In the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands) - under the trees

 

The woodlands near Rucphen do not only have hidden fields to surprise a hiker, under the trees there is also beauty to be found. The woodlands are parts with oak trees, chestnuts and other deciduous trees and parts with mostly coniferous trees, as in this watercolour painting. The forest floor has fallen needles, fallen pinecones and there are grasses and ferns growing. The management of the forest area is going towards a mixed forest with both deciduous and coniferous trees growing together, in this part there is some work to be done though the bushes on the left are in fact young trees growing nicely. 

By removing some older trees the sunlight can reach the forest floor again and that is important for the young trees.

The patches of sunlight are the reason I made a reference picture on this spot and of course also why I painted the scene. There was a lot of shadow under the trees - the walk was really agreeable - but these bits of sunlight made a nice pattern for a painting.

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

Near Rucphen

During our walks in the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands) we did see a lot of young trees, new leaves, blossoms and other signs of spring.  
In our Natural reserves there is also a lot of dead wood, tree trunks standing or lying where they died and left there as food for insects, shelter for birds and small animals and in the end to fertilise the soil. Of course the dead trees that are hazardous will be removed and some are removed to give more open spaces in what once was a production woodland.

Near a crossroads there was a tree trunk standing and another one lying on the ground, both were pine trees, and just behind them was a young birch tree.
The contrast between the young tree and the decay of the other two inspired me to make some reference pictures.

For this painting I chose a larger size paper than I have used over the past months, to give the trees some space on the paper. 
The background is only suggested, as is the foreground. That bit of forest floor near the crossroads did not have any bushes or other plants. There are a lot of possibilities for signposted walks with dogs or horses and some paths for recreational bike rides so the sides of the paths are relatively 'clean'.

The information about the paper and paints I have used, the size and availability are to be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com