Frozen winter days

 We spent a week away hiking in the hills. It was chilly, frosty and beautiful. Not much sun, mainly fog, so colours were softened and magical. It was a bit cold to take pictures but the frost had clung to the branches and the details were really beautiful.

After the walk we warmed up inside, drank coffee, and a bit of reading and creating.

Now it is time to get back to the studio.

Markers and ochre

 Small drawings are made in between other jobs, and this is how this page filled itself. A gardening show (who recognizes Monty :)?) was the inspiration for this, made with marker and ochre pencil:

Go, take a pen and draw something, why not?

Morning walk

 Crispy days and bright skies brought us out in the early morning for a morning walk. The stillness and soft colours were beautiful:

I made a quick interpretation in my sketchbook with marker on a base of acrylic paint:

Wishing you a good creative week!

Else Berg - study

 I found a book on the painter Else Berg, and it is an interesting read. It is written by Linda Horn who took a lot of time to collect all snippets of information. 

She tells about the life, travels, art connections and the real-life of being an artist. The paintings and work of Else Berg cannot be complete because a lot of works are missing, maybe lost in exhibitions, or send to family and then got lost, or sold randomly without any contact address. They are however talked about in letters and cards which they wrote to friends, so they did exist. 

I really like the book, to read about such enthusiastic painters, how they made connections with the art world, how they went travelling for new inspiration, the uncertainty when critics talked about the new work and so on. I am sure I will look at her paintings in a different way, and will be curious to discover new works.

New Year

 The start of a New Year at your feet... it feels a bit daunting always to me. Therefore I prefer to take a break, but this year I have a lot to do so it'll have to wait.

Instead I am trying to focus on some tasks and get some planning on paper. I also started on a document of Encouragement, filled with tips and wise comments of colleagues, fellow-artists, soulmates who are in the boat of creative entrepreneurship as well. Information and tips come and go, I just don't want to forget those words of encouragement which keep your creativity going. It is making me happy already!

Sunset

Lately I have seen a lot of beautiful sunsets. This picture is taken on a hiking trail in a nature reserve. The warmth of the sky is immense. But I also like the sharp details in the waterfeature. It only lasts a couple of minutes so you have to be quick and take a picture.

I have spent too much time indoors, so I am hoping to go out and explore more...

Best wishes and happy holidays to you,

see you in the New Year.

Portrait of a woman

My Open Studio-days for this year are over. Now I will be spending some days for study and inspiration for the New Year. 

In the meantime I drew another charcoal portrait, I still love drawing people.

I put this one-of-a-kind drawing in my Etsy-shop. Sometimes I find it difficult to part with drawings, but to me it is also great satisfaction when another person enjoys your art. And you have to put it out there to be seen. What good would it do, being piled up in a cabinet?