Paris, Rue du Bac

We were sitting on a terrace near the Gare d'Orsay, where I sketched an artist who was selling his own work, on the bank of the Seine. It was hot and he sat in the shade of the roadsign. Every 10 minutes he had to move to stay in the shade. Parijs, deze tekenaar zocht de schaduw, aan de oevers van de Seine.

Paris, Pont des arts

Paris, the "Pont des arts". Each evening young people would sit on the bridge over the Seine and picknick in the warm evening sun. The Louvre on one side, the École des beaux arts on the other. Boats below. Spanish guitars. Friends, food and wine. How romantic can you get.

Paris, Porte de Clignancourt

Visited Paris a few weeks ago. They sold old rusty cast iron statues here, in the antiques part of the flea market of Porte Clignancourt. Bezoek aan Parijs, hier vekochten ze oude roestige gietijzeren beelden. Porte de Clignancourt.

Stutz blackhawk

Seen at the Cruise-in (Heerlen/Kerkrade): this rare Stutz Blackhawk 1971. What a design! Elvis bought the first, when it came out. Gezien bij de Cruise in: deze Stutz Blackhawk 1971.

Sofia Loka

Drawing of the furnace of the stone wool insulation plant of Sofia Loka, Slovenija. Knauf. The steel Cupola melts the stone up to 1700 degrees. The fluid stone falls on the spinners, fast rotating wheels, thus forming fibers. Tekening van de steenwol oven in Sofia Loka, Slovenië. It was no pleasure making the drawing: fumes, wind, heat and ear splitting noise.

Tuin

My back garden, for the moly exchange book of Scoach. I made a walk through my backgarden and sketched Marsha and Yana. Schetsen van de achtertuin, Marsha en Yana. Voor de Moly_58 exchange, Scoach boekje.

USS West Virginia

Experimenting with two kinds of brushpens, both Pentel, waterproof and non-waterproof. I used a famous picture of the attack on Pearl Harbour, the USS West Virginia. Actually an idea of Bea Meira. Uittesten van twee soorten brushpens; een tekening van een gezonken schip bij Pearl Harbour.

London, Westminster

The last of the London sketches, on Cowley street, the backside of some houses just behind Westminster Abbey. De achterkant van enkele huizen achter Westminster Abbey.

London, Soho

After a long day of shopping and museums, we came across a small park off Oxford street, I believe Soho square. While resting on the grass, I made these sketches of this small building, total alien to London.
Een klein gebouwtje in het midden van Soho Park (denk ik). Verwacht je niet in hartje Londen.

London, speakers corner

On sunday we went to Hyde park, speakers corner. Mart loved the hot discussions, and even took part. There was this lady (above) with very english-first opinions. It's good that there a place for this kind of free speech, but I did feel that some opinions don't deserve an audience.

Hyde park, speakers corner. Daar mag iedereen zijn mening verkondigen, en in discussie gaan. Mart vond het geweldig.

More London

Telephone booths at Russel square, next to our Hotel. The floor was littered with explicit advertisement cards. I made the drawing early morning while Mart was still asleep. Telefooncel op de hoek van Russel square, London. Below a live street interview on the swine flu, at Whitehall, in front of the department of health. Remember we saw the same scene in New York? Live reportage over de Mexicaanse griep in Whitehall. Zagen we ook in New York.

London

A week ago I visited London, together with my 17 year old son, Mart. We had a terrific time, not in the least due to the beautiful weather. Luckily I had some time to sketch. Here one of the icons of London, the Tower bridge. And a view towards St. Pauls across the Thames from the Tate Museum of Modern art. Samen met Mart een paar dagen naar London geweest. Een geweldige reis gehad. Tower bridge en St. Pauls vanaf Modern Tate.

Luchballon Patersweg

Last sunday a balloon passed over our house, just missing our roof. It landed on the field a few houses down the road. Only next to a house you realise how big these things are. Afgelopen zondag landde een luchtballon op het veld langs de Akerstraat. Pas naast een huis zie je hoe groot die dingen zijn.

Renovation

The attic of our house (from 1939) needed insulation. It took Mart (my son) and I one and half a week to do. The surface is about 90m2, and the attic is 5,5m high. De zolder van ons huis (uit 1939) moest worden geïsoleerd. Wat een klus, we (Mart en ik) hadden er anderhalve week voor nodig.

Cruise-in

Last thursday, at the Cruise-in old timer meeting in Kerkrade-Heerlen, there was this terrific shiny mean looking blue car, a Mercury eight 1950, converted into a "leadsled". Afgelopen donderdag, by de Cruise-in meeting in Kerkrade-Heerlen, zag ik dit blauwe gemeen kijkend monster. Prachtig. Volgens ingewijden een Mercury eight, 1950, verbouwd tot "leadsled" (toepasselijk).

Cruise-in

Each thursday evening, on a parking lot in Kerkrade/Heerlen, old car enthousiast meet to show their cars. It's not only the shiny, beautifully restored cars, but also the enthousiasm of the owners. Proudly they will tell you tips on spare parts, how to restore a chassis or where to get a decent paintjob. And accompanied by some strong stories of course.Above a Chevrolet Bel air 1957, a Ford pickup from the 50's, and its proud owners. Below a micro car: a Mochet Abeille (I never heard of that before).
De Cruise-in op het Roda stadion parkeerterrein in Kerkrade/Heerlen. Oldtimer enthousiastelingen komen daar samen om hun auto's te showen. Elke donderdagavond. En, mooier dan de auto's zijn de verhalen. Boven een Chevrolet Bel air 1957 en een Ford Pickup uit de 50-er jaren. Onder een microcar: een Mochet Abeille. had ik nooit eerder van gehoord.

Port de Visé

Last week, high temperatures. I decided to spend my lunchbreak at the little harbour of Visé. Schets van de haven van Visé. Lekker in de schaduw gedurende de lunchpauze.

Maigret

I read "L' affaire de St. Fiacre" a book featuring commissaire Maigret. I read it in French to improve my language. Vintage. Gelezen: "l' affaire de St. Fiacre" een avontuur van Maigret, door Simenon.

Mosasaurus

A week ago I visited the museum for natural history in Maastricht, together with my daughter, Rianne. They had the first found remnants (1770, in Maastricht) of a Mosasaurus on display, The French took it to Paris when they occupied the town in 1790. After 210 years it came back, for a few weeks anyway. This skeleton of a long extinct type of dinosaur eventually led to Darwins theory about the species.

De Mosasaurus bezocht in Maastricht. Gevonden in 1770, gejat in 1790, en tijdelijk terug in Maastricht voor het Darwinjaar. Getekend en geschilderd ter plekke.

Marsha

Marsha, our cat. The other cat, Yana, is younger and keeps moving, too difficult to draw. Fountainpen. Marsha, slapend op de terrasbank. Yana rent rond, dat is lastig te tekenen.