Water - lakes and rivers

 

This painting vacation I wanted to improve my skills in painting water - rivers, lakes, sea and more. 

Our teacher and coach, Ad van Aart, advised me to choose a reference picture that could be used to paint the water plus only one element - sand, rocks, a tree line in the distance and try to paint different  atmospheres. He also told me to make more small paintings, so I divided my stretched sheet of paper in two using some tape and painted two small paintings that are from the same reference picture on one sheet of paper.

I have chosen two reference pictures, one picture shows a small lake, with sand in the foreground and some shallow parts  the other picture shows a fast flowing river close to my home, with basalt rocks in the foreground and the other side has some bushes.

The scene with the lake is painted twice, on Grain Fin paper and on Grain Torchon paper.

I used this exercise to compare the two papers and learn to paint on the Grain Torchon paper.

Of course these paintings are exercises, not meant to be real pieces of art, though I have done my best to make the little scenes as beautiful as possible.

Painting on the Grain Torchon paper for the first time was not really easy, but I got used to it very quickly. It was hard for me to leave 'hard egdes' in the scenes that are having a foreground, the ones with the background - that depict water that is further away - were more my usual style. Still I think I did not do too badly.

The information about the paper and paints used and the availability can be found in the link on the 'Galerie' page of my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com

The forest edge

 

Last week I had a warm but wonderful painting vacation on the edge of the village of Holthees, in the Netherlands. Our teacher and coach was Ad van Aart.

This year I wanted to work on my skills in painting water, from lakes to rivers, from reflections to waterfalls and this little trench on the edge of the forest near our residence of the week is my first project of the week.

We started as usual with some exercises in 'blind contour drawing' and I made some of this trench. I also made some reference pictures. The pictures did show a lot of light at the end of the trench, where reality did show more landscape. I like the light effect and decided to combine that element of my picture with the lines in my 'blind contour drawing'.

Of course I did return to the scene in the afternoon to check on the trees and bushes to make the forest ground beside the edges of the trench more lively. There were some grasses and herbs on the foreground - where I was standing - and I have suggested these as well.

Combining a very loose draing with a reference picture and reality was a nice challenge for me and I am happy with the advice given to me by our teacher Ad to improve my painting.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this watercolour painting can be found in the link on the 'Galerie' page of my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com

Deep in the forest

This is a fantasy drawing, inspired by tales and myths.

In an old forest, hidden from sight lies an old abandoned house, with a low wall around it. When you venture into the forest and go where the path has become a small track used by some very brave or foolish animals, you might see the place. The answer to the question who once lived there is in the local ghost stories and myths.

I have tried to make a charcoal drawing with the atmosphere of an old tale. Because I wanted the viewer to tell the building and the wall around apart from the background, the scene is not as mysterious as I first planned. 

Sometimes I have to adjust my original plans in order to show what I want to.

If I had not done so, the whole scene would have consisted of shades of grey without any structure.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability are in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com

Thistle and bumble bee

There are a lot of different bumble bees, so it is no surprise that I wanted to paint another one. This one did not have any problem with me taking reference pictures, as long as I did not disturb her work.
The bumble bees don't all look the same, this one is clearly a different one compared to the first one I painted, but there are at least two species that have a black body and a brown bottom. You have to be really close to see the differences and I did not do that.
So I cannot tell which bumble bee this is, only that it was black with a brown bottom.

After that first thistle with bumble bee, I wanted more and when we were walking another signposted walk in the 'Lingebos' area, I made more reference pictures of insects feeding on the nectar of the flowers. Not all my pictures were good enough for reference, but combining them may result in some nice paintings.

My husband, who is a teacher for 4 to 6 year old children asked me to make a watercolour for his classroom, so I will be working on some more flower-and-insect paintings in the next weeks. Of course a painting in a classroom for small children needs more contrast in the chosen colours so I am adapting my style a little bit to achieve that.
This will be a nice challenge for me in the next weeks.

The information about the paper and paints I have used, the size and availability of the painting can be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Still sleepy

This watercolour is of course the result of my promise to myself that I would try to improve my skills in drawing and painting cats (see my previous post).

After I had made the charcoal drawing for the July challenge I did send a picture of the result to my brother, who went to see the reaction of my models. 
They did open their eyes, yawned and went back to sleep again, but not without being photographed again by my brother, who sent me the pictures.

This time I decided to make a watercolour of the two brothers and here they have just opened their eyes - or are almost closing them again.

The dark one did not have much 'shape' as it was really hard to see his face. The ears and eyes were visible though and some details of his nose. The light coloured brother had his eyes almost closed now, so the blue was not visible. 
And the colours of their fur..... One is almost black with hints of a reddish brown, the other is taupe - and how to mix taupe was another challenge, but it looks almost right.

To make the drawing easier for me I had chosen a white cellulose paper, which did not make painting easy, but this I can handle now.

I still think I want to improve my skills at drawing and painting cats but this watercolour is what I hoped it would be.

The information about the paper and paints I have used, the size and availability can be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Sleepy

The July challenge of our regional amateur art association (Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken) was 'on the edge of sleep'. There were a lot of hints in the description of the theme, but the first thing that came up in my mind was this.

The innocent models are my brother's two cats that yawn very  ...  inspiring.

Of course I thank my brother for the pictures he made for me. I intend to use them to work on my skills as a cat - painter. This drawing is good for the challenge, but does not suffice as a portrait of these two Asian brothers. As mentioned, I will work on it.

Because one of the brothers is almost black and the other is almost white, I had chosen charcoal for this drawing with the use of some pastel pencils for the colour inside the ears and mouth.
The sheep skin they use as their 'living room bed' is only suggested.

After I had shared this drawing with my brother he sent me the pictures of their reaction - so I have a lot of practice material now.

The information about the materials I have used for this drawing, the size and availability can be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Lingebos - east

When we were walking in the recreation area 'Het Lingebos' I did not only see thistles and bumble bees, there was much more. The area is part of the river basin of the river Linge, so there is a lot of water. The reference picture for this painting was made standing on one of the many small bridges and I liked the curve in the river, the reflections and of course the reeds, trees and bushes on the riversides.

In the curve there is some duckweed and painting that has always been a challenge for me, so I decided that I need more practice.
I am happy with this result, but I k now I will have to paint more scenes with duckweed and other water plants to make this a part of my 'toolbox'.

After having painted flowers, leaves and berries for a long time it is time to change the subject in which I want to improve my skills, and I have decided on water. That will include small rivers like this, or the larger ones that are close to my home and of course seascapes, waves and if possible waterfalls in all shapes and sizes. In all kinds of weather conditions if possible. 

The information about the paper and paints I have used, the size of this painting and the availability can be found in the link at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com