The day I visited the little old town of Nieuwpoort (Netherlands) I have made some sketches on the spot and this view of the former Town Hall was one of the scenes that inspired me.
I have been sketching this from a distance as I was on the ramparts and this building is in the centre of the old town. There is a small canal running straight through Nieuwpoort and this building was constructed spanning the water, protecting the lock in the canal.
The entry of the lock is still there, the dark passageway between the edges of the canal hides the view.
Both sides of the canal have a row of trees that have all of their foliage now.
So the view on the Town Hall was a little blocked by the trees, but what I could see was what I wanted to draw and paint.
My attention was especially attracted by the top of the old Town Hall with the little belfry so I took great care to have those details right.
The view on the Town Hall is so narrow that the only way to do justice to the old building was by cropping the scene to a shape that is not 'traditional'.
This painting took a bit more thinking than usual, but I wanted to do this and it turned out as I hoped it would do.
More information about this painting (size, paper and paint used, availability, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com
After so many weeks working on a project using charcoal, I wanted to paint again! So I brushed away the dust from my palette and started browsing through my 'inspiration gallery'. That is a collection of reference photos that were made by my husband, my children and me.
This time inspiration came from Morocco, my son Martijn visited that country as a tourist almost three years ago and gave me some of the photos he made there.
One of the trips he made was a visit to the historical Kasbah of Ouarzazate, a monument.
The view is great and a challenge to paint. The colours of the buildings have only a little bit of variation so I had to exaggerate that variation to give depth to the structure.
There was a hint of green and grass in the landscape so I used that as well.
And the cactus on the rocks in the foreground.
This is my first cactus and it was a bit of a challenge, especially as i am still mixing my greens from blues and yellows. I had to find the right mixture here and that meant experimenting with my colours. The green of the cactus is made up with two different mixtures of a yellow and a blue and a grey mixture for the shadows. Each mixture is applied on the dried paint I had already used, this technique allows me to suggest the shapes of the cactus leaves. Of course it is not perfect yet, but for my first attempt the result is satisfying.
For the grasses and the dry branches on the foreground I used my Watercolour Sticks. They are nice for drawing thin lines and when used dry on dry the lines are uneven because of the structure of my paper.
More information about this watercolour painting (materials used, size, etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com
The Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam is one of those places I visit at least once a year. Every time it is different compared to the visit before: new buildings or new animals are to be seen in the garden.
It is always crowded at the animal shelters, so there is not much 'peace and quiet' to draw the lions, tigers, birds, elephants, wolves, giraffes and other animals I might like to sketch.
So I decided to try and show the buildings of Blijdorp Zoo that were designed by the architect Sybolt van Ravesteyn,which are monuments since the year 2007.
First of them is the Rivièrahal - or a part of it.
This hall used to be a tropical greenhouse, but it is not well isolated. Being a National Monument, it was not allowed to make changes to the construction of the building, so new buildings have been constructed to take over that function and the Rivièrahal is now used for educational projects and an indoor playground.
The zoo is also a botanical garden, so lots of trees and bushes are everywhere to be found.
More information about this drawing (underpainting used etc) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com
