Catkins

Some weeks ago we were walking in our beautiful nature and I saw these catkins almost hanging over the path. Of course some reference pictures were made and I started thinking about the painting I wanted to make.

For this painting I have used some Masking Fluid to preserve the white colour of the catkins and again I needed the help of my husband to open the bottle. The bottle cap is not only child proof....
The trees and bushes in the background are only suggested with spots and stripes of brown applied wet in wet - and I let gravity do a lot of work again. There is not much green in the trees and bushes when catkins can be seen, so the background is mostly brown, with some small patches of green.
After all that had dried I remover the masking fluid and painted the branches with the buds and the catkins. 
Writing this goes faster than the painting process, to make a branch seem round is a technique that takes a little time.

I am really happy with the result of the thinking and planning that was needed before I could start painting.

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

Springtime! - White blossoms

Usually we take our walks close to home, we have a small but nice park area with tall trees and bushes that is not very crowded, even on sunny days. 
Spring has come and all those trees and bushes are full with budding leaves and blossoms, some are already in bloom. I have made some reference pictures of the white blossoms of one of these bushes to make a watercolour painting.

White flowers are not easy to paint, most painters use the white of the paper for the flowers and give them a very dark background. Then some shadows are added to the flowers and the results usually are beautiful. 
Of course I do not want to do the same, I want something different, I want to paint flowers in my own style. 
Besides, my cotton-based Arches paper is not optically white so I would never have really white flowers. There is optically white paper that I sometimes use, but that is cellulose based and not suitable for the technique I use for my flower paintings.

For this watercolour I have made my background first, using the browns that are still the colours of the bushes and trees - as there are not many leaves and blossoms yet. For this background I used lots of water and gravity to make the paint flow and this is today's result. 
Using a white watercolour paint I have added the flowers where they would be 'in the right spot' compared to the background. For the flowers I have used two or three layers of paint. The bright green leaves were suggested with only one layer of paint.

The details of paper and paint used, the size and availability can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Step by step

The March challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is 'Step by step' and I did not want to do the obvious thing.
So I started thinking - what goes step by step? The making of a painting of course and how a child learns to walk, but also the elderly people behind their walkers go step by step, not certain of their balance anymore.
I wanted to make a painting with several walkers parked outside a building where people were having fun with.... something I had to find yet.

For the walkers I made some reference pictures and then I had to find a theme.
Dancing lessons are also step by step, why not combining the walkers with the dancing lessons?  The idea was born, now I had to make a sketch and ask what dance would be the most unexpected to be taught to people that need walkers. The choice was Salsa or Samba and I chose the latter, maybe because salsa is also a name of a sauce ( in cooking).

I have not tried to make a true masterpiece but the scene speaks for itself - I hope.

The details about the materials I used, availability and contact information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Moors

After a lot of rainy days we had one day with sunshine and so we went for a walk in the Natural Reserve "Kalmthoutse Heide", which is on the border of Belgium and The Netherlands, not far from where I live.
Of course there was a lot of water on the paths and in the moors and I made some reference pictures of these (almost) flooded moors. 
The first picture I took was just water and grass, no horizon, just for the reflections and what was below the water surface. During the rest of the walk I thought of how I would paint this scene and I made a plan.

On heavy black paper I painted the blue background of the water with the reflections of the sky and I indicated the grasses with some dark colours where the shadows and the wet areas are and light colours where the grasses are growing.
After that dried completely  I used watercolour pencils and a Graphitint Pencil for the blades and for extra texture in the wet areas of the groups of the grasses. This was the stage where the painting started to look right and I am really happy with the result.

The scene is almost abstract and I liked to do this painting - for a change. Usually I paint landscape scenes with a horizon, this time I focussed on a detail.

The description of the paints and pencils I have used, the size of the painting and the availability can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Daffodils

In our garden is a patch of daffodils that grows bigger every year. These are a small variety of daffodils and the bulbs stay in the ground all year long. 
In springtime they bloom with a nice warm yellow colour and this year I was inspired to paint them - again.
My husband made some reference pictures while there was some sunshine and I used these to make a composition sketch.

I wanted to make a yellow painting so the background was painted first and dried  completely before drawing the daffodils using a watercolour pencil in a colour that is also in the background.

The daffodils were painted carefully, using colours that are yellow or very close to yellow and I suggested some stems fading away in the background.

After all the storm and rain we had here these yellow flowers brighten our garden and I wanted to paint that feeling. So there are no dark shadows, no dark earth beneath the flowers, only the flowers that tell me about sunshine - long after the sun has gone from that part of the garden.

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

Thread of Thoughts

This mixed media work needs a lot of explaining, because it is my submission to the February challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' which was 'Hersenspinsels', a Dutch word that cannot be translated very easily.
I came up with 'thread of thoughts', because that can explain the webbing a bit.
The Dutch 'spinsel' is the result of 'spinning' - a thread. And it can be a spider's web.
The Dutch 'hersen' is 'brain' and the combined word 'hersenspinsel' usually means something you think about, imagine, a train of thoughts, things that are not real.

My thoughts are very often about nice food, so here is my 'thread of thoughts': 
In springtime there will be blossoms, bees and after some months there will be apples, first on the tree, later in my home. Together with ingredients like eggs and flour and the use of the oven I can make apple pie. Which is good with a cup of coffee.

All these elements were drawn, a violet background was painted with watercolour, the elements were coloured with water soluble pencils and all that was secured with fixative.
I have made the lines of a spider's web with silver thread and the line connecting the elements of my 'thread of thoughts' with red embroidery yarn.

The details of the paper, paints, pencils I used and the size, availability and contact information can be found at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com 

Waterfall - charcoal drawing

A few years ago I decided I wanted to learn how to paint waterfalls and I started out really good, but after a few watercolour paintings I got distracted and started painting other things.  This is a new attempt at a waterfall and at a mixed media technique I have used a few times.

The reference picture I used was made in October (a few years ago) and the landscape was still very green with grass, moss and the green of a pine tree hanging over.

On a piece of watercolour paper I marked the places that really had to stay white and made an under painting using two shades of green. After that had dried completely I started drawing the scene with charcoal.

The structure of the watercolour paper is important for the result and I have tried to make the very best use of  it.

The broken lines that are created when charcoal is used on this paper help me to suggest more details than I am actually drawing. 

The technique of making a charcoal drawing on structured paper with a watercolour under painting is a nice one and I have to remember to use it more than I have done up to now.

Today's results are what I hope for and I have spent a few hours in my little studio enjoying myself - what more can I wish for?

The details about paper and paint used, size and contact information are at my website www.jannekesatelier.webs.com