Koninginnedag

Today is Koninginnedag, Queens day. We went to Utrecht for the festivities, free markets, foodstalls, improvised bars and music everywhere. And Orange flags and dresses wherever you look (Orange is the colour of the Dutch Monarchy). The weather was fantastic, I cannot remember we had better sunny weather ever on this day. And thousands of people in the streets and on the boats which swarmed the canals.
I made this drawing while sipping coffee on one of the terraces next to the main midtown canal, overlooking the Oude Gracht. It was early, 11.00, the festivities had yet to start.

Louisiana houses

On the morning of my flight back, I rose early to make sketches in the vicinity of the hotel. I managed to sketch and paint 3 sketches (one of them is horrible though). A few hundred meters from the Baton Rouge hotel I found this more or less typical Louisiana suburban house, with a beautifully porch. It's on the corner of Marigold and Cherrydale avenue. I tried to find the house back on Google streetview, but apparently the house was not yet built back in febr 2008!
One funny thing about these houses: they are located in huge grass lawns, with beautiful full grown trees, but there are no fences, hedges or shrubs to define where your garden ends and your neighbours starts. That's very strange to a Dutch eye.

Burrito in Atlanta

Phew. That was a busy week. First to the USA on business trip, then co-organising the local Sketchcrawl, then four days with my wife to Istanbul, Turkey. The latter to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
I have a stack of about 15 drawings I made in this week, which I will post the coming time.
Here is a sketch of the fast food meal I ate on the Atlanta airport on my way back to Europe.
Actually the meal was not the best choice, it was quite heavy stuff, it bothered me during the flight.
Een (fastfood) burrito, zoals gegeten op het vliegveld van Atlanta, USA.

Mississippi

I still have some sketches left from my trip to Louisiana, here is another.
As stated yesterday, I would have liked to sketch the steamboots on the Mississippi, but this is second best: the Plaquemine ferry across the river. My company, Roel, decided to make a nice detour for my benefit, and take the ferry instead of the bridge. It was a strange ferry, the ramp was located at the side of the boat, and the cars had to manoeuvre around the steering house in a circle to park their cars. Like a floating rotunda. I just finished the drawing, sitting on the stern, when we arrived at the other side.

Sketchcrawl

Yesterday we did our first Sketchcrawl in Heerlen. We did not know if anyone would turn up, and much to our surprise in total 12 people of in total 4 nationalities showed up (Dutch, German, French and English). Initially the rain poured down heavily, and we drew from the library windows on the first floor of the glaspaleis, later it became dry and we could go outside.

Here pictures of the  group; unfortunately some crawlers had to leave too early for the final review and group picture.  The results will be shown on our special blog: http://sketchcrawllimburg.blogspot.com/

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Just on my way back from a short visit to Louisiana, USA. Only one day in Baton Rouge near New Orleans, on business. Luckily I managed to make a few sketches, here is the first of them. I would have liked to draw steamboats on the Mississippi of course, but this roadcrossing near the hotel tells also about the USA. It was made early morning just before breakfast. You have to take an opportunity as it comes.

Me, myself and I

This is the most difficult painting I ever made, a self portrait. You can see the preliminary stages in the post of March 24th. I finished it yesterday.
Looking back, I think the painting became too refined, it lacks broad strokes and rough edges. But once I started painting this idea (the mirror, the camera, myself etc.), the painting led itself to this style.
But I really enjoyed working with oilpaint, it was the first time I used it, and it works very fine.
So here it is, on 70x90cm oilpaint. Me, myself and I.

Aan de kerk

Another sketch of my home village, across the road from the castle. The lane is called "Aan de kerk"; obviously it leads to the church (dating from 1850).
I was told that in the 30's an aunt of my father had a café in the house on the left. As she was widow another uncle would be there every evening for protection; consuming free drinks. Untill he got so drunk, he had to be carried home. Family stories.

Luca

Art class. A quick painting of Luca, the daughter of Annemiek, our teacher. This is one of the 2 paintings I made in these two painting hours that we have on Saturday morning.
Acrylic, 50x60cm. The difficult part was to know when to stop.

Do chairs go to heaven?

 

Doodling during a memorable meeting. One of the participants went on drooling about hardly relevant details and definitions, until the irritated client flashed out and intervened. That was a first time in 20 years experience.

I started with the shoe. I have no idea why.

Sketchcrawl

Nico and I am organizing the first Heerlen Sketchcrawl !

Sketchcrawl is something like Urban sketching in a group, organized worldwide on April 21st.

Have a look at the Sketchcrawl site.  

So, if you are into sketching everyday life, come, take your drawing gear and join us on April 21st, 13.00 hours in Schunck cultural center and library (glaspaleis) in Heerlen. And it's free!

Check our special  blogsite: http://sketchcrawllimburg.blogspot.com/

For those not living in Limburg, there are other sketchcrawls in Schiedam and Gouda.

Voor de nederlandstaligen onder ons: lees de flyer.

Amstenrade

The castle of Amstenrade, just around the corner of my house.
This is the view from the village, as seen from the Hommerterallee, with the small unused guardhouse in front.
The caste is still private property; the count and/or countess d'Ansembourg live there.
Kasteel Amstenrade, gezien vanaf de Hommerterallee.