rene fijten sketches
Sketches
Tuesday, 7 January 2025
Tuesday, 31 December 2024
New Jersey
Based on a picture I took from a cab driving us from Manhattan to the New Jersey airport in 2019. A study in tonal quality. Ink ad watercolour.
Saturday, 28 December 2024
Coupe de Ville
For my birthday I recieved a handmade fully glass inkpen. I finally got around trying it out. I made this drawing with it. It is a totally different feeling to draw with it, a bit funny; it took some time to get used to the way the ink flows. And I don't think I used the correct type of ink (Acrylic ink).
The subject was an image in a dream I had some months ago, at september 11th. About a burning billboard with an abandoned Coupe de Ville, somewhere in a desolate landscape. No idea what it means.
Tuesday, 24 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
Shipyard
Just a quick scribble sketch, nothing serious or realistic. Based on a picture of the Staten Island ship graveyard.
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Thursday, 5 December 2024
Nocturnal Den Bosch part 2
Nightpainting: a view of a shopwindow across the street of the previous image. Also a new experience: During painting I chatted with a tourist, and he threw 5 euro's in my hat as tip. As if I was a streetartist. Well, maybe I am.
Sunday, 1 December 2024
Nocturnal Den Bosch
For the first time since the start (2017) of Urban sketching Netherlands Foundation (of which I have been board member and secretary from day one) we had a board dinner together.
In 's Hertogenbosch. And of course, we went drawing out in the city together, even though it was just above freezing point. The challenge was to paint/draw a nocturnal scene on coloured paper. I took my newly made wooden paintbox with acrylic gouche paint with me. A great challenge!
Friday, 29 November 2024
Cow in Leuse (F)
Saturday, 16 November 2024
Portrait in gouache
Painting in acrylic gouache. I found the picture of her on Pinterest, but it was gone before I knew who it was or who made the photograph. I used only 3 colours: white, black and carmide red.
Sunday, 10 November 2024
Heist op den Berg
I mean, Belgium is renowned for its eclectic buildings, but this one was even more over the top. And this wasn't even the most bizarre side (Unfortunately the other side had a truck parked in front). You may notice details like round stained glass windows, four types of masonry and two male statues carrying the towers on both sides of the front door. Belgium is a lot more interesting than the Netherlands anyway.
Friday, 8 November 2024
MG TF drawing for John
A surprise gift for a collegue who left our company a month ago. As a hobby he restores old MG cars. Among others this MG-TF 1957, which was originally owned by his father.
Unfortunately I forgot to make a decent scan of the painting, the photograph is a bit discoloured.
Friday, 1 November 2024
Amstenrade in gouache
Monday, 28 October 2024
Leuze in 2 themes
I made these two paintings on location, in Leuze, France. The subject was to make them in two different colour themes. Below you see the real situation. Unfortunately, it began raining halfway, and I had to finish them in another location. Acryl paint 40x40cm each.
Tuesday, 22 October 2024
Faces in watercolour and ink
An excercise in faces, at a live painting session. Two of about twelve that I made in about 2 hours. First a few strokes of wax. Then a few watercolour strokes. And after drying a minimum of lively ink lines, trying to catch the features without overdoing. Surprising enough, both images resemble Paul and Willebrord.
Thursday, 10 October 2024
Aachen
Tuesday, 8 October 2024
Isabel
Model class again. This time a highly pregnant woman. We had to scratch te paper with a wax candle, then use watercolour, and add a few ink lines after that. Quite outside my comfort zone, but it was a nice excercise.
Thursday, 3 October 2024
Faces
Tuesday, 1 October 2024
Roermond challenge
During the National sketchday in Roermond, I initiated two challenges. The first was on the market: you had to make 4 or 5 little sketches of details that you notice. I did the excercise myself on the Market of Maastricht, to provide an example (top one). The second challenge was: define and draw in a few strokes the total scene of the market, but then fill in only one or two details. These will draw the attention (the market of Roermond, bottom one). The results of the excercises were beyond expectation.
Saturday, 28 September 2024
Gouache portrait
Painting with acrylic gouache again. This time based on a picture I found on the internet (probably AI). In my moleskine sketchbook, size A5.