carnaval 2019

Carnaval last weekend. This is the float in the parade of Hoensbroek. One of the 100 groups/floats/bands and single participants (Eimzelgänger).

Optoch va Gebrook

The Carnaval Parade of Hoensbroek. This is the float of the group "De Druim" (the dream).

Themed on Alice in wonderland. It was freezing cold, and it was snowing in between a few sunny patches. Strange weather.

This what reality looked like.

Blauw-wit Mariarade

A scene from the Hoensbroek Carnaval parade, this afternoon.
Each part of town has it's own Princes, dressed up groups and carnaval floats. This is the float of Mariarade (where I live). The group is called Blauw-wit (blue-white, I guess after the iconic colours of Mother Maria). The colourful dressed up group is walking/dancing behind, on the rhythm of local Carnaval music.
We were lucky with the weather: the forecast had told us about heavy rain and gusts of wind, but that started only after the last float (of the prince of Hoensbroek) arrived at the market square.

Carnaval in Meers

Carnaval is here again. This afternoon we went to see the parade in Meers, where my grandson Jake and his parents live. It was his first Carnaval, and he was dressed up in a mouse costume. So cute!

The parades sometime halt for some time, as some large floats have difficulty to make turns in the narrow streets of these small villages.
That gave me enough time to make above sketch.

Passatempo

The last of the carnival drawings, like the previous one this one was made during the "Konkours van de zaate herremeniekes". There were a lot of sambabands playing in the streets, at least five of them. This one is Passatempo, a very good and colourful band.
I made the drawing on location, and talked with the drummers afterwards. Here is a picture showing some members of the band.

Ut Konkoers in Maastricht

Today is the last day of Carnaval, for some a good reason to go for the last mile, but not for me. I went back to work today.
Luckily my office at present is in Maastricht, so after work I went into town, to visit the "konkoers vaan de zaate herremeniekes" (to be translated as: the musical battle of the drunken brassbands).
All carnaval brassbands and samba bands assemble on the main square "Vrijthof" and play for the BIG prize: eternal glory. Everyone wins of course.
I was able to draw and paint a few sketches, one of this fantastic dressed up group. As you can see my drawing does not even come close to the purple beauty of reality.

Optocht Heerlen

More parades, today was Heerlen (Hoensbroek, my home town is part of the municipality of Heerlen).
Over 200 colourful groups walked the parade today. They had started at 12.15 PM, and when we left at about 16.30 there were still some 30 numbers to go.
Yesterdays parade was about elaborate floats and huge numbers of dancing youth. Today's parade was about bizarre and baroque dressed up groups with less elaborate floats.
Anyway, I drew and painted this on location. I had to work fast, as the group would continue to pass, and I had to capture the image within something like two minutes.

Optocht Meers

Carnaval is here again. Today we visited the first of the carnaval parades, this time in Meers, near Stein.
My daughter Rianne lives there now. They had a very long and good parade, especially if you consider that it's a tiny village. And we had nice weather: a bleak but already warm sun.
At a certain point the parade came to a halt, which gave me the opportunity to sketch and paint this scene on location: a float of the group: "de Flierefluiters" from Stein.

Optocht Hoensbroek

Carnaval in the Netherlands: today's parade in Hoensbroek, my home town.
We had fine weather for the yearly parade, it was one of the best in years. beautiful floats, and a lot of "einzelgänger" (single participants staging and performing a jest or humorous view on a local issue).

This was a smaller float, it stood still just long enough for me to draw it. I painted it at home.
Theme of this float was "panic in the henhouse", don't ask me why.

Carnaval: Cowrunning 2014

Carnaval this weekend, and it started off with Cowrunning competition on the market of Hoensbroek.
8 teams made large papier maché cows, and run with 2 people under it.
I was captain of one of those teams for 15 years. It still hurts a little to be onlooker, and not being on the field as runner.

Anyway, a sketch of the start of one of the runs: unfortunately my fountain-pen didn't flow evenly, probably because of the cold, that's why the lines are so scratchy.

Koekoewawa

Carnaval season will start in a few weeks, and there are preparations going on everywhere.
I made this drawing as illustration for our local carnaval newspaper, d'r UUL (the owl, according tradition a symbol for carnaval).

This small statue is called the "Koekoewawa", and is referring to an old local song (in dialect): "Doe bes eine KOEKOEWAWA, zuug 'm doa 'ns sjtoan!" (freely translated as: you are a silly man, look at you standing there).
It's always the first float of the carnaval parade as long as I can remember, even back when I was a little child.
This scene is loosely based on a picture I made last year during the parade.

