Roermond Rattentoren

 

Went out sketching on location again, in Roernond. This is the "rattentoren" (the tower of the rats. No idea why it is called that way). With Ruud Otten; even though it was cold, out of the wind it was still okay. I was able to try one of Ruud's self made watercolour naps, the green tones in this drawings.

Jean Rochefort

Sometimes I get so frustrated doing portraits in colour, I just go back to my default mode: ink drawings in moleskine sketchbooks. This one is from a picture of the french actor Jean Rochefort. 

I found a page: 100 pictures to use to excersise drawing/painting portraits. Good training stuff.

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.

Slave ship

 

Busy time of year, all kinds of projects to be finished before January 1st. I read an old comic book "Master race" by Bernie Krigstein, dating from 1955. Beautiful B&W drawng work. Based on one of his drawings in the story "Slave ship".

St. Jan demolition

View from my study window: today they started tearing down the high school across the street. The new school buildings are behind this old wing. I have a lot of old memories in these buildings: my wife, both my children and I spent long years in there.

Astrid 2

 

Live portrait session, quick charcoal sketches, 10 minutes each.

Astrid

 

Live portrait painting session at Annemiek Jongens atelier: Astrid. The idea was to make an underpainting, to study light/dark and tonal quality. I couldn't resist to add warm/cool colours. Took about an hour to make. Acryic on bamboo paper 50x60cm.

Antoing

Quick scene in gouache, after a view we saw a few weeks ago, during a walk along on of the canals in Antoing, Belgium. Unfortunately not made on location, I am still reluctant to bring gouache to on location drawing/painting.

Alfa Bear trail run

I usually don't post personal things, just drawings, but I am quite proud of my achievement yesterday. I did the Alfa Bear Trail run in Schinnen: 12,7 km running with a height difference of 300 meters (that's the height of the Eiffeltower), over steep hills, footpaths and through mud, mud and more mud. 

I finished in 1 hour and 25 minutes, which gave me place 237 of 430. To put this in perspective: I am 65 years old, there were only 10 other runners of my age or older.

Baltimore

The dark days of Nevember, it's dark when I get home from work, no chance to draw or paint outside. So here is a page from my sketchbook, a portrait of a man from Baltimore, based on a picture by Patrick Joust. Made with my Duke Confucius (fude) fountainpen.

Suriname

Each week my newspaper (Volkskrant) features interviews with 100-year old seniors. To learn from their wisdom. Some months ago they had an interview with an old lady from Suriname, don't remember her name, but it was a very interesting take on our society. I saved the picture and used it for this gouache painting on toned paper. I am not sure it really resembles her, but it was interesting to do.

Maastricht "de hoge Fronten"

I took an afternoon in Maastricht. Make a walk on the "Hoge Fronten", the extensive defensive works surrounding Maastricht, dating fom the 18th century. Maastricht has had some bad expecience with sieges from Spaniards and French troops (in one of them d'Artagnan, one of the three musketteers, died). Anyway, this is a view of the defence works, looking towards the former Lambertus church.

Sunflowers

 Cycling to my work in the early morning, I passed a field with dried out sunflowers. I went into the field to draw some. Autumn has finally arrived.

Exhibition Hulsberg

 

A small exhibition of a few of some of my paintings was opened today in Hulsberg, at the local doctors practice "Huisartsenpraktijk Hulsberg". I am quite proud to see those works there.

Even though I paint and draw a lot, I realized that I seldom frame the paintings. I never take the time to do it, obviously I am always eager to produce sometihng new. But it makes the paintings better. Lesson learned.

House on the moors

 

Haven't been sketching in the wild for weeks. Neither is this, but I wanted to draw something, some composition drawing. Just putting the pen on the paper, at the chimney, and observing where the lines go.

On a terrace in Ieper

Trying to work with Gouache on toned paper. Based on a picture I took from a guy sitting on a terrace on the Market square in Ieper (not made on location). I am not sure I am using gouache properly, I think I use it too much like watercolour. Still a lot to learn.

Antoing: Eco holiday camp

 

My wife and I had a nice weekend in a small cottage on a holiday camp in Antoing, near the Belgian-French border. It was an "Eco" holiday camp: the wooden boat shaped cottages were located in the middle of the nature, in between shrubbery and trees, and actually floating above the ground not to disturb the nature.

We used the opportunity to visit Ieper and the World War 1 museums and trenches. Quite chilling when you realize what is going on in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.

Mauritshuis, The Hague

During my visit to The Hague, I visited the Mauritshuis. House of Vermeer's "girl with the pearl earring". And my favourite Rembrandt painting: "lesson in anatomy by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp".
There was a visitor, who was very interested in another Rembrandt painting in the same room. He practically stood with his nose against the painting.

Plein, The Hague

I was in The Hague yesterday, for business. And to visit the museum "Mauritshuis" (with the Vermeer and Rembrandt paintings). Before the visit I made this quick sketch of the square in front of the building.

Euphemia

 

Euphemia.

TRADING CITIES 1: Proceeding eighty miles into the northwest wind, you reach the city of Euphemia, where the merchants of seven nations gather at every solstice and equinox. (excerpt from Italo Calvino's book: The invisible cities.)