Peugeot 203

Peugeot 203; Today during lunchbreak I looked out of my office window to see if it was raining, and I saw this beautiful car on the parking lot on the other side of the street. I had to stand and draw/paint real close, that's why the perspective is so distorted. It took me about 25 minutes.
Deze Peugeot 203 stond aan de overkant van kantoor, tijd voor een snelle schets. Perspectief is wat vertekend, maar dat is omdat ik noodzakelijkerwijs zo dichtbij moest staan.

Im Westen nichts Neues

Erich Maria Remarque wrote a chilling book about his experiences in the trenches of the first World War: "Im Westen nichts Neues", better known as "All quiet on the western front". I reread it last week. I had to do something with the images the book left behind.
Gelezen: "Geen nieuws aan het westelijk front" van E.M.Remarque, over de eerste wereldoorlog.

Bicycles

Another sunny day on the river Maas. A few weeks ago the river was flooded, and the banks are still filled with stuff that the river left behind: bleached wood, blotched plastic and rusty cycles. Rommel langs de Maas, overgebleven na de overstromingen van enkele weken geleden

O.L. Vrouweplein

Another lunchbreak spent in the warm sun of early spring, this time on the Onze Lieve Vrouwe plein in Maastricht. 15 minutes walk to the city center, 10 minutes ink, 10 minutes talking to an interested stranger, 10 minutes paint, 15 minutes walk back to the office. Lunch op het O.L.Vrouweplein, Maastricht. De zon was al warm, de terassen gevuld, een eerste groene schijn over de bomen.

St Servaasbrug

Another lunchbreak on the river Maas, that's the advantage of working in an office on the riverbank.
I walked to the Sint Servaas bridge, originally from the Roman times when Maastricht was called Mosa Trajectum. The statue shows Saint Servaas, who was bishop of our town around 380 BC, and founded christianity in the low lands.
My winter coat was too warm.
Schets van de Sint Servaas brug, Maastricht, een paar dagen geleden in de warme lentezon tijdens de lunchpauze. Werken op een kantoor aan de Maas heeft zijn voordelen.
Eehhh, a small mistake:of course 380 BC must be AD380. To exist Before Christ would be hard for a bishop.....

Segura!

This is Segura! , a Samba band of Brazilian model, who always play during the carnaval parade in Maastricht. Not only their rhythms are fantastic, but also how they dress: it's something between Darth Vader and black clad Ninjas. And the band is always preceded by a dangerous looking guy on a black trike. It dreww them while they crossed the St. Servaasbridge.
Segura!, de Maastrichtse samba band, tijdens de grote optocht vorige week. Geweldige ritmes!

Fishing

Such a beautiful day! It was warm in the sun; during lunchbreak I made a walk along the bank of the river, and I saw this fisherman and his wife quietly staring towards the Maastricht citycenter.
De eerste lentedag, heerlijk weer. Tijdens lunchpauze een wandeling langs de Maas, waar deze visser en zijn vrouw zaten te genieten van de zon.

Optocht

I made some sketches during the Carnaval parade in Hoensbroek last monday. Above the group of  "blieve plekke", with their digging-for-gold wagon. They won the 3rd prize. Below the group "Gaef gaas" (hurry up), who did not only win Kowrenne, but also the main prize of this year's parade.
The sketches are a bit shaky; I had to draw quickly because the groups were moving while drawing. Carnavalsoptocht, Hoensbroek. Boven de wagen van "Blieve Plekke" (3e prijs), onder de koninklijke koets van "Gaef Gaas" (hoofdprijs). De schetsen zijn rommelig, want ik moest nogal snel tekenen.

Portrait

In between all Carnaval activities, there is still time for some painting. Artclass, portrait on brown paper, 50x70cm. I am not 100% pleased with the result. Schilderklas, afgelopen zaterdag, tussen alle carnavalsactiviteiten door. Ik ben niet helemaal tevreden met dit portret op bruin papier.

Sjrapnelle va Gebrook

Sketches made during the Carnaval parade in Hoensbroek, today. The bottom one is a sketch of my wife Gertie and her friend Yvonne, making fun of the fact that grey hair is getting dominant in the streets of our city. They won the first prize!
Optocht in Hoensbroek, vandaag. De onderste schets laat Gertie en haar vriendin Yvonne zien, zoals ze de draak steken met de vergrijzing van Hoensbroek. Hiermee wonnen ze de 1ste prijs!

Op de mèrt

Kowrenne op de mèrt. Last thursday evening, the kick-off for Carnaval in Hoensbroek. LIke always with the Cowrunning contest (2 guys under a paper and wood cow, trying to outrun one of the other 8  cows). Our group, the Föhners went as "Kowhakkers". The only prize we won this year was the eternal glory. Cow B, Gaef Gaas, deservingly won the prize of "best looking cow of 2011". Koerennen op de markt van Hoensbroek, het traditionele begin van Carnaval. Dit jaar zat er voor onze groep "de Föhners" niet meer in dan de prijs van de eeuwige roem.

The above sketch depicts one of the games, called "stoelendans". When the music stops the back guy under the cow must be seated on a barrel. And there is always one barrel short, the cow that is left after 7 rounds is the one how wins.

Kowrenne

Tomorrow evening we will be running again for the cowrunning games.
It's the start of Carnaval in our city. Eight paper and wood cows with each two runners do sprints and circuits on the Hoensbroek marketplace. Our group is 15 people and I am the captain.
Our theme this year: Kowhakkers (Lumberjacks). We built a wooden loghouse on wheels as home for our cow, to show off during the initial presentation parade.Wish us luck.
Morgenavond: de aftrap voor Carnaval: Kowrenne op de mèrt (Koerennen op de markt). Ons team gaat dit jaar als "Kowhakkers". Verder commentaar overbodig.

Obituary

Four of my drawings were publicised in d'r Uul, the local Carnaval newspaper of Hoensbroek.
And this was a new experience: one of my drawings featured in an obituary: the captain of one of our fellow cowrunners, Gerard Schreurs, passed away this year. He will be missed.
Don't try to read the text, even most dutch can't read our local dialect.
Enkele van mijn carnavalschetsen stonden deze week in de Uul, onze carnavalskrant. Ook als illustratie bij het bericht van het overlijden van Gerard Schreurs, captain van een van onze collega kowrenner groepen