Alaaf Gebrook

And another series of my drawings was used for a website. This time for the local Carnaval website.
It's called Alaaf Gebrook.
I am not sure how to translate the word "Alaaf". It's typical for these parts, up to Cologne in Germany, and you use it like the spanish word Olé. To be used as greeting, exclamation or expression of approval or enthousiasm. But only at Carnaval.

"Gebrook" is the local lingo for Hoensbroek.

The link: http://www.alaafgebrook.nl/

Optocht Hoensbroek 2013

Carnaval is over for this year. Unfortunately I could not make any sketches during the outdoor activities and parades; it was far too cold. Your hands are frozen before you start, while looking at the parades.
This was the only sketch that I even tried, and I had to stop after a few pencil lines.
It's a float in the Hoensbroek parade; it features the youth prince of (I think) the soccer club in Passart (a part of Hoensbroek).
I noticed I drew the backside of the paper maché pencil-figure in an earlier sketch, made in the "optochthal", see a few weeks back,
http://www.renefijten.blogspot.nl/2013/01/noebele.html.

't is nieks en 't weurd nieks

Carnaval in our regions.
We went to a few parades on thursday (Kowrenne), saturday (Hoensbroek, the childrens parade), sunday (Maastricht) and today (Hoensbroek).
It was freezing cold this weekend, even a little snow and an icy wind.

I made this oil painting for my neighbours, who play in a zaate herremenie: 't is nieks en 't weurd nieks. (it's not good and it never will be). The music has to be loud and cheerful, not necessarily pleasing for the ears.

The painting was based on the location sketch of february 22nd last year: tisnieks.

Oil on canvas, 60x70cm.

Noebele

Second set of drawings of last Saturday.
Above an assortment of old and new floats and objects, as found and drawn on location. Floats, that's how Carnaval wagons are called in English (according fellow USK sketcher Virginia, from LA-California).

Also a sketch of the group "Noebele" working on their float.
I am not too pleased about that drawing, persons are drawn too stiff .
The penguins are from last years float, which had as theme Hollywood. 

Carnaval: optochthal

Optochthal, I don't even know how to translate this: "parade warehouse"?
Anyway, Carnaval is approaching fast, it will be around February 10th, and the preliminaries are in progress everywhere.
I visited a local warehouse where the parade wagons are made; there were a lot of people working on different wagons.
The whole place was crammed with objects, there must be at least 60 wagons, old and new, in store or in the process of being assembled.
I made a few drawings on location, this is the group "Vanalbijee" (translated from our local dialect that means "assembled from all sorts").
They are making a wagon with the theme "bakery". The clown-like baker will hover over a huge assortment of breads, "vlaaien" (a local variety of flat fruitcakes), cakes and cupcakes.
They were still welding and covering the structure with papier maché.

Optochthal van Hoensbroek/Heerlen, de groep Vanalbijee (van alles bijelkaar) druk aan het lassen aan hun carnavalswagen. Er waren daar minstens 60 wagens in die hal, geweldig.

Segura!

Carnaval in Maastricht 2012. I know, this looks like a scene from Lord of the Rings, but this an real existing  samba group. The group is called "Segura!" Escola de Samba, and they make Brazilian style Samba music. And dressed up like something between Darth Vader, Orks, and black clad samurai. Impressive suits and fantastic rhythms! Here an impression of the group that I found on youtube of the parade near where we were standing..
 

Segura! tijdens de Carnavalsoptocht van Maastricht.

Parade Carnaval

Sketch made during the Carnaval parade of Hoensbroek. I don't even know the name of the group. I made the sketch on three different locations, each time they would pass before I had chance to look up. I made some splashes of colour on location to define which colours were where, but did the finishing at home.
Optocht in Hoensbroek, een van de verklede groepen. Schets gemaakt op drie verschillende plekken, de groep was meestal voorbij nadat ik de eerste lijnen op papier had gezet.

't is nieks...

't is nieks en 't weurd nieks. That is how the "Zaate herremenie" (the fun-brassband) of Hoensbroek is called. Free translated the band's name means: "it's nothing and it never will be anything". I guess no further explanation  is needed. Drawn during the Hoensbroek Carnaval parade.
De zaate herremenie van Gebrook, 't is nieks en 't weurd nieks. Getekend tijdens de optocht van Hoensbroek.

Schmink

My neighbors Rene and Marij play in a "Zaate herremenie" which means "drunken brassband". That says it all.
This morning, before playing in the Carnaval parade of Hoensbroek, they dressed up in colourfull and warm clothes and painted their faces with schmink (special facial paint, I have no idea if that word exists in English). I was there to assist and make sketches of the process. Which you see here.  
It wasn´t easy making these sketches, during the process they kept moving around.


Onze buren spelen in een zaate herremenie. Hierbij de schetsen die ik vanmorgen maakte bij het schminken van de gezichten, voorafgaand aan de optocht van Hoensbroek.