Between ebb and flow - Hoek van Holland

 

Now my painting vacation is over, the August challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' needs my attention.

The challenge is about the sea, 'between ebb and flow' and I just had the right reference picture for that challenge. My husband Peter made it a few years ago in the hour of sunset at the Pier of Hoek van Holland when some huge container ships were coming into the Port of Rotterdam.

Coming in or leaving the port is always between ebb and flow, ships must make sure they don't miss the tide and that is why I thought of this reference picture when I found out the theme of this month's challenge.

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

Dark clouds (Norddeich)

 

After Christmas we went for a short stay in Norden, the North of Germany. The coast at Norddeich is very close so we have been there, walking by the sea. There were some dark clouds and we had a strong wind, but I could make some reference pictures.

As we were there for a short stay, I had only packed my drawing materials so this is an experiment with graphite and water soluble graphite pencils.

I made the drawing of the landscape and the clouds with graphite first, added the water soluble graphite in the clouds and sky and washed that with a water brush.

The result is a nice surprise and I really like to make such study - drawings in the future while on vacation.

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

Port-en-Bessin, October sunset

Last October we had one bright day in Port-en-Bessin (Normandy,France) and we enjoyed it from the first until the last moment. During our stay there I have already painted the sunrise, this is the sunset of that day.
We did not see the sun set in the sea, there were the cliffs on the horizon that were hiding the view we hoped for, but the colours of the sky were great.
My husband made a few pictures and today I have painted that scene.

I have chosen to do a 'portrait' format so I could paint a lot of sky. The cliffs are really far away and not much detail was visible in this light and the sea was looking calm so I decided to let these elements be of lesser importance. The clouds  behind the cliffs on the horizon are only suggested here, I remember they were very hazy.

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

Port-en-Bessin, seaview

Our short stay in Normandy (France) had one bright sunny day and we used that to walk towards the village of Port-en-Bessin, walk around the small harbour and enjoy the view towards the sea and the coastline.
We could walk on the jetty that shelters the harbour and we had great views, helped by the sunshine. There were no clouds and no fog that day - only a bit in the morning.

We made lots of pictures again and I chose this view towards the west - with the chalk cliffs, the sea and the beach covered with seaweed for a mixed media work.

The underpainting is in different shades of blue watercolour and the cliffs and beach are in watersoluble pencils.

This was another 'experiment' for me, trying out my materials and finding out how I really love to use them. This certainly was fun to do and I will probably do more in this technique - someday.

The details about paper, paint, pencils, size etc can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Dark clouds over the lighthouse of Ouddorp

Taking a walk at the beach does not always mean you need sunprotection. This time the clouds were really impressing, so I did make some photos as a reference for a painting.
To make the scene a bit more 'special' I wanted to include the lighthouse of Ouddorp into my painting. It hides a bit behind the dunes though.
Maybe the sky was not really that dark but I remember a very very very dark set of clouds over land and almost disappearing over sea.
The beach was almost empty where we were and the vegetation of the dunes is not in its summer colours yet...

More details of the painting (size, colous used) can be found at www.jannekesatelier.co.nr

View towards the ocean - memories of Portugal

Last December we were in Portugal, I already mentioned that...
One day we went north (from Oporto) with the train to Viana do Castelo. We visited the (very nice) city centre and went up in the funicular to the church of Santa Luzia.
The church was visited and afterwards we walked around it. 
That I can recommend! The vistas are nice up there and there is more to be seen than just that church. 
Returning from a pre-Roman ruin we were approaching the church again and suddenly there was this vista. The church on the left, an abandoned pillar, trees on the right and in between the ocean! 
It was a day that was not really bright, but not with a lot of clouds to be seen. 
As if we were walking right beneath a cloud ourselves. My daughter Mariska made the reference photos for me. As the light was a bit strange, I worked from memory again to achieve the athmosphere I wanted to capture.
More details (size and colours) are found at www.jannekesatelier.co.nr