A portrait in one line, meaning you put the pen on paper and draw in one line fluently, without taking the pen of the paper. I made this portrait of a woman and was happy with the result.
My first Christmas studio-day I worked on an assignment and was happy with the loyal customers who dropped by and purchased some art and cards. I always like to turn my studio into a retailshop, and showing new products :).
Autumn leaves are still here, they are holding on and the weather is dry and quiet. So I'll be outside, enjoying the colours, the soft light, the shades and shapes.
Last week I visited the art museum SINGER, www.singerlaren.nl. A portrait I really liked was this one by Else Berg, it is called "Young woman in a red pinafore" and was painted in 1913. She was a Jewish artist, and lived in Amsterdam from 1910. She has made quite a lot of paintings which are all scattered in Museums and private collections. I did not know this portrait and I like the strong lines.
She lived 1877-1942, she was taken to Auschwitz where she was murdered upon arrival...
Another sketchbook-page, using permanent markers to draw and just one colour tone. I really enjoy doing this. Ofcourse the markers are a challenge, because you cannot erase anything...
Just collect images and pictures which draw your attention and draw them in a page, and then start colouring them in dark and light tones or patterns and see where you end up.
In my sketchbook I glued some snippets of paper randomly. I skipped the page for a couple of months ;), but now I decided to tackle it in trying to draw a portrait out of it, using the snippets.
The start and the finish:
And the fun thing is, I find, that you would never have made this portrait without the snippets. So it brought me something new, surprising, and well maybe I do not like it, but it is the challenge to make something out of it... and I somehow do like it.
Morning fog is the title of a new painting I made. I love the soft colours and the mystery of the fog and clouds. I made it on a prepared canvas, which adds texture to it. When sunlight shines over it, it adds depth.
It is now in my Etsy-shop.
Thinking about Christmas at the moment... I always like to make something new. I had fun creating some patterns on paper, and now what to make of them? Cards, bunting, trees, tags? I'll see.
Wishing you a colourful week!
Okay, so in between leaf-prints and other work, I drew some portraits in my sketchbook. Right on some blobs of paint I prepared earlier and this is one of them.
The result is always a surprise, you cannot plan or control it, you can only let your hand flow, following lines, looking, and well there are many flaws in it... ;), but it was fun.
A much needed walk in between showery days showed me how Autumn sparkles, and sheds a different light. I took this joy into my studio and enjoyed working on a new piece.
Working with acrylics, palette knife on canvas.
Slowly Autumn is coming my way, so I decided to have a little fun with leaf-prints now that they are still here. I also had some left-over paint I wanted to use.
It resulted in a fun and messy desk with some new cards as a result:
I love the seasons and after a long and warm summer, I think I am ready for Autumn.
This week I visited Museum Slager for the exhibition of the art of Toon Hermans. He was a famous comedian in the Netherlands and performed a lot. He also enjoyed making paintings, but mostly for himself. So there are not many opportunities to see his art in real life. I really like the softness of his paintings and I have been interested for a while, found a book on his paintings which I flip through now and then.
The Museum itself is small and also has other art by members of the Slager family which are worth looking at. Two rooms were reserved for Toon Hermans. His colour use is very nice and I like looking at how he uses this, for instance in this painting:
He also did another still-life with flowers which was almost all in tones of yellow, a colour I find difficult. I enjoyed being at the exhibition and so close to the real artwork. The exhibition lasts until October 5th.
In my studio I have been reading this book by Selwyn Leamy (Title translates as: Read this if you want to be famous with drawing). He explains all types of techniques starting with drawing with just basic materials. Drawing is so much about practice and understanding some basics as shape, size, shades and so on. One thing I have never learned, and also am never using therefore, is cross-hatching. So I learned some tips on this, and now it is time to practice this :). If you want to learn about drawing, this is a really nice book.
In between grasses and herbs, this flower really stands out. I took this picture with my camera lying on the ground, to look at dimensions in another way.
What if I was looking at it in a different way?
