Branch patterns

 

This is the last work I made during our painting week, still using an abstract background and painting on top of that. Our teacher Ad van Aart asked me to paint only branches on a background, in a way that the trees would not be in the painting - going as abstract as possible for me after this week.

This time I chose a blue background, simply because the other colour choices did not seem 'right'. The branches had to have a contrasting colour and yellow or orange do limit the choices in contrasting colours very much - only a very dark blue or brown are options on such a background. Using a blue background I could still chose brown, but also a dark red or violet and even a dark green.

For this painting I decided to use another earth colour with a violet shade that could be light when using a lot of water or very dark and opaque with just a little water to paint easier.

Because the trees were to be out of sight I painted large branches coming in from all directions and added smaller branches - using a smaller brush - to the composition of the large ones. While at work I decided to use one of the lighter spots of the background to show a glimpse of that background - or sky - and make the branch pattern a little less dense around it.

While painting I have used other line patterns for my branches than I used in the 'Trees in the foreground' paintings (which have sharp angles), the branches in this painting have rounded curves and angles.  Filling the whole paper like this was a lot of work, in the end it became almost meditative and I enjoyed working like this very much.

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.

Blossoms

Very close to our home - on walking distance - is a small forest area with an old orchard in it. There are apple, pear and plum trees and some walnut trees as well. The trees are tall and have to be climbed to get to the fruits in autumn, modern orchards have small trees so the fruits can be harvested while standing on the ground.
We think this small orchard once belonged to a farm of which the owners have changed their business and sold the land to 'Staatsbosbeheer' - the Dutch institute for forest management (and protection).

A few weeks ago the trees were beautiful with white blossoms and of course some pictures were made.
For my watercolour painting I wanted a soft atmosphere, with light colours as background to the delicate white flowers.

The white of the flowers was left open, no masking used and the background was made in only one layer. In fact I was prepared to do more, but after the first layer was dry I was happy with the result and I also didn't feel the need to add more colour after the flowers were painted.
For the flowers I used shadow colours in the petals and the yellow, grey and red colours of the hearts were added after the petals had dried.
Some green leaves were added and the painting was just what I hoped it would be.

The details about size, colours and paper used are in the link at my website. 
Contact information is also at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Reeds in winter

This January our regional Amateur Art association 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' chose 'Blue Monday' as its challenge. 
Next Monday, the third Monday in the new year is thought to be the most depressing day in the year. All good intentions have failed and the weather is usually grey.

Normally that does not bother me so much. I choose my good intentions a bit better (I never did smoke, I know losing weight takes time and so on) so they cannot fail in two or three weeks and the weather....  

This year I had to think about a painting or drawing for the challenge and it took some time before I had decided on this scene.
The reference picture was made by my husband during our recent walk in Natural Reserve 'De Biesbosch' and I would have used it for a painting or drawing anyway, but now it is in time for the challenge.

I painted a blue-grey watercolour background and for my drawing of the reed plumes I used my watercolour pencils. The structure of the paper helped me in the drawing of the plumes, especially where the seeds and the fluffy bits are.
The result is what I hoped for and of course I will continue experimenting with this mixed media technique.

The details about paper, paint an pencils used, size and contact information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Autumn in the Arboretum

First of all: the reference picture for this watercolour was made (for me) by Yvonne Koningen and I am really happy that she allowed me to use it.

In our country it's Autumn and the Von Gimborn Arboretum (Tree Museum) is beautiful now. I have seen some of the pictures that were made there last week and I envy those that go there often.

Most of the red leaves of this tree - I think a maple tree -  are still on the branches so it looks like there are large red clouds in the reference picture with some leaf ends pointing out. 
I was inspired by the colour of the leaves, almost a fiery red against a grayish background and the dark colour of the branches. 

I have tried to paint these 'red clouds' and to create a point of interest with some more detailed leaves. This was a bit of a struggle, because the colour values of the red 'clouds' and the blue background were very close. The groups of leaves really were almost clouds so I had to do something. The solution was easy, the darkness of the branches was strengthened a bit to create the darkest colour of the painting and to create a sense of movement from the bottom left  to the top corner right.

It has been a long time since I have painted on a half sheet (most of my paintings since summer were on 1/4 sheet or smaller) and maybe that explains a part of my struggle. The fact that I do not show most details of the leaves now - as I have done in almost every painting I made since last summer - was a change as well.
I write this short after I have finished my watercolour painting and I am still not completely happy with it, it's different from what I had in mind. But I am sure tomorrow it will look better, after I have been away from it for a while.

The details about paper and paint used, availability and contact information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Autumn colours

During our walk in Bayeux (France) we passed by a nice bush with a few red leaves left on it, blue berries and some very red branches. All those branches were tangled but I did like the colours and made a reference picture.

The bush was growing over a low wall and the background of my reference picture is the water of the river Aure that flows though Bayeux.
I have no idea of the name of this plant, usually the names of plants are easy to find, but this is a mystery.

My reference picture was cropped to select the section I wanted to paint.
This was done mostly to find a nice section without leaves that belong to other plants that grow nearby. And of course I have made a background that would not distract the attention from my subject.

The details about paper and paint used, size, availability and contact information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com