Plane tree, Westersingel Rotterdam

 

In the city of Rotterdam some very old trees are still standing. Yesterday we passed by this impressive plane tree on our way to an museum and I had to use the 'panorama' setting om my camera to make a picture of it.

In fact the tree is more than five times as high as I have painted here, with several huge branches growing from the trunk that has 'turned' while growing, but I wanted to show the width of it, using one of the lower branches as my main subject and leaving the rest to the imagination of the viewer.

The tree stands close to the water of the 'Westersingel' on a lawn that stretches along the water. Just at the roots of the trees no grass is growing, only dark earth is visible. On the opposite side of the water there is another piece of lawn with some smaller trees, a street and large houses. These houses and the trees on the opposite side of the water reflect in the water. This all is only suggested by using one diluted layer of colour.

The tree is my main subject and it is painted in several layers of dark brown colours and where needed a touch of green for the algae on the trunk and large branches. Also the lawn the tree is standing on and the fallen leaves on the opposite lawn are painted in more than one layer of paint.

By doing this I wanted to make a portrait of the tree, showing the width of the lowest branches and still placing it in the surroundings it has been growing in to this impressive size.

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.

Young Vicuña - Blijdorp Zoo Rotterdam

 

Visiting Diergaarde Blijdorp in Rotterdam is always a great experience. Not only is it in Rotterdam, which means always under construction, there are always new animals, plants or buildings to see.

This spring a young vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) was born and we visited the Zoo when it was only three weeks old. A young vicuña can stand and walk within hours after being born, so this one was walking in its 'home' and looking at the people. It (the gender is not yet made public) stayed close to mother and both enjoyed the sunshine. Of course I made some pictures and one was used to paint this watercolour.

The background is only suggested, in reality there is a fence and some trees and bushes behind that fence, I just indicated the trees and bushes.

The rocks that are part of the accommodation are also mostly suggested, the animals are my subject and are allowed to stand out. Uhm... sit out.

As these are the first vicuñas I have ever painted, I am really happy with the result.

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

Inside the Oceanium

 

Not every time we visit Diergaarde Blijdorp we go to the Oceanium, the large aquarium with species from everywhere in the world visible in a very good imitation of their natural habitat.

Last December we did go in to see all the changes that were made over the past few years and I asked my husband to make some reference pictures for me. I really like the little Cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) but it's really hard to make a picture as they are constantly on the move. My husband succeeded to make several nice pictures and in one of them the other fish that live together with the rays were visible very well too. These reference pictures waited for me to get the courage/inspiration needed to paint from them.

For this watercolour painting I started with a dark blue background on cellulose paper and added the Cownose ray and the fish later. I have used white watercolour paint - which is not completely opaque - for the ray and the fish. Where it was needed I added several layers of paint to get the shade of white that I wanted. 

For the other colours of the ray and the fish I have made the colour mixtures on the paper, using as little water as possible and a little of the blue of the background is also included in the final mixture. I am happy that I got the colour shades I wanted using this technique.

The fish were almost transparent, that may also be caused by the light conditions in the building, but I thought it best to suggest that transparency by painting (semi-)transparent layers of paint over the dark background and I painted the 'colours' of the scales with my iridescent medium.

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

After Sunset - watercolour

This is the second 'After Sunset' painting, this time a watercolour.
I have used the same reference picture that was made by my husband when he was having a celebration in the city of Rotterdam. (see my previous post)

Of course there are differences compared to the 'white on black' painting, the used technique is very different and I really like to compare watercolour to one of the other techniques I use for painting or drawing.

This time the white of the paper still shines through my layers of dark blue for the clouds and the river. The city is painted in very thick paint, so there will be not much of a background colour visible. 
The buildings were painted after I had made my clouds and river and I have been able to give them some more depth by adding some brushstrokes in another dark colour. The city lights are added between the layers of dark grey and sepia and the result is what I aimed for.
The differences in colour are not only explained by the difference in background, I also use a different set of watercolour paints when I am making a watercolour painting. 
For this I am using Professional grade watercolours and for my 'white on black' paintings I am using a different palette with the white gouache on it so I cannot contaminate my other paints.

More information about this watercolour painting and the 'white on black' I am referring to can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Blijdorp Zoo - at the Terrace

Each year I make a visit to Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam with my mother. We like to walk there and watch the lions, tigers, giraffes, polar bears, elephants and.....
The area is not only a Zoo, but also a botanical garden and we enjoy the trees and bushes as much as we like the  animals.

This time the weather was a bit cold, so we entered one of the restaurants for some coffee. This restaurant is part of the 'Rivièra Hal', one of the National Monuments in Blijdorp Zoo. We were close to a window and had a nice view of the Terrace and especially on one of the old plane trees (Platanus). As we were waiting for the coffee, I took out my sketchbook and pencils and started to draw what I could see. Of course I had finished my coffee before the sketch.
Behind the tree was a part of the edge of the Terrace  visible. Like most of the architecture in Blijdorp Zoo, this is also beautifully designed.

I have decided to draw this scene using charcoal and my Tinted Charcoal pencils. The addition of some colour makes the scene a bit more gentle. 

