Little animals in the grass - a pencil drawing

 

After my first experiment with black paper, grass and little animals I wanted to do more in this theme. 

This time I experimented a bit more with my materials, I used graphite pencils for the grass. On black paper that gives a silvery grey result, much different from the results om white paper. The stems with seeds and the two insects (a butterfly and a grasshopper) are done with my watercolour pencils. This time no water was added to 'wake up' the colours.

This still tastes like more, so when I have an hour or less free, I can do more with this theme. I can look at other little animals like spiders or snails, bees and much more.

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

Grass - a pencil drawing

 

This is a 'just for the fun of it' drawing that I still like to share. I have been feeling a little restless, wanting to create something but it is too hot to do much. 

So I took my pencils and a small size black paper and started to draw the grasses. Dark in the background, lighter in the front. I had made a reference picture of a nice tuft of grass so I could check if my drawing was a bit like reality. That is why the light brown stems with the seeds are added - they were in the reference picture and in fact they were a nice addition to the composition as well.

Now the fun part: I have been adding random insects in contrasting colours - so there is no black beetle in sight. Adding these to the composition was fun and a bit of an experiment.

The result is nice and more than that counts the fact that I enjoyed the process of creating this drawing. And that is why I wanted to share this one.

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

 

The Entrance

In  my two previous posts I have written about the estate we visited a few weeks ago and the different wrought iron fences that were to be seen from the road and the parking place. This fence must be (or may be) the main entrance to the estate of Singraven (Netherlands) as there is a road towards the building. It was closed like the others and my husband made some great reference pictures for me.

In my first post about these fences I have painted a side entry - or exit - where no road or path was blocked by the fence.
The second post was about a fence at the other side of the road, where we could enter a nice lane for a short walk.


For this painting I have made up my own composition again, so the building may be the same as in the first painting, I have changed its position again and I have also changed the amount of bushes and trees in the garden between the estate building end the fence.

The reference pictures were made when there was a lot of sunshine (for a few moments) and I have used the shadows of the small poles and the fence to create a different atmosphere for this watercolour painting.
I have used the same paper size and colour scheme as in my other paintings to connect them in more ways than only the subjects.

More information about this watercolour painting and the others I have made with the fences of this estate as sources of inspiration can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

(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 

'Dauwtrappen?' - or Treading dew?

The May challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about a memory of mine called 'Dauwtrappen' which can be translated by treading dew.
The custom was - and still is - to rise early on the morning of Ascension Day and walk in the fields and nature while the dew was still there. And be back in time for Church of course.
This year Ascension Day is almost the last day of the month so I have painted my contribution a bit earlier and I will submit it now it is finished.

I have made the scene a bit smaller than groups of people waling the roadsides or the fields and tried to include some dewdrops in my painting.
So I had to paint some grass, dewdrops and someone treading the dew, probably an insect, given the scale I have chosen.

I did study a step-by-step guide in a magazine before I started but the drops in that guide were much larger than mine so I had to adapt the tips and tricks that were given to the size of the painting I was making.

I started out with a drawing, masking the drops and painting the blades of grass. The drops were a bit small and they were not easy for me to paint, but I think I have made something that really gives the impression of dewdrops on the grass.

And then the insects on the blades of grass had to be introduced. In my garden there are a lot of ants, so I added some of these, using a fine line marker and a drop of water.

It took some time to decide what I wanted to paint and then I had to think of how I wanted to paint it, but I really am happy with the results.

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

Springtime in my garden - white on black

This year the Hellebore bloomed with a few white flowers, but to our surprise one of them came up and bloomed at some distance of the original plant. Such a brave little flower had to be honoured with some pictures and eventually a painting.
The beach tree trunk is not a real tree anymore, it is part of our bird feeding spot, a little house is made on top for feeding breadcrumbs ans other stuff to the hungry birds that visit our garden.
This is in sight of our window and I really liked the surprise of the flower under the bird feeder.

This painting was made 'white on black' using not only the gouache and watercolour but also watercolour pencils. This was an experiment with this kind of mixed media, but the result is as I hoped it would be.

I have submitted this one to the April Challenge of "Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken", the amateur art association of which I am a member. The theme of the challenge is 'Springtime' and I thought this to be a fitting subject.

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