Den Bosch, the St. Jan

We had a great weekend in 's Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), where I helped to organize a 2 day Urbn sketching meeting. I gave workshops on perspective drawing for urban sketchers.

Just in between the workshop and the social activities I had the opportunity to make this sketch. It was drizzling a bit, but I was protected by a screen above the terrace where I was sitting. With a nice cup of coffee. What a joy. I used a fude pen with Platinum ink and some watercolour in my Moleskine A4 notebook.

Any St.Martin Rieux (1)

I just returned from a great week, drawing and painting in Any-St. Martin-Rieux, a small village in France, just south of the Belgian border.

We did several assignments, initiated by the artist Annemiek Jongen, who organized the week. All together our group consisted out of 12 painters. 

Great scenery, perfect warm weather, plein-air painting during the day, superb French food for dinner, great company in the evening, and don't forget the abundant amounts of white wine: making art doesn't get better than this. 

Wolf skull

 

Wolf skull. It was drawn with hard carré pastels, on a piece of paper they use to fill the voids in those far too large Internet shopping boxes.

Pentecost

 

During the mass of Pentecost I saw this old lady sitting in the front row of the church benches. I sing in the choir, standing behind the altar, so I could not avoid looking at her. As an excercise I tried to recall her face and draw her from memory.

Soul draining

 

I still record my dreams, for more than 3 years now. I already recorded and sketched about 370 or so.

This was an image from a dream I woke up with on May 23rd.. A metallic hovering machine with a writhing soft underbelly, draining the soul out of an old collapsed building. And a boy hiding behind a burnt out car. Weird, I know.

Terstraten, Nuth, barn door

Out sketching this afternoon. A short ride on my wife's bike (mine was stolen last monday), and I saw this barn door in Terstraten. The farmers wife came by; as I remarked that I loved that door she responded: "I only see an urgent paintjob".
 

Brunssummerheide (2)

 

Another one of the Brunssummerheide, on a location just maybe 100 meters from the previous drawing.

Brunsummerheide

Went out drawing in gthe nature, took my bike and cycled on the sanddunes and heath of the Brunsummer heide. Fountain pen and watercoour in Moleskine.
 

Porthgain Harbour

 

Portgain harbour Wales. Watercolour, based on a picture I found on the Internet by Cathy Cooper.

I have been to Wales, but never to this place. Seems quite lovely.

Coffeebar "Het Front"

Made during the Maastricht sketchcrawl last Saturday. A coffebar in a converted seacontainer. The Owner was quite enthousiastic and brought us coffee twice. It was nice to be out sketching again.

Zoe and Bèr

 

Sketchmeeting at the Fronten, Maastricht this afternoon. Here are Bèr en Zoe in action.

Sunday afternoon at the reservoir

 

Some doodling led to this image. Atramentis brown ink, and washed out brown Pentel color brush. I had that brush lying around unused for more than 10 years. I finally found use for it.

Bloody angle, NYC

 

Experimenting with watercolours. Based on an interesting technique I saw with the artist Tim Saternow. Contrary to the usual way of working where you start with light tones and you work your way to more darker colours, this one is the other way around. You start with the black parts, and work your way to the lighter tones. Based on a picture I took some years ago in New York: Doyers street, aka the bloody angle.

Bart van Kampen

 

Saw a picture of a man in the paper of jan 21st. It was an article of some of the survivors of the floods of 70 years ago. Large parts of Zeeland  were flooded in a major storm, the dykes collapsed, causing more than 1800 deaths. Platinum ink, washed out immediately before it dries.

Ridderkerk, tugboat

 

Visiting Ridderkerk, near Rotterdam. I checked the harbouor, and noticed this old tugboat. There was a storm, and it was drizzling. Typical Dutch Spring weather. I managed to position my car so I could draw from behind the wheel. With some nice music on the radio...

Kinderdijk

 

I had a Business meeting near Kinderdijk. It's one of the most iconic places in Holland. Very close to each other there are 19 authentic windmills (dating back to about 1750), to keep the water out of the lower terrains, the polders.

But I had never visited it. As I finished the meeting early, I thought I'd make a detour and eat my sandwiches there. But parking was not possible, so I parked randomly along a street nearby. There I saw this view between rows of houses. So I tool the opportunity.

Duke Confusius fude pen.

Car wrecks

The local Firebrigade excercises on real cars; to be able to tear cars apart in case the passengers get stuck after an accident. They have a few of these in their parking lot.

In cse you wonder: these were a Daihatsu Move and a Citroen C3. Just imagine: not so long ago a new owner were proud to recieve the keys of these cars. Well, these keys were still on the car.....
 

Nantrona

 Too busy to go out ans sketch this week. Thi is a quick one of a picture by Patrick Joust, of a house in Nantrona, somewhere in Pennsylvania.

Terborgh

Drawing this afternoon, on location again, the former mill at the castle of Terborgh in Schinnen. Brown ink, Noodlers flex fountain pen in a Moleskine A4.
 

Charcoal

 

Excercises in charcoal. Left the usual willow charcoal, right siberian compressed charcaol. Both wahsed out with water. I personnaly like the siberian charcoal better.