A walk in the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands)

 

Last week the weather was great for a walk in our beautiful nature so we went to the woodlands of Rucphen and made a signposted walk, passing by the woodlands, the moorland and some small fields with flowers and grasses. 

Of course we enjoyed our walk and made several (reference) pictures. The sunlit fields were looking great so I decided to make a watercolour painting using one of my reference pictures. We were standing under some large trees and the overhanging foliage is really important for the composition. I know that because that is what I painted last and I have seen the painting without that foliage. The small bush on the right and the one on the foreground are equally important to 'frame' the scene.

The colours of the grasses are a nice challenge and I think I got them right. The pale, almost white stems and the pinkish shade of the grains are not in my palette, so I had to mix something. The result looks like summer and that is what I wanted, so I am happy with it.

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.

(Behind) The fence

A short vacation of only two days in the east of our country is not enough to paint on the spot, but of course the camera was in our luggage and we used it very well again.
As we were with a group of eight, including three generations, we were a bit limited in the choice of walks, excursions and sightseeing tours but we did all have as much fun as possible and I have some great pictures to paint from.

One of the places we saw was the estate of Singraven, although we did not visit the main building as it was closed for public during the weekend. 
There was a nice path for all of us to walk and beside the water mill on the other side of the road is a nice restaurant where the food is great. 

The view towards the main building has some nice wrought iron fences and I have made some pictures of one of them. The fence does not stand in a road or path, it just marks the border of the estate. It ends in the bushes on one side and in a small pond on the other side. The road towards the main entrance of the building is different, with lantern posts and of course there is a road in that scene.
The absence of a road or path is what attracted my attention in this scene.

This painting is composed with the elements I have mentioned, the main building, the grass, bushes, a small pond close to the building, branches of a nearby tree hanging over  and the fence. 
The scene is almost imaginary and I have tried to paint the atmosphere of the evening of a nice day in springtime, when the light starts to fade away and the view grows a bit misty.

More information about this watercolour painting (materials used, size, availability, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

After the storm

A walk in Natural Reserve 'De Biesbosch', close to my home is always nice. This time we  saw this broken tree trunk, a left-over after a storm.
I used the pictures we made for a watercolour painting, concentrating on atmosphere, following the advice that was given to me during my painting vacation.

I have painted most of this painting in the wet-in-wet technique, layering paint to make the shadows deeper. The trees in the background are only suggested now and the field has only a few shadows to suggest different grasses.
The broken tree is the last thing I have painted, taking care to suggest (not to show) most of the details.

All of this looks easier than it is, layering dark colours is something that needs to be done with great care; a bit too much water in the brush and all previous layers will disappear.
The structures in the trees and bushes were shaped by paint and water, a result that cannot be reproduced. 
It really is an exciting experience when this happens the 'right' way. 

The next weeks, months, years I will practise this technique as much as possible, mostly because I do love the paintings I get in this way.

More information about this watercolour painting (materials used, size, availability, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Abbaye St Michel

On the way to the location of my painting vacation I made some stops. For coffee of course but also one for taking pictures. I followed the signs to 'Abbaye St. Michel' and was very happy with the views I had on that beautiful building.
Together with our teacher Ad van Aart I selected this view to be painted in watercolour. It includes both buildings and trees, the items I wanted to pay attention to this painting vacation.

In fact the building was not giving me the trouble I had thought it would, because of the trees and branches in front of the church I could work in a more 'painterly' fashion on the architecture.
The tree on the right gave me most of the trouble here and the advice to add some dots of a green mixture over the dark shadowy shape after it had dried completely was the best I could get here. Now I have to remember this for the next times.

I am very happy with this result, I really had not thought this could be the outcome of my turning off the road and following a sign towards an abbey.

More information (size, materials used, contact information, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com