vrijdag 19 december 2014

Learning from Caravaggio

Caravaggio was the master in using light and shadows in his portraits and paintings.
At the academy we worked several lessons on this clair-obscur theme.
First from a statue with a large spot posted on the left side:



Then a second lesson on the same subject but with different result:


And then with a model, he was put in the light and we were working in semi-dark settings.


Starting from the dark/black and then putting more whites into place... 
it wasn't easy, but hey Caravaggio is a master and must have practised and been drawing a lot to come to his masterpieces. You can find more on his work here.

donderdag 4 december 2014

Today in the studio

It is pretty cold out here in the Netherlands, so to be in my studio is quite a challenge...
I worked on a painting for a series today,
here you see a part of it (in progress):

 I will be showing a series of paintings in an exhibition next year hopefully.

In the end I enjoyed drawing with paint and it turned into this:

It works for me to keep drawing, to look for emotions, 
think about people and how I can paint or draw them.
You really are practising your hand and your eye.

maandag 17 november 2014

November in Amsterdam - city life

Also on my wishlist: a day in Amsterdam, 
visiting some shops and enjoying the architecture and vibrant energy of the city.


 How I enjoyed the autumn colours, the people and tourists, having coffee and cake, and strolling through shops as Sukha, Het Grote Avontuur, Hay, &Klevering, De Weldaad and so on.
Returning by train we enjoyed the sound of the piano in the Central Hall of the station: 
a place for spontaneous concerts, four girls were singing...





 It has given me new inspiration, 
making pictures is a good way for me to practice my perception of perspective, 
colour combination and people.


maandag 10 november 2014

Etsy, a world of makers

For some years now I have my own shop on Etsy. 
It is exciting, being part of a global network of crafters, discovering so many nice products.
It is also a good opportunity for me to connect with other local Dutch makers. 
I have become a member of two teams in my neighbourhood which have led to new contacts and co-operation.

However, my own network and other Dutch people seem a bit hesitant to visit Etsy. 
I do not fully understand because it works the same as other big online shops.
Maybe we have to talk more about it? 
This Friday we will be exchanging ideas about that with the Ka-Ching team.

Etsy is also an easy way for me to launch new products and this is what I did the last couple of weeks. Taking the pictures and making sure it looks nice does take some time, but hey, 
here are some of my products:


A poppy drawing...


And here is the link to my shop! 

These text signs make a lovely holiday gift!
 
Art on a stool

maandag 27 oktober 2014

Wishlist

A car passed by
the woman was wearing a sort of beige/ocre sweater
with black embroidery
wow, I loved it
made a drawing to remember it
maybe I will make my own embroidery on one of my sweaters...

donderdag 16 oktober 2014

Misty morning and sunny day

It has been busy, so only now I am able to share 
some pictures of the Artfair Ankeveen in September. 
It started off early and misty, at 7.30 we were there. 
It turned out to become a sunny day!
 

Painting sold!


My contribution in painting an old car
During the day I made some portraits, of which I sold 5 including these!

donderdag 11 september 2014

Portraits

Sometimes people are on my mind and I draw portrait after portrait. Most of them are made up, non-existent, images of my memory.

donderdag 21 augustus 2014

Artist inspiration in Textile Museum

I visited an inspiring exhibition in the Textile Museum. Various artists like Picasso and Andy Warhol made designs for fabric, here you see some examples:

Andy Warhol



inspiration from old books


The exhibition is still showing for a couple of weeks.
The Museum is an inspiring place for creative persons, 
showing old processes of making blankets. 
And in the Textile Lab you find the newest methods and designs. 
There is also a fascinating library which has a very large collection.



maandag 11 augustus 2014

Matisse in Tate Modern

The Tate Modern has been showing the cut-outs of Matisse, 
here is a glimpse for some inspiration:


Henri Matisse The Snail 1953
And a link to a nice video:

Wish I could have visited!

Matisse inspired me to put together a workshop on his cut-outs.
Students enjoyed the process, here is a modern take on this:


 

maandag 4 augustus 2014

Summer still life



 Still lives sometimes seem a bit outdated... 
but I experienced myself that you can learn a lot from looking at a still life: 
dimensions, shape, shades, composition etc.
I am therefore organizing a workshop on August, 13 in the evening where we will be looking at a summer fruit still-life and make a painting or drawing of it.
It can be made in so many different styles; impressionistic, loose, precise, in one colour, 
it is inspiring, you just need to take the time to do it!


dinsdag 29 juli 2014

Christmas in July - party set



While it is very much warm weather here, I was busy thinking about Christmas....
Many magazines are working on their December issues in Summer, 
and Etsy therefore organizes a Christmas in July.

I have made some paper goods sets to style your Christmas dinner, or any dinner party.
I always like to decorate the table when we have dinner guests 
and often choose a colour combination for this.
This inspired me to paint some thick paper in abstract patterns and make them into decorations.


You can re-use these and hang them in your Christmas tree, or make a garland with them or style a small corner on a table. You can find the different combinations in my Etsy-shop.

maandag 14 juli 2014

Using new materials


What to do with a pile of Novilon patches...? 
So easy to throw away, but didn't I want to practice printing? 
Okay, so I just started cutting shapes and testing the patterns, frontside, backside.
Fun results! Looking forward to see where this leads me to...

vrijdag 27 juni 2014

And another new one...

 In a newspaper I read such a lovely article, 
about a couple who decided to marry at 90 years old (!).
 This week I started to make a painting of them, this is how I began,
searching for right dimensions,
getting their heads into position,
sketching and searching...


And this is how it may end,
maybe some little details will be added,
not sure about that.
The painting is part of a series I am working on,
to be continued this summer.

maandag 16 juni 2014

New work in the studio

Had fun making something abstract and playing with colours and layers,
mixed technique on canvas, 60*80 cm.
Made by me last Saturday.
Some details:




donderdag 5 juni 2014

Amsterdam Maker Festival

I joined the Amsterdam Maker Festival at a splendid location bij river IJ. 
Together with Jenn from ColornCream (another Dutch Etsy-shop with hook tutorials and accessories) 
we represented the Ka-Ching collective (some active Dutch Etsy-shops working together).
Because it was all about making, 
Jenn was hooking up a pillow and I was drawing small portraits to make a gallery. We had fun!