Garden Stories

"The Garden seen from the House"
60x40cm, oil on wooden panel

Fall began kicking in early and I wanted to catch this scene before it was too late. I wound up painting it three times from end August to mid September. The larger work above might not be completely finished but the garden has already moved on. Below are two smaller earlier versions. Every time the sun came out, it was like a fireworks display:

"Feeling a bit like fall"
35x25cm oil on canvas panel

 

"That yellow bush!"
30x30cm oil on canvas panel

On rainy days, I worked on a Monet copy I had started ages ago (one of his many versions of "The House seen from the Garden"). Wow, look at that color scheme and calligraphy!

Copy of Monet's "The House seen from the Garden"
30x30cm oil on canvas panel

 

 

Sketches in Green

Green no.1

Green no.2

Green no.3

Green no.4

 

Green no.5

Spring is always a wonderful time to paint outdoors, but then I get discouraged when summer comes along and everything turns green. This year I decided to conquer my fear of green. A roll of 40cm unstretched primed cotton canvas made a handy support for exploring the garden's tree/shrub shapes in oil. Not sure I now have a better grasp of color but I thoroughly enjoyed trying to make sense of the chaotic foliage. 

Place à l'art 2025 - Wolvendael Park in Uccle

"Sunny afternoon at Parc Wolvendael"
15x15cm oil on cotton panel
(private collection, Brussels)

UPDATE: the final concert and "Place à l'art" of Sunday 31 August will take place inside the Cultural Center. I will not attend as I prefer when the event takes place outdoors where I can paint the scenery. 

Thanks for visiting my stand on the 17th and 24th and see you there next year!

This year's "Place à l'art" event is back at Wolvendael Park for the last three Sunday afternoons of August: 

Place à l'Art 2025:    17, 24 and 31 August, from 15h30 to 18h30 

At the same time you can enjoy three free one-hour concerts in the park:

Musiques au Parc

• Le dimanche 17 août, de 17h à 18h : Musique cubaine avec Tumbao Cubano
• Le dimanche 24 août, de 17h à 18h : Soul jazz avec Laurent Doumont – L’Americano
• Le dimanche 31 août, de 17h à 18h : Musique classique avec le duo Emma Posman & Leen Van der Roost

NB: If rain is forecasted, then the events on 24 and 31 August take place indoors at the nearby Cultural Center, 47 Rue Rouge. If it rains on 17 August, the concert is moved to the former Maison Communale on Place Van der Elst.

See you there! 

 

 

 

 

Grand'Place Postcard

 

Antique tourist postcards of the Grand'Place often feature the flower market but in black & white. So I thought it would be fun to dream up a color version. Yet I had to push myself to work through all the architecture. I think I'll take a break from painting buildings next time.

"Marché aux Fleurs"
24x30cm oil on canvas

Chamonix Postcard

 

Another in my series of paintings inspired by antique postcards... I enjoy recreating the ambiance from back then. Look at all the well-dressed people hanging out in the middle of the street with their hats on. What would they be wearing today? Chamonix is a winter resort in the French Alps but the umbrellas may indicate they were expecting rain or possibly summer sun so it must be off-season. As I started to paint and examine the details more closely I was surprised to see there was a couple embracing in the center. The women on the left seemed to be wearing the same outfit so I imagined that they were working in the hotel to the right and gave them a blue and white uniform. What are they gossiping about with the woman in a brown coat?

In the background, what appears to be a white river coming down the mountain is a glacier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mer_de_Glace 

"La Mer de Glace, circa 1920"
24x30cm oil on canvas

 

Street View Australia

 

Started the next "virtual hike" today. It's happening on Australia's Great Ocean Road via Google Street View: Virtual Hike Australia 

I have lots of spots picked out because the Street View photos are so full of detail and color this time. Here's one where you can see the leaves of the foliage on the side of the road: My Street View link

"November in Australia"
20x20cm oil on canvas

Street View Paris

 

 

Marla Laubisch is launching a new virtual painting project called "Virtual Hike" (see her blog). This month Paris is her location so I decided to join in. You find a spot you like in Google Street View, paint it, and then send her the image along with the Google link and your blog link. Let's try it out...

Here's my tiny oil painting of "La Rotonde" in the 6th arrondissement. Looