Quarry with tree roots

 

On our first evening in Sonnenberg (Leiwen, Germany) we made a walk as we had been in the car for hours and wanted some fresh air. 

That walk was very close to our vacation home and we passed by some nice views over the Moselle valley. We also had nice spots on the other side of the path and this is one of them.

On several places there are little quarries that have been washed out a bit further by the rains so the tree roots are visible. This was an inspiring one, the shadows create interesting shapes here so I made a reference piture.

Looking at the picture again I decided to make a drawing using my Tinted Charcoal Pencils on a tinted paper.

The bit of forest ground above the quarry is important to show where the tree roots come from and is is mostly in shadows so the contrast with the sunlit parts of the wall of the quarry gives more structure to the landscape. Without that part, the drawing would have been much more 'abstract' and that is not what I wanted.

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

Dead Tree, Sonnenberg - a watercolour painting

 

During our short vacation in Leiwen we made some nice walks in forest areas. During one of these walks I made pictures of a dead tree which I already have used for a Conté drawing. In my post about the Conté drawing I wrote that I would like to make a watercolour painting of that tree trunk as well. The details about the walk are also in my post about the drawing, so I will not repeat them here.

Here is the painting, made with a limited palette to make the dead tree stand out as much as possible. 

The dead tree did get some sunlight at the moment I made my picture and the pale colour of the dead wood contrasted beautifully with the darker colours of the forest behind it.

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

Tree trunk, Sonnenberg - a Conté drawing

 

On the last day in Sonnenberg (Leiwen, Germany) we walked towards the Fünfseenblick in the morning. The walk was a nice one with lots of forest areas to give us shadow while walking. Where there are trees, there are also tree trunks, fallen trees and fallen branches.

Of course I could not stand still to make pictures of them all, but I did make a reference picture of a tree trunk that was partially in bright sunlight.

Today I made a Conté drawing of that dead tree, maybe in the (near) future I will also make a watercolour painting using the same reference picture.

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.

Boulder, Sonnenberg - a charcoal drawing

 

During our short vacation in Leiwen, Germany we saw a lot of slate as the hills are mostly made of that kind of stone - which gives great wines - but at some points, during our walks we passed by loose boulders that did stand out in the landscape, even if they were not really big like the one in this drawing.

Not only trees inspire me to paint and draw, boulders, old boundary stones and dolmens inspire me as well. In the past I have drawn and painted dolmens, not so long ago I made a drawing of a nice old carved boundary stone and this time I have made a drawing of a boulder.

Using a tinted paper as my base I had to add white for the highlights where the evening sun hit the boulder. On the light paper that is not really standing out very much, but it is just sufficient to show the lighter spots of the stone.

The result is what I hoped it would be and I am really happy that I took the time to make the reference picture for this drawing (the others were walking on, so I had to hurry to catch up with them)

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.

Sonnenberg - evening

 

Last week we were in a vacation home in Sonnenberg, Leiwen, Germany and enjoyed some quality time with our children and grandchildren (our daughters-in-law are counted amongst children).

Of course we had time for some nice walks and the first evening we went for a walk close to the vacation parc. Returning from that walk we had a nice view over the Moselle valley, but as we were a little down the hill (Sonnenberg is a hilltop) the valley was out of sight.

The sun was setting and the colours of the sky were very nice so my husband made a picture using the camera (my phone does not 'zoom in' enough, the camera is better for that) as my reference.

For the painting I simplified the view a little, the people were left out and some other stuff as well. I don't think a bin would have improved my composition to give an example of what was left out.

Getting the painting right was a bit of a problem. For the composition I have added some structure to the very distant hilltops and the trees may be a bit too dark. The danger of overworking the painting was very close so I stopped and this is the result.

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