What if I only use one colour?
What if I let go of dimensions and just go with the flow?
What if there is another solution?
And so on...
Creativity gives options and possibilities, I like it.
In a grocery magazine there were these pictures of plastic bottles, trampled and squashed in only light blue colours. Because it had so many shapes and seemed quite difficult, I decided to give it a try, and this is the result:
Simple, basic, could be better and maybe more interesting... those are my thoughts on this. But it is a good lesson to look at shapes and shades, so I enjoyed it.
I spotted a picture of a young woman, and took her as an example for my exercise in my sketchbook. I chose a page which I had already prepared with an acrylic base, and started drawing with a black aquarel pencil. She was looking downwards so her nose was rather long and she had her eyes closed.
When I start I often think: Oh this is too difficult... I cannot do it. But for me just starting helps, especially when you use a light sketchy touch to your pencil so you can correct dimensions and shapes, until you find that it might actually work. This way the drawing turned out better than I thought. Also the acylic underground gives somes structure, and of course soft undertone, which I like.
I'd say: take out a piece of paper and begin!
Two weeks hiking and relaxing in the Alps has given me enough rest and inspiration to return to work and creating. I always bring a sketchbook and notebook with me, for the moments of ideas. But often I just enjoy being outside and reading a book. I have not finished the one on Picasso and Gilot yet...
I am hoping to return to the charcoal portraits which I have been enjoying. This is another one I made, you can already find it in my Etsy-shop:
In August I am always helping out on an event, so time will be spent on that too.
This week I'll probably finish this book on a Life with Picasso. Francoise Gilot, his partner, writes all about it. And I find it interesting to read about his process and focus in painting and creating.
Picasso also has been working with, or inspiring, co-artists, and it tells about his daily life meeting them.
Last week I was present on a Maker's market, with 100 makers! In the gardens of the castle we had a lovely day with nice weather, lots of enthusiastic visitors and makers. In a relaxed atmosphere people were strolling along and enjoying a day out.
This garden is only a 100 meters away from my studio, and I have been drawing here now and then. Friends from the village came by, so it was a good day.
The summer days are perfect for making a bikeride, and in June there are so many flowers along the roadside. These yellow buttercups were shining bright.
Hope you have a nice week as well!
Another drawing from the same page in my sketchbook:
A pencil and a pen, that is all you need to make a fun drawing page in your sketchbook. I used permanent markers for bold lines, and just one pencil in blue. Just draw what comes to your mind, or use a magazine for inspiration:
Charcoal is a soft medium to use, delicate and bold at the same time, making strong marks, or softly brushing it into shadows. From willow branches I made my own charcoal and I've been enjoying making some portraits. For instance this one, of an older lady, drawn on a painted background. It is already available in my ETSY-shop.
The vegetable plot next to my studio has been filled with flowers, and as a result with bees and insects. the vegetables however... are coming slowly because of the drought.
In the studio I have been busy with sketching compositions, working on ideas and then painting. A saying is: "Creativity has to find you working", so I am putting in the hours :).
One of the things I like to do is create with paper. This time I focused on types of blue in a random magazine. And then collaged all the torn bits of paper into a composition. It is a bit meditative, you just watch and look to see which composition is working for you.
The pile ended up in this square (after having considered a flower shape, circle and rectangle ;)), and just to see how it would look I put it in a frame.
Could this be a scarf, or a shirt design, or should I try to cut a circle and see what happens?
Which colour do I need? I painted some anemone flowers with watercolour, and now I need the right pencil to make some details. Luckily I have a box full of pencils and I found the right one!
These handpainted cards are each slightly different and I sell these at markets and in my studio.
My studio and my style have a broad spectrum: portraits, abstract, cards, handmade accesories, 3D-art. It is all over the place :), but I like not to be pinned on one subject.
I sometimes open up my studio for visitors, and make a small little shop of it, so people can look around. But my studio is also used for workshops, or gatherings, or rented out to relatives, so it is multi-functional.
Here are some peeks into my studio:
