Mike

Art class today. Live model charcoal drawing of Mike. First you make your paper black, than use an eraser to find the light spots. I don't like the technique, but it's a good exercise.
Kunstklasje vandaag: naar levend model. Eerst het papier zwart maken met houtskool, daarna de lichte delen weggummen.

St. Helens

 Visit to St. Helens, UK. I was able to make a stroll before the dark set in, and made these 2 sketches. Left the backside of the Sefton Arms in center of town.
The bottom sketch is an original glass melter from about 1790, part of the St. Helens museum "world of glass", located next to the hotel I stayed in.
England has a lot to learn about food: we went to an Italian restaurant; much to our surprise we got mashed potatoes with our meat.... No pasta for miles.
Bezoek aan St. Helens, Engeland. Ik kon nog net een wandelingetje maken voordat het donker werd. Bovenste schets is de achterkant van een lokale pub "Sefton Arms". Beneden de uit 1790 stammende glasoven, onderdeel van het museum "world of glass".

Burning Ghat

Burning Ghat in Varanasi, India. The image of these burning corpses still haunts me. De crematieplaatsen in Varanasi. Ik krijg het beeld van de brandende lijken niet uit mijn hoofd.

Canto Ostinato

I went to a lay-down pianoconcert in Heerlen, yesterday evening. You were allowed to take a mat with you, and lay down on the stage to enjoy the music. Most visitors did, but I decided to stay on the balcony. The music (contemporary classical) was of the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt,  arguably his best piece: Canto Ostinato, It was performed by Sandra en Jeroen van Veen. They played the short version (1,5 hour); the long version is 4 pianos and takes 4 hours without a break.
Unfortunately it was too dark to draw, as you can see most of the lines are quite shaky.
Ligconcert in het theater van Heerlen, een uitvoering van Canto Ostinato van Simeon ten Holt.

Holy cow

Sacred cows, always calm within the turmoil of the city. Mixed media, made from leftover tickets from our trip to India; I tore out the cow figure. Heilige koeien, altijd rustig temidden van de hectiek van de stad. Gemaakt van overgebleven tickets van onze India reis.

Tebodin Insight

Tebodin Insight, the international magazine of my company, featured an article on my urban sketching.
Er stond een artikel over mijn "urban sketching" in Tebodin Insight, ons internationale bedrijfsblad.

Pontiac Trans Am

I found this Pontiac Trans-Am on a parking lot on the Brunssumerheide. The owner, who was training his huge dog, told me it was from 1979. Drawn and painted on location.
Ik vond deze Pontiac Trans Am op de parkeerplaats bij de koffiepoel op de Brussummerheide. De eigenaar was zijn  hond aan het uitlaten; bij terugkomst vertelde hij dat deze wagen uit 1979 stamt. Ter plekke getekend en geschilderd.

King

My son Mart gave me a copy of the new Linkin Park album "a thousand suns". One song stands out: LP used parts of a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King from 1967 into a song. After all these years still impressive.
Mart gaf me het nieuwe album van Linkin Park. In een van de songs is de tekst van een speech van Dr. Martin Luther King verwerkt. Na al die jaren nog steeds indrukwekkend.

1/2 marathon

Today I ran the Eindhoven 1/2 marathon, 21 km in 1hour 51.48 minutes (it means I left 60% of the 6800 runners behind me).
I've done better in the past, but I have been fighting off an ankle injury since a year now. At last it's gone.
Running is my other time consuming hobby. I'm doing it for thirty years now; nowadays about 25-30km/week. And each sunday morning on the Brunssumer heide with my athletics club, STAP-Brunssum.
Sketching and running does not go well together: once you run you don't stop to draw. I personally don't like this sketch so much, too static and unbalanced, but as illustration for the occasion it's OK.
It's the start of the STAP run in Brunssum, held a week ago, organized by my club.
Vandaag de halve marathon van Eindhoven gelopen in 1uur 52min.
Hardlopen is mijn andere hobby, ik loop 3 keer per week, ook bij de vereniging AV STAP Brunssum.
De schets is de start van de STAP loop in Brunssum, vorige week zaterdag.

Catacombes

Catacombes in Paris. We visited them the last day. It is an incredible sight: hundres thousand bones and skulls, piled up meters high in eerie underground caverns. Unbelievable this is just some meters under the Paris streets. The bones were transported from abandoned cemeteries in the late 18th and 19th century, whenever Paris needed the area for housing. The sketches were hard to make, it was quite dark down there.

De Catacomben in Parijs, een gangenstelsel met honderdduizenden botten en schedels! De botten zijn in de 18e en 19e eeuw vanuit opgeruimde kerkhoven rondom Parijs naar dez grotten getransporteerd. Indrukwekkend en griezelig tegelijk.

Place du Tertre

Place du Tertre, Paris, where a lot of artists (of different quality) are ready to draw you. This is my effort to draw them (on location). Place du Tertre, Parijs, waar een hoop kunstenaars klaar staan om je te tekenen. Mijn poging om hun te tekenen.

Projects

Artist impressions of two of the projects I am working on presently. Above a project for the University of Maastricht, a behavioural study unit in the Academic hospital. The volunteers in these units are totally closed off from the world in a physical sense, each drop of sweat or breath is measured. The drawing shows the technical installations needed for that. Below an artist impression of the renovation of a laboratorium in St. Helens, England. Impressies van twee projecten waar ik momenteel aan werk, boven Academisch ziekenhuis van de Universiteit Maastricht, studieunits voor de faculteit  gedragswetenschappen. Onder de renovatie van een laboraorium in St. Helens, Engeland.

Pere Lachaise

Paris, last weekend. We visited the Cimetière Pere Lachaise. A city for the dead within a city for the living. Sketch made at the side of the grave of Jim Morrison, singer of the band "the Doors". Which existed half a century ago. I think hippies become extinct, this time there were no young smoking weed any more.
Parijs, bezoek aan de begraafplaats Pere Lachaise. Een stad voor de doden middenin een stad voor de levenden. Schets gemaakt naast het graf van Jim Morrisson.

Paris, Clignancourt

Last weekend I went to Paris with my wife and some friends, we had a terrific time except for the most horrible hotel I ever stayed in.
I have been to Paris a lot of times, but I gave my friends the highlight tour this time. My favourite must-see is the flea market of Porte de Clignancourt. A sketch of the antique part, piled up old cast iron garden objects. Too much to see, too little time to sketch.
Een lekker weekeinde naar Parijs met een stel vrienden (afgezien van het verschrikkelijke hotel). Het was de highlight tour dit keer, waaronder de vlooienmarkt van Porte de Clignancourt. Een schtes van het antiek deel: hoog opgestapelde gietijzeren tuinbeelden. Geweldig.

Amsterdam Spaarndammerbuurt

Social housing in Amsterdam, dating back from 1917, in the Spaarndammerbuurt. Architect was Michel de Klerk. They decorated an apartment and a postoffice in the original state, as a museum "het schip". Worth a visit. I visited it a week ago during a trip with colleague architects.
Sociale woningbouw uit 1917. Spaarndammerbuurt, Amsterdam. Getekend tijdens een bezoek aan het museum, "Het schip", tijdens een BNA excursie naar Amsterdam.

The rams head

England, again for business. I visited St. Helens and walked Haydock; it was nice weather, but nothing inspiring to draw. I counted more fish&chips shops (3) and chinese takeaways (3) than bakers (1). Even the supermarket was closed down, and so was the local pub, "the rams head". Which I sketched.
Bezoek aan Haydock, Engeland. Mooi weer, maar een weinig inspirerend dorp. Zelfs de supermarkt en het cafe "the rams head" waren dichtgetimmerd. Toch maar getekend.

Roger 50

I made this object as a surprise for my brother Roger, who became 50 a few weeks ago.

Een zelfgemaakte surprise voor de 50e verjaardag van mijn broer, Roger.

Burning Ghats

This is a sketch of the "Burning Ghat" of Varanasi (Benares), on the Ganges; the place where the Indians burn their dead.
We stood on a balcony in the billowing smoke, only 3 meters above the burning corpses. 2 were burning, one nearly burnt up, and of one pile the wood was still smoldering.
I wil explain the tradition: after a person dies, the oldest son is shaven bald, and he and 6 bearers put the corpse in a colourful blanket and transport it almost running through the winding streets towards the ghat on the river. Dead are supposed to be cremated within 2 hours.
The corpse is put on a pile of wood, the blanket removed (the face becomes visible), and lit. It takes 3 hours to burn, the oldest son waits near the stairs on the right hand side. After the pile is completely burned the ashes are collected in shallow baskets. A guy standing in the water (at the left staircase) slowly shifts the ashes in the water from leftover metal of the teeth or rings, and gives it to the guy in the boat. The black ashes will disperse over the water towards the bathers only 100 meter away.
It was the most horrible what we saw during our trip. I did not draw or photograph this on location, I considered that to be disrespectful for the dead. Instead I memorized the scene and drew this later that night in the hotel. Not difficult, not only can I recall the scene in every detail even now, I dreamt about it for days.
De crematie plaatsen van Varanasi, langs de Ganges. We zagen daar de lijkverbrandingen van enkele meters afstand. Uit respect geen schets ter plaatse, maar die avond in het hotel uit mijn herinnering nagetekend.

Streetlife Varanasi

Some scenes from the streets of Varanasi (Benares). Above the taxis waiting in the shade of the trees, on the other side of the street from the hotel. The car is an "Ambassador", based on the 1958 Morris Oxford. And still manufactured today! While drawing the proud taxidriver told me this one was 4 years old, and had all modern features like airco, power steering and braking, multi point injection etc.
Below a guy sharpening knives, as seen from the 1st floor balcony of the "open hand", a backpacker cafe with the only decent espresso in all of India.
Straatscenes van Varanasi. Taxi's aan de overkant van het hotel. De auto is een Ambassador, een model uit 1958, maar nog steeds in productie. Deze was pas 4 jaar oud. 
En een schets van een scharensliep, getekend tijdens het drinken van een espresso op het balkon van een backpackercafe.

Varanasi

Varanasi (Benares) is the famous pilgrimage city on the Ganges. It's the oldest city recorded to man. Above a scene drawn from the roofterrace of the Dolphin guesthouse, overlooking houses on the riverbank of the Ganges. A woman was chasing after monkeys on the rooftopswhile I drew this, very funny. Next morning at 5 am we went with a boat on the river, where we saw numerous bathers diving into the unbelievably filthy Ganges water. Just a few hundered meter from where human ashes and remains were thrown into the same water....  Schetsen van de Ganges, Varanasi. Boven: gezicht vanaf het dakterras van een guesthouse. Tijdens het tekenen was een vrouw aan het jagen op aartsbrutale aapjes... De volgende morgen om 5uur maakten we een boottochtje op de rivier, overal badende mensen in het ongelooflijk smerige water. Honderd meter vanaf de crematieplaatsen...