Transfer technique

Experimenting with new materials. This time "Transfer technique". Use a laserprint  copy of a photo, rub the image side in with Acrylic Binder, and glue it on paper (which should have a coat of wet acrylic binder as well). After a day you can rub off the copy paper with some lukewarm water, and the mirrored image is stuck to the canvas. Then paint over it, trying to preserve parts of the original and yet making something new out of it.
The image was based on a combination of two photos I once made in India. The result may not be very good, but it was a first try, and as such worth trying.

Horus returns from the furnace

Horus came out of the furnace looking great. I am really glad how it turned out. Unfortunately the picture is not that good, I hope to make a decent one after I made the cherry-wood sockle. That will be a challenge in itself, the bottom part will have to be incorporated.

Postcards

An unexpected surprise, at least one that I had forgotten about.
I recieved a box with 100 postcards from 65 Urban sketchers. A beautiful set in a nice box. With all my favourite sketchers: Rob Carey, Lapin, Florian, Inma, Liz Steel, James Hobbs and so on.
And one of my drawings was in it: the drawing I made in 2009 of the Flatiron building in New York.
They asked for permission of course, but that was more than half a year ago.
It's by the same publisher as the Urban Sketchers book, Quarry Books.
ISBN 978-1-63159-021-4.

Maasboulevard

Lunchtime last Tuesday. Beautiful spring weather, too nice to stay behind my desk.
I found this cute old facade just across the bridge over the Maas. I was standing at a busstop, and while I stood drawing an old man chatted me up, telling me that he had been draughtsman in the (famous) ateliers of architect Cuypers in Roermond. Nice to hear these kind of stories.

Firestorm

Firestorm, an impression based on the devastating air raids in World war 2.
I visited an art exhibition in Venlo this weekend. There was work of Jef Diederen on display, and one of his paintings, in red and black, made a huge impression. It reminded me of the old coalmines and cokes furnaces from my youth.
And an exhibition on war and peace, with work of Anselm Kiefer, Ger Lataster and Armando among others. These two impressions came together in this work, where I experimented with red watercolour and chinese ink. Actually this is version 6, the first that I was content with.
In a Moleskine watercolour book A4.

Update on Horus

Horus: I painted the glass object with enamel (emaille) today, in between the glass plates.
I will go into the oven this week to be melted. The big question: how will it come out....

Lost, but still not found

A difficult painting this time. I worked a long time on this painting (made after a live model).
It all had to do with Terry Miura's "lost and found" technique: how far can you go with melting the background into the subject, without losing it's form and meaning. And then bring an accent into the game, like a focal point or light spot.
I was not content with the bottom version, the result after 2 live model sessions. So I reworked it towards the top one. But I am not sure it became better.
If anyone could offer some advice?

Glass Horus

My new glass fusion project: Horus.
I posted it on facebook, and Jane Pereira Siebert (from Cape Town, South Africa) commented: "Wonderful shapes! How were you inspired to create this design?".
I must say that was a difficult question. 
I wanted to start on a new glass object, and started out with sketching a table with a vase on it. I drew it with pencil on the back side of an envelope. You can see the original envelope on below picture.
Don't ask me how it evolved into this bird like object, but I think it has to do with the fact that I had visited an opera about a Egyptian Pharaoh the night before, Akhnaten (in Antwerpen, together with my kids, Rianne and Mart). I guess the image of Horus, the Egyptian god with the falcon head subconsciously played a role when arriving at this image.
But here is the funny part: I didn't make the connection that evening, the composition just looked like it was supposed to be. I realized the connection to the opera only a few days later.

Feed design lab

I was asked to attend a symposium about animal food innovation, organized by "Feed design lab" and Tebodin/Bilfinger.
The reason I was there because I was asked to visualize the outcomes of the brainstorm session.
That was very hard to do, in fact it turned out to be practically impossible. The session took 45 minutes, and there were 7 groups. The groups would be on steam after 20 minutes, so I had only 25 minutes left: that means about 3 minutes per group. To listen, catch the essence, think about an image and sketch it.
In the end I managed 6 images.


As I had to work fast, I used markers. I had not used those since my studies in architecture, back in the 80s. Here is the testimage I made during the symposium. Just within a few minutes.

Zaltbommel

Another businesstrip, this time for a seminar held in the centre of the Netherlands, in Zaltbommel.
Zalbommel is an old Holland town, located on one of the large streams, the Waal.

After the seminar I had an half hour left before dark, enough to draw and paint this scene of the harbour. But is was very cold, a bit above freezing point, 3 degrees Celsius. This meant the water on the paper dried very slowly and formed pools. It took me another half an hour to get warmed up again.