

The tree is now in the landscape as we could see from the abandoned railroad looking towards Vlijmen.

The grasses are called 'blue' as they have a blueish shade of green and they are very important to some rare insects. This is only one of the reasons that this lowland peat area is a Natural Reserve. 

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.

Dead tree in 'De Moerputten' - a Conté drawing

 

Last weekend we (my husband Peter and me) went for a walk in Natural Reserve 'De Moerputten'. The walk was nice, partly over an old railroad that was made for industrial use, part over a boardwalk in the peat lands below the old railroad. We learned a lot about the history of the area and about the work that is done to preserve the nature.

At one point, on the side of the old railroad, stood a dead tree that just asked for a drawing, so I made a reference picture and a few days later I made this Conté drawing using the colour scheme I selected for dead trees.

Maybe I will make a watercolour painting of this dead tree as well, using the colours of the winter landscape that are in my reference picture.

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.