USk Maastrcht: de Helpoort

I organized an Urban sketching meeting in Maastricht. We were about 12 sketchers, it was nice weather and we had a great day. Above the group. Below my take on the Helpoort (gate to Hell), the oldest city gate in the Netherlands. Acrylic gouache on toned paper.

Zeche Zollverein (2)

 

After te rain stopped, I went to this view, to paint the long rows of former coke ovens. I made a sketch years ago on the same location ( https://renefijten.blogspot.com/2017/05/zeche-zollverein.html ), tried it with gouache this time. A very complicated painting, I quite underestimated it. In the end I ran out of time, had to do some touchups at home.

Zeche Zollverein

 

Painting made in an old, abandoned cokes producing plant in Germany, Zeche Zollverein. It was raining outside, So I deceided to paint a detail in the interior.

Enschede: café Moeke

 

I just had a great weekend. Not only did I visit my good friend Igor (which I hadn't seen since my study days, 35 years ago) and his lovely partner Wilma, but the Urban Sketching Netherlands organized a Saturday of sketching in Enschede. This is café Moeke, where all 220 participants assembled before we went into town to paint and sketch.

Spoorwegmuseum

 

Urban Sketchers Netherlands (of which I am boardmember) organized an event in Utrecht, at the Spoorwegmuseum (railway museum). There were numerous trains to paint and draw. And we had 350 sketchers joining us, a great event. I made three drawings. One of them was a total failure, which I destroyed immediately. The other two were fine. This is the front part of a huge Scottish steam train, exhibited because it played a role in the liberation of the Netherlands, 80 years ago. black ink on toned paper, with white gouache.

Evening clouds

 

Evening clouds. In gouache. Just painting away.

Den Bosch St Jan

 

Also painted on location, acrylic gouache on toned papeer, the cathedral of 's Hertogenbosch.

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.

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!

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.

Amstenrade in gouache

 

 

 This morning I went painting in the park behind the castle of Amstenrade (just about 1 km from my house). It was not cold, and I was be able to do this painting in (acrylic) gouache on darkbrown toned paper. In the picture you can see my gouache setup, fixed on a camera tripod. I made the box myself.

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.

Maastricht: Huis op de jeker

 

Another experiment: using gouache on location. I made a portable gouache box, to be mounted on a camera tripod. I painted this house before. It worked out fine, but there is room for improvement on the box.

Small portrait

A small portrait in my sketchbook, after a picture, made with Holbein acrylic gouache. 15x10cm.
 

Igor Stravinsky

 

Igor Stravinsky, composer. After a B/W picture from the Internet. 

Holbein acrylic gouache on toned paper.

Portrait

Acrylic gouache on toned paper. Size A4. After a picture I found on the Internet.

Marcel Duchamp

 

Marcel Duchamp. Even as a young boy I was fascinated by this futurist/dadaist/surrealist artist, I would devour all available books from our local library. I especially like "The bride stripped...", which I still don't understand.

Anyway, it is painted after I black and white picture I found (from the NYT). With acrylic gouache, on black toned paper, A4. It was quite complicated to translate the black and white into colour tones.

Drawing

 

Ink combined with Acrylic gouache. Based on a painting by Izumi Kogahara.

Philip Glass

 

Philip Glass, my all time favourite composer. I went to a lot of concerts with his compositions, even saw him perform his work personnaly a few times. Based on a picture from the NYT, and a youtube tutorial of Emily Hues.

Lately I tried to handle gouache, but somehow it didn't work for me. So I bought a set of high quality japanese stuff: Holbein acrylic gouache. This is my first try, so far I am really pleased how it behaves.

Portrait in gouache

Quite dissatisfied with my drawings and paintings lately. The weather is too horrible to go outside. As compensation I have been trying to improve my portrait skills and trying gouache. But I already threw away quite a number of trials. Even this one, based on a picture of some soccer/football trainer, is not what I was looking for.