Slope - Kalmthoutse Heide

 

The Natural Reserve 'Kalmthoutse Heide' is not really far from where we (my husband and me) live, it is also a very favourite place to go for a nice walk in nature. The Reserve is situated on the border between The Netherlands and Belgium and most of the times we walk in the Belgian area, but this time we went for a signposted walk in the vicinity of Ossendrecht, The Netherlands. We did this walk before, but that was several years ago and 'wandelpad Haas' did have some surprises. 

The moorland area was closed with electrical fence and in that area were sheep, keeping the moorland as it should be; no grassland or woodland but with lots of heather plants. The walk went around that area, so we could see the sheep at work without disturbing them. There are reference pictures with these sheep, I will use them later for a painting or drawing.

About halfway the signposted walk we were in a relatively high place and we could look down a small slope just towards the next high spot. As the sunlight hit the ground beneath the trees, I made a reference picture - we did have lots of clouds during that walk even some very light rain.

The reference picture was used for this watercolour and of course I simplified the foreground - there were a lot of smaller bushes, some heather and grasses, but I did not want to paint all those details. The background did get some more details, some of the tree trunks on the opposite slope are much lighter in colour than the shadows behind them and I wanted to paint that properly.

The trees were given some extra attention as well, I still want to improve my tree - painting skills. The result is what I hoped it would be.

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.

Forest walk - Kalmthoutse Heide

 

Last weekend we visited the Natural Reserve 'Grenspark Kalmthoutse Heide' again and followed the signposted walk 'Bos' (forest), a walk we have not done for years. 

Things have changed along that walk, it is much more interesting now after the forest area has had some maintenance. Trees have been cut - several of these are still on the forest floor providing food and shelter for smaller animals - and more light and bushes are growing now. We enjoyed our walk very much, not only because the trees give shelter from the sunshine and it is always cool in a forest area.

Of course I made several reference pictures, the dead tree trunk has been posted earlier, this time I made a watercolour painting of that nice forest area, with lots of trees and a forest floor with lots of different plants and bushes. A bit of sunlight was also visible in the reference picture and I hope it can also be seen in the painting.

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

Sheepfold, Thülsfelder Talsperre

 

It's over a month ago that we were walking the signposted walk around the reservoir of the Thülsfelder Talsperre and made several reference pictures of the beautiful landscape.

Part of the west bank of the reservoir is adjacent to a beautiful moorland that even has room for a herd of sheep and - of course - a sheepfold. When we were walking there, the sheep were out, but the information panels were interesting as well. Of course I made reference pictures and today I chose to paint the sheepfold as it is in the moorland with some woodland directly behind it. 

On the left side of the path is moorland, with some patches of green because of the freshly growing herbs. The land on the right side is a bit different, more small trees and bushes and some wet areas as well. 

The trees close to the sheepfold are evergreen pine trees, but in the background are also deciduous trees, beginning to get their foliage.

This beautiful spot is just before the walk leads to the bridge I painted earlier.

The small trees on the right side of the path gave me some trouble, but after some corrections I am happy with the result.

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.

Forest walk, Dwergter Sand (Germany)

 

During our short vacation in Germany we had a nice time walking in the forest close to our vacation home. On walking distance there was an 'Experience path' with a forest theme. The signposted walk had over fifteen information panels about forests, trees, nature and forest management and we learned some new things in the hours we spent walking.

Of course we had the camera with us and some reference pictures were made, even though we were in the same forest area as the evening before. The forest in springtime is a nice place to be and of course different from autumn or winter. 

For this watercolour I have tried to mix the bright, fresh greens of leaves in springtime by using a light blue and some bright yellow shades. As the herbs and bushes are still growing, the forest floor is visible, with patches of green scattered on it.

The fact that we walked in a cloudy afternoon is probably the reason there are no recognisable shadows, just a patch of sunlight in front of us on the path and the forest floor.

I have tried to paint a forest in spring mood and I think I succeeded well.

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

Fields and a forest edge

 

This scene is what I wanted to paint when I made some reference pictures during our nice signposted walk near Bathmen. The second reference picture, about the details of the building has already been used for a drawing and this was meant to be a watercolour.

The building is still visible in the forest edge but as this is 'the whole landscape' and not a detail, the atmosphere is more open, with the fields in the foreground. At the end of winter, there are not many details in a field of grass, so the fields are mostly green with a few shadows. Later in the year there will be grasses that are higher, other herbs growing and some bumps in the field where animals have been rooting the ground.

The large trees are still bare, just like the little bush in the foreground. The whole fence is visible now, not much more than I had in my drawing.

Making this watercolour was as pleasant as the walk itself and did bring back the memory of this nice, open landscape not very far from the river IJssel.

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.

On the banks of the lake - Oisterwijk

A few weeks ago, during a nice warm sunny day, my husband Peter and me went for some signposted walks in our beautiful nature. 
The first stop we made was in Oisterwijk, at the Information Centre of the Natural Reserve which is the beginning point of several nice signposted walks.

This time we chose a walk of 3,5 kilometres passing by three fens or forest lakes. The biggest of these three is called 'Kolkven' and on the banks of that fen we made some pictures.
The sun was shining brightly and some of the pictures were very back lit, some other had the 'flare' that often appears on pictures when the sun is reflected in the water.

