Sketches

Monday 27 December 2010

Amstenrade

Church of Amstenrade, just around the corner from my house. I tried to make a few sketches while it was snowing, but that did not work, the ink got all smudgy. And I got cold. This was the only acceptable one, which I coloured later at home. Kerk van Amstenrade, geschetst in de vallende sneeuw. Dit was de enige acceptabele schets, de rest was viezig.

Friday 24 December 2010

Snow


Record breaking snow here in South Limburg, over 40cm, which is once every 100 years.
The view from my bedroom window this morning, looking over the gardens.
Rekordhoogte sneeuw vanmorgen, meer dan 40 cm. Gezien vanuit mijn slaapkamer raam.

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Tibbets

Hiroshima by refarch
Sometimes I make music, I made this a few years ago. I composed the piece and played all the instruments myself, using a keyboard, electronic synthesizers (VSTI), drum sequencers, looped samples and sofware programs like Music Maker and Acid. For the background voice I used vocoder software (turns written text into voice; I can't sing). The narrative is a real sample of the voice of the pilot Paul Tibbets, who flew Enola Gay.
Soms maak ik muziek, dit stuk heb ik helemaal zelf gecomponeerd en ingespeeld, m.b.v. keyboard, mijn laptop en synthesizer software.

Monday 20 December 2010

Valkenburg

Early morning, driving to my work. I stopped briefly in Valkenburg to make this sketch. I added the colour at home; it was way too cold.
Op weg naar kantoor, even gestopt in Valkenburg voor deze schets. Aquarel thuis toegevoegd, het was toch wel erg koud buiten.

Saturday 18 December 2010

Art class

This morning, live model painting. Vanmorgen, kunstklasje onder de bezielende leiding van Annemiek Jongen. Dit is Natasha. Acryl 110x70cm (!).

Tuesday 14 December 2010

Winter

Winterscene in Moelingen (Belgium), I saw this on my way to work, and stopped for a quick sketch.
Winter in Moelingen (BE). Op mijn weg naar werk, even gestopt voor een kleine vlugge schets.

Sunday 12 December 2010

Mart

My son, Mart, stood as model for the art class of last Saturday. I never drew family before, too scared  I guess, and I can tell you I felt uneasy throughout the process. Fortunately it worked out well; this 70x110cm painting really looks like him. What's more, the painting is also a vivid representation of my brother Roger in his younger years.... which tells a few things.
Mijn zoon Mart was model in het kustklasje van afgelopen zaterdag. Ik voelde me erg ongemakkelijk tijdens het schilderen, maar gelukkig kon ik trots zijn op het resultaat. Niet alleen leek het op Mart; het leek zelfs nog meer op mijn broer Roger in zijn jongere jaren. Erg bijzonder.

Friday 10 December 2010

Meneer Kusters

Waiting room in the hospital, this man was before me, the nurse called him meneer Kusters when it was his turn at the doctor. Drawn on location.
Wachtkamer in het ziekenhuis, deze man werd voor mij naar binnen geroepen. Ter plekke getekend.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Lineart Gent

With 2 artclass collegues we visited the Modern art expo in Gent, last Friday. We walked around for 6 hours (!) and saw many inspiring paintings and objects of art, incredible.
I particularly liked the painting style of Georges Schelstraete. This is my own futile attempt to see how he gets the light into his paintings.
Bezocht: de Lineart kunstbeurs in Gent, afgelopen vrijdag. Een enorme hoeveelheid kunstvoorwerpen en schilderijen. Je doet er wel veel ideeen op. Hier een (vergeefse) poging in de stijl van Georges Schelstraete. Hoe hij dat licht pakt; moeilijk, moeilijk.

Monday 6 December 2010

Sinterklaas

Surprise gifts for the Sinterklaas celebration (St. Nicholas). I handpainted these mugs with caricatures of my children and their friends. Did not dare to draw Brenda,  the girlfriend of my son Mart, but she is a big fan of Rihanna, so I painted that (bottom right). As tradition requires, I wrote funny poems to accompany these gifts. 
Sinterklaas surprises voor mijn kinderen+aanhang. Rechtsonder een karikatuur van de zangeres Rihanna (voor Brenda).

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Santa Claus

Rotterdam last week; this is a large statue called "Santa Claus" by the american sculptor Paul McCarthy. The statue caused a lot of controversy and had to be relocated a few times because of protests. Maybe you will understand if you know that locals called it  "Kabouter Buttplug". Controversieel beeld in Rotterdam van de kunstenaar McCarthy, in de volksmond ook wel bekend als "Kabouter Buttplug". Mooi contrast met de oudhollandse oliebollenbakker erachter. Traditie versus de moderne tijd.