Dieselpunk

Sometimes I start drawing on one side of the paper, proceeding to the other corner, without having an idea what to draw in the first place. And lines become objects; the drawing developes itself.
I just found out this kind of fantasy machinery is called "dieselpunk".
Soms begin ik met potloodlijn op een wit vel papier, een doodle, en opeens wordt zoiets een tekening. Ik ontdekte ook dat dit soort fantasie machines "dieselpunk" heet.

Spatula

Painting class last week. A first time using spatula (I am not sure about the english word: maybe painting knife). Having trouble getting the feel for the technique.
Spatel techniek bij life portret. Een eerste poging; ik heb moeite om me de techniek eigen te maken.

Trega terrain

Demolition on the Trega terrain in Maastricht is still going on, see the earlier demolition sketch. This time drawn from the Firestation side, on the ramp to the Noorderbrug. Last friday during lunchbreak.
Sloopwerken op het Trega terrein, gezien vanaf de brandweerkazerne bij de Noorderbrug.

Madison Avenue

Two years ago we visited New York, and I saw these steampipes on Madison avenue. I did not like the sketch, but the scene kept humming in my mind. When I saw the work of the painter Ronald Dupont in an exhibition in Gent, I knew I had to try this scene in that kind of style. Here it is. Acryl, 50x70cm.
Twee jaar geleden, tijdens ons bezoek aan New York, zagen we deze scene van enkele stoompijpen op Madison Avenue. Geschilderd in de stijl van de schilder Ronald Dupont. Acryl 50x70cm.

Landbouwbelang

Maastricht, sketch made during lunchtime yesterday, at the loading cranes for the river ships on the Maas.
Kades aan de achterzijde van de Landbouwbelang gebouwen, de oude kranen voor de belading van de binnenschepen.

Mp3 player

Live model art class last Saturday. Painting of a boy listening to his MP3 player. I have to learn to limit the highlights.
Model schilderen, afgelopen zaterdag. Acryl 50x70

Yellow cab

Working on a large painting 60x100cm; this is a detail. A New York yellow cab, based on a picture I took when we visited NYC two years ago. I am not satisfied with this part, but I am not sure why. Any ideas?
Detail van een schilderij van New York, waar ik op dit moment aan werk. Niet tevreden over dit deel, maar ik weet niet waarom.

Burglars

Burglars broke into our house last Monday. We don't have a lot to steal, but still they managed to get away with my laptop and harddiskdrive (on which I had all my backups) and some other loose stuff like my beard trimmer (!) Worse is the damage and mess they left: they had been looking into all closets and cupboards, leaving clothes and emptied boxes all over the place. This is how my son's room looked like.
Two lessons: we will get an alarm and I will make proper backups.

Inbraak in ons huis afgelopen maandag.  Niet zo erg veel gestolen (hoewel, elk object is een teveel), maar ze hebben wel een hoop schade en een puinhoop achtergelaten.

Demolition

Maastricht, the Tregaterrain. Formerly a ceramics industry, making room for a residential area. Just around the corner from my office. Sloopwerken in Beatrixhaven, Maastricht, het voormalige Tregaterrein.

Herkenrade

Traditional Limburg farmhouse in Herkenrade, near St. Geertuid, not far from the Belgian border. I pass it almost each day while driving to work, so a few days ago I decided to stop and sketch it.
Oude boerenhuis in Herkenrade, een gehucht vlakbij Sint Geertruid. 'sMorgens vroeg, op weg naar mijn werk.

Madagaskar

I normally don't show other man's  stuff, but I gladly make an exception for this.
Look at this video from Bastien Dubois and be amazed.