The sun is just left of the camera on the reference picture for this painting, but I had to 'correct' for the flares and reflections of the sun. In other words, I used my artistic licence here to paint the sky and its reflection in the water of the 'Kolkven'.

The seed fluff of the reeds did stand out nicely against the background of the distant trees and their reflection in the water, the reeds themselves were partly back lit but the light colours were showing at the edges of the plants.
The few reeds growing higher than the rest of the plant and appearing above the background trees completed the composition.

As this is the end of winter, there are mostly dark colours in the vegetation, with the exception of the yellows of the reeds and the light colours of the seed fluff.

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

The Signpost

As I wrote in my previous post, we made some signposted walks during our short vacation in Reifferscheid (Eiffel, Germany). Only the second (and last) walk was signposted not so very well. 
We were happy that my husband made a picture of the information board that had all the signposted walks drawn on the map so we could find our route with the help of that picture and a navigation app.
We came upon this signpost, showing lots of destinations, but our route was not indicated. 

Despite that little fault, the signpost itself was a perfectly placed element in the landscape, the white of the indicating signs contrasting with the dark bush behind it.
I made some reference pictures and painted this scene in the afternoon when we were back in our vacation home.

I do not use rough paper very often, grain fin (or cold pressed) is my usual choice.
For this small scene I decided to try something different and I had a bit of a struggle of course, but the result is nice. 
There are some unexpected qualities to the structure of this paper and I will have to explore that a bit further - and I guess I will enjoy doing so.

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

The Border Marker

Walking one of the many beautiful signposted walks in the area of the 'Kalmthoutse Heide' we found this broken stone. My husband made some reference pictures for me and I started planning a painting.
The stone is one of the border markers that line the border between Belgium and The Netherlands and our walk passed that border a few times. 

This broken stone, cracked and covered with moss on most sides inspired me to change the scene from a 'normal' border landscape to something more mysterious.

Watercolour is an ideal medium to create a foggy or mysterious atmosphere and I have been experimenting with the colours in my palette, water, layering mixtures, more water, wet - in - wet and wet - on - dry techniques and this is the result. 
I am happy with this painting, it was a great exercise and the result is very close to what I hoped it would be.

Unfortunately my picture does not give full credit to the real painting. 
The painting has a green glaze to it and my simple photo - adjusting programme cannot show that easily.... so tilting the computer screen may help to see what I really made. 

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

Another walk in the 'Alblasserbos'

Our local forest area has two parts that are separated by fields and a Provincial way. There are some differences between both areas, the western area has an old orchard with some high fruit trees, the ones you have to climb to get the fruit. The eastern area has more pollard willows that are still harvested every two or three years.
Both areas are very wet and an early walk is a nice experience as all the birds are singing.
There are signposted walks in both parts of the 'Alblasserbos'.

I usually take my sketch book and pencils with me and I choose a seat with a nice view for some rest and sketching. 
Of course there are lots of trees, bushes and other green stuff where I have made my sketch, so I decided to pick only a few for my composition.

This time the sketch is used for a watercolour painting.
I am still experimenting with different yellow and blue mixtures to get a nice foliage and this time I am very happy with the result.

More information about this watercolour painting (size, colours and paper used, availability) can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

A walk in the 'Alblasserbos'

Because of the nice weather we had lately I went for an early walk in the 'Alblasserbos' , a small forest area on walking distance of my home. There is a signposted walk through the forest that follows a nice path. For the more adventurous walkers there are small paths that can be really wet after some rain.
The name 'forest' is maybe a bit overdone for the place, but for us it is a nice spot with large trees. There even are two areas that are called 'Alblasserbos' and they are both protected. The Dutch word 'bos' means forest.

The signposted walk has a few seats close to the path, each with a nice view. During my walk I took some rest on one of those seats and made some sketches. 
The shape and perspective of the bridge is a bit of a challenge, especially when you are sketching with only one pencil. So I have made several studies to get the bridge right.

I have used all of those for this charcoal drawing of the view that inspired me.

More information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Dead tree at "Huis ter Heide" - a charcoal drawing

We love to go walking in the beautiful nature of our country (The Netherlands). Most of the nature is made up of small patches of forest, moorland or dunes and there are a few larger areas that are extra protected as Natural Reserves. This time we went to one of the smaller areas called "Huis ter Heide". There is a building that gives the area its name and used to be the 'headquarters' for the rangers that managed the area. Now the building has another function and is no longer accessible for the public.
Our signposted walk passed through the forest part of the area. These walks are not only signposted in the forest itself, but using an app on your mobile phone you get additional information about the special features of that walk. Most of the times the information is about the animals that live in the area or about the history of the place. 
A lot of information is given about the policy regarding dead trees. A few decades ago these dead trees would be removed so the walk through the forest would be more pleasant. Nowadays the dead trees are left where they are unless the endanger the visitors. Dead trees give food and shelter to lots of insects and birds and are indispensable for a healthy forest. The 'unpleasantness' of dead trees is now turned to a thing to be explored by inquisitive (young) people.

All these dead trees have light and dark areas, some of them have mosses or lichens, some have the bark partially fallen off. All that is a nice exercise for me, to train my drawing skills.

This time I chose a very dark tree with many curves catching the light or casting shadows - a nice challenge for a charcoal drawing. 
The result is as I hoped it would be, so I am really happy with this drawing.

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