Tree stump, Mastenbos

 

A few weeks ago my husband and me went for a nice signposted walk in the 'Mastenbos' in Belgium. We passed by lots of large old trees, some remains from World War I and several dead trees and tree stumps. I did not make (reference) pictures of all of them, but this one I could not resist.

The colour of the dead wood that is still visible inside the remains of the tree bark is so bright orange-brown (like Burnt Sienna) that it stands out on the forest floor.

The surrounding landscape is only suggested, the tree stump is my subject here. That does not mean I did not make an effort while painting that suggested landscape, I have really thought about how much detail I had to paint and where I had to start suggesting shapes of trees.

The tree stump itself also was full of detail and a bit of a challenge, but I really like the result of my work.

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.

Pond shore - Mastenbos, Belgium

 

These days are a very short vacation for my husband and me as the schools are closed, so we don't have to go to work. We made use of that by going for a signposted walk in Kapellen, Belgium. 

We explored the 'Mastenbos', a nice forest area that is very accessible for walks - no adventurous paths, just nice for a walk - and has a long history. The forest has many trenches and bunkers remaining from World War I and there is a lot of information about that history at the start of the walk.

We were happy to find more forest related information on the sides of the path and learned some things on the way.

There is a large pond in the forest that cuts through an old beech avenue. The pond has been maintained recently so the sunlight can reach the surface again. Looking over the pond - that has much of a canal as it is very straight - I could see the structures of the other shore and I made a picture of that.

The scene is great for my new panorama paper and I made this painting as soon 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 artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.