More information (colours and paper used, size, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam - stormy weather

The reference picture for this painting was made a few years ago in Rotterdam. We had planned a boat trip, a short walk, a 'ride' with the river taxi and a dinner as a surprise for my mother, the occasion was Mother's Day.
The weather was stormy, so the walk to the departure of the boat trip - crossing the Erasmus Bridge - was quite a challenge! 
Once on the boat we made several pictures in the harbour area of Rotterdam and the Erasmus Bridge of course. That bridge is still beautifully white and looks great with a dark sky behind it.
Now, a few years later my mother requested a painting of that bridge for her home and I found this picture. So it is both a painting of a very special part of Rotterdam and a memory of a nice day together with the whole family.

For the painting I used only three colours and white for the highlights of the bridge and in the waves. Usually I do not use a ruler in a watercolour painting, for the tension cables of the bridge I made an exception. They really need to be straight!
I had some trouble finding the right 'green' for the river and the clouds but after some experiments I had found it. The water and clouds really can be green here, in the right weather conditions.

I am very happy that my mother likes the painting. So this one is not available..

More information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Rotterdam in November

On a cold, windy November afternoon we went for a walk in the city of Rotterdam. As this was a family reunion, we walked in the area just south of the river, partly between the earliest harbors that lay in the inhabited area now.
Crossing one of those harbors (by bridge) we had this view.

The back-light simplifies what usually is a landscape with too many details into a skyline with only chimneys and cranes as recognizable features.
Of course there was wind, so the water was rippled without much reflections of the buildings, trees or clouds.

The colours were also simplified by the weather conditions, a yellow haze for the sky and some blueish grays for the clouds, river, buildings and trees.

This painting will be a good remembrance to a nice family reunion.

More information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam - the 'Rivièrahal' in charcoal

The Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam is one of those places I visit at least once a year. Every time it is different compared to the visit before:  new buildings or new animals are to be seen in the garden. 
It is always crowded at the animal shelters, so there is not much 'peace and quiet' to draw the lions, tigers, birds, elephants, wolves, giraffes and other animals I might like to sketch. 

So I decided to try and show the buildings of Blijdorp Zoo that were designed by the architect Sybolt van Ravesteyn,which are monuments since the year 2007.
First of them is the Rivièrahal - or a part of it. 
This hall used to be a tropical greenhouse, but it is not well isolated. Being a National Monument, it was not allowed to make changes to the construction of the building, so new buildings have been constructed to take over that function and the Rivièrahal is now used for educational projects and an indoor playground.

The zoo is also a botanical garden, so lots of trees and bushes are everywhere to be found. 

More information about this drawing (underpainting used etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Rijnmond - Imagining the future

Rijnmond – Imagining the future

Last month I worked on the Maasvlakte, so I had to drive west along the industries of Botlek and Europoort every morning.  What I particularly noticed was the green look of it after coming in the Europoort section. Trees, grass, bushes everywhere – and industry of course. Somehow I see the nature parts first.

Taking that road every day, I started imagining: it’s already green, what will happen when there is no more oil to process and these industries will be abandoned?

Of course it helps that many chimneys already have a rusted look, and much of the other industry as well. So a bit more rust, a bit more decay and lots of extra green.

I wanted to paint that!

Things like this have been done before, but never my way.

That meant looking well at the oil plants – and still driving safely - remembering how it looks now and picking out the structures that I think interesting.

All that was combined to create an imaginary oil plant somewhere in the area. For my composition I did some thinking. I could have chosen between horizontal and vertical but that seemed a bit too obvious to me. There had to be a curve somewhere and that can be done with a thing called ‘cantilever composition’

The vertical elements are still there and the element of desertion too; that was to be my painting.

The buildings are decayed and rusty of course, so I needed to work with more details than I usually do. I still wanted to add some ‘haziness’ which is almost always present in the Rijnmond area, due to the influence of sea, sand and blowing wind.

I am really satisfied with the result of my imagination combined with my painting efforts. Maybe I will do some more paintings on this theme.

More information about this watercolour (size, colours and paper used) can be found on www.jannekesatelier.co.nr

This way! - more beautiful views in Rotterdam

This path presented itself as an invitation to explore the Island of Brienenoord in Rotterdam, but I made a sketch of those trees first. Their form is really intriguing, as if there are at least three trees at the same spot, all twisting around each other to catch the most sunlight. And some succeed, some fail. 
In the beginning of spring, the trunks of the trees are still visible through the foliage and that's really a nice moment to paint them.

More information about this watercolour can be found at www.jannekesatelier.co.nr

Composition in green - unexpected views in Rotterdam

There is a tiny bit of 'real' nature in Rotterdam: the Island of Brienenoord. Of course it's in the river, a bit under the Brienenoord-bridge and it's green!
At that place the river is still in open connection with the sea, so there is tidal movement which makes the island a special little spot of nature in our country.
We went to discover it on a nice warm - not too hot - day and while the others were making photos I was sketching. This willow tree had not been able to remain standing up but it is not beaten yet! From the trunk new branches are growing and blocking the view towards the other side of the little pond.
Everything was green that day, the grass, the bushes, the foliage of the trees, even the water in the pond looked green. Only the sky was blue - ish.
From my sketches I made this composition. Because the fallen tree is my main subject I did not include details of all those trees in the background.
The little waterbird made its presence well known, so I honoured its efforts.

More about this watercolour (size, colours used) can be found at www.jannekesatelier.co.nr