In the studio

 This year started with a nice assignment to deliver 100 cards, 

I used my paintbrush to make them.

I have designed these colour-yourself cards of landscapes, 

you can find them in my Etsy-shop.

You can colour or paint them, and use them as gift-tags.

I used them for some cards.

Leaflet for the drawing lessons

 In February I will give drawing lessons on a primary school, 

within a weekend these classes are almost fully booked! So nice... lots of enthusiastic children.

In March I will be giving some drawing lessons in my own studio. 

It is a cooperation with our local community to make art lessons accessible to children.

In the meantime I am sketching models at the Academy and doodling for fun at my desk.

In the studio, soaked...

Oh oh, the weather is really stormy at the moment. I got totally drenched this 

morning on my bike to the studio. Even my socks and shoes were dripping.

I made some coffee, put the radio on and started some projects:

Made with acrylic on small wooden panels, I love doing this...

Love the Alps in wintertime

Winter inspiration from the Alps, I love the cold, the colours, the craftmanship:

Love the colour of the wood

winter scene

Swiss bell hanging at the front of the house

Look at the crochet decoration

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.

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.

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.

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