Near the 'Herikerberg' (The Netherlands)

 

This week my husband and me went for a short stay in the Eastern part of our country, close to the border with Germany. We made a nice walk over the 'Herikerberg' near Markelo (Netherlands) and made several (reference) pictures. For the reference picture of this watercolour I was seconds too late at every attempt, the sun just came through the clouds and disappeared again very quickly. So the light spot in the clouds is from my memory.

In fact I looked at the reference only briefly, mostly for the structure of the larch trees in the foreground. The placement of the branches and twigs  is different from any other tree. The larch trees lose their needles in autumn, so the branches were bare.

As it had rained the day before our walk, the trees were very dark and the fact that they were back-lit added to that dark brown colour. The rain had also left a lot of water, there was a light fog under the trees that would lift later that day.

The result of my painting is what I had hoped for, an atmospheric view of some woodlands in our country after a rainy day.

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

In the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands) - under the trees

 

The woodlands near Rucphen do not only have hidden fields to surprise a hiker, under the trees there is also beauty to be found. The woodlands are parts with oak trees, chestnuts and other deciduous trees and parts with mostly coniferous trees, as in this watercolour painting. The forest floor has fallen needles, fallen pinecones and there are grasses and ferns growing. The management of the forest area is going towards a mixed forest with both deciduous and coniferous trees growing together, in this part there is some work to be done though the bushes on the left are in fact young trees growing nicely. 

By removing some older trees the sunlight can reach the forest floor again and that is important for the young trees.

The patches of sunlight are the reason I made a reference picture on this spot and of course also why I painted the scene. There was a lot of shadow under the trees - the walk was really agreeable - but these bits of sunlight made a nice pattern for a painting.

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

A walk in the woodlands near Rucphen (Netherlands)

 

Last week the weather was great for a walk in our beautiful nature so we went to the woodlands of Rucphen and made a signposted walk, passing by the woodlands, the moorland and some small fields with flowers and grasses. 

Of course we enjoyed our walk and made several (reference) pictures. The sunlit fields were looking great so I decided to make a watercolour painting using one of my reference pictures. We were standing under some large trees and the overhanging foliage is really important for the composition. I know that because that is what I painted last and I have seen the painting without that foliage. The small bush on the right and the one on the foreground are equally important to 'frame' the scene.

The colours of the grasses are a nice challenge and I think I got them right. The pale, almost white stems and the pinkish shade of the grains are not in my palette, so I had to mix something. The result looks like summer and that is what I wanted, so I am happy with it.

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.