Tree stump, Mastenbos

 

A few weeks ago my husband and me went for a nice signposted walk in the 'Mastenbos' in Belgium. We passed by lots of large old trees, some remains from World War I and several dead trees and tree stumps. I did not make (reference) pictures of all of them, but this one I could not resist.

The colour of the dead wood that is still visible inside the remains of the tree bark is so bright orange-brown (like Burnt Sienna) that it stands out on the forest floor.

The surrounding landscape is only suggested, the tree stump is my subject here. That does not mean I did not make an effort while painting that suggested landscape, I have really thought about how much detail I had to paint and where I had to start suggesting shapes of trees.

The tree stump itself also was full of detail and a bit of a challenge, but I really like the result of my work.

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.

Tree stump - Conté drawing

 

During our very short vacation a few weeks ago we walked a lot in our beautiful nature. We had chosen the area of the 'Utrechtse Heuvelrug' for our hotel stay and went for walks in that Natural Reserve which has many beautiful signposted walks for everyone who loves to be in a forest area. The 'Soester Duinen' (see my previous post) is also a part of that Natural Reserve.

During one of these walks I made a reference picture of a tree stump that had been a stump for a long time and was partially uncovered. There were dark and light spots on the stump, caused by moist and some patches were green with mosses or algae. I wanted to draw this tree stump as soon as I saw it, but it took some weeks before I had the time to do so.

The paper I chose is new for me, I did buy it not long ago and I used the 'back' side because that side seems to have more tooth than the other side. And a bit of tooth is needed when I use my Conté Crayons (or charcoal). The grey crayon is lighter than the paper and I added black to make my drawing. Finally some highlights with white and my drawing was finished. Only some final shaking off (of the dust) was needed and some layers of fixative.

To make a good picture for this blog - and other places on the internet - was a bigger challenge than getting my fingers clean after using the Conté  crayons. I have tried various places, but either the incoming light was too visible or the paper reflected the colour of the ground. Finally I placed it on a greyish ground and made my picture(s). Another lesson learned as this is not so obvious when making pictures of a watercolour painting.

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

If you are interested in my work, please contact me for information.

Tree stump - pencil drawing

 

Last weekend we (my husband and me) were walking a signposted walk in the Soester Duinen (Netherlands) and at one side of the path was this tree stump. The tree had been sawn off long time ago and the moving sand had left holes under the remains of the tree trunk and the root system but what was left still looked great. So I made some reference pictures and later that day I made this drawing.

For the drawing I planned to use several shades of brown, but while I was working I changed my mind. Sometimes less is more and a drawing in only one (neutral) colour can result in a stronger image than the use of many colours ever will. 

So here it is, a monochromatic drawing of the remains of a tree.

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