Mexico

Another of my drawings was featured in a magazine from..... Mexico (!)
Printed in a town called Santiago de Queretaro.
I have no idea where they found this drawing of last years Carnaval in Hoensbroek, but here it is, page 10 of the cultural magazine "Sada y el Bombon". For the complete issue: http://issuu.com/sadabombon/docs/edicion2
Een van mijn tekeningen van het carnaval in Hoensbroek is gepubliceerd in een cultureel tijdschrift uit.... Mexico (!). 
Geen idee hoe ze eraan komen, maar ja, zo wordt Hoensbroek nog eens bekend over de wereld.

Gertie

This is Gertie, my wife. Yesterday she stood model in my art class. The first painting went totally wrong, but I was pleased about the second painting, which you see here to the left. I feel uncomfortable to paint family, but I finally feel I reached the level where I can get away with it.
50x70cm, acryl, took me an hour to paint.
Below the version by one of the other painters of the class, Tina Heins, also an excellent painting.
Portret masterclass, gisterenmorgen, Gertie stond model. Boven mijn tweede schilderij (de eerste was helemaal mislukt). Onder het schilderij van Tina Heins, een van de medecursisten, ook een schitterend resultaat.

Another of the paintings was posted by Rodney: see  http://rodneyvdb.blogspot.com/
Nice to see so many personal versions of the same subject.

Tram

Exercise in wet-in wet technique, in my wc-moleskine 13x20cm. Check out the website of Henri Arifin www.herryarifin.com and don't miss his painting demonstration on youtube.
Oefening in nat-in nat techniek. Zie de site van Henri Arifin en zijn schilderdemonstraties op youtube.

Kindercarnaval

Drawing representing the costumes of the children's parade of last year
It's part of the Carnaval festivities in Hoensbroek: on saturday each school (children and parents) dress up in different costumes, and form a colourful parade. I made this sketch based on pictures, as illustration for our local "Vasteloavend gezet D'r UUL" our local newspaper.
Kinderoptocht in Hoensbroek, de kostuums van het afgelopen jaar. Gemaakt voor de UUL, carnavalskrant.

Soft tones

Live model painting class. Exercise in smooth transitions of  tones. Mwah. I prefer the vivid style in which the texture of the brush stroke is still visible, like of last week.
Modelklas, oefening in zachte overgangen tussen tonen. Niet mijn favoriete stijl, het blijkt nu dat ik een levendigere penseelstreek eigenlijk leuker vind.

Not so much urban sketching presently. I'll have to do something about that.

Sponge

Elise, live portrait painting class. We were not allowed to use brushes, only acrylic and water, to be applied with a sponge (one of those you use to clean pots and pans). Objective was not so much to represent the model, but to figure out light, tonality and depth. 50x65cm, cost me 30 minutes to paint.
Schilderoefening: portret geschilderd met een schuursponsje; kwasten waren uit den boze. Doel was het vinden van licht, diepte en tonaliteit, en het voorkomen van details. Ik maakte 4 van deze in 2 uur.

Parade

Yes, I know it's early (Carnaval starts in March this year), but the local Carnaval newspaper asked me to rework on older sketch of the arrival of the Prince on the market square of Hoensbroek.
Een nieuwe versie van een oudere schets, gemaakt voor de carnavalskrant van Gebrook: d'r Uul. Een beetje vroeg misschien...

Bokeh

Trafficlights of the Patersweg/Akerstraat, early morning, as seen with my glasses off. I just found out that this style of unsharp images is called Bokeh. This acrylic painting on canvas 40x50cm is based on a picture I posted a few weeks ago. Schilderij van de kruising Patersweg en Akerstraat, vroeg in de morgen, gezien zonder mijn bril. Dit soort onscherpe afbeeldingen heet Bokeh.
Best wishes for the new year!

Amstenrade

Church of Amstenrade, just around the corner from my house. I tried to make a few sketches while it was snowing, but that did not work, the ink got all smudgy. And I got cold. This was the only acceptable one, which I coloured later at home. Kerk van Amstenrade, geschetst in de vallende sneeuw. Dit was de enige acceptabele schets, de rest was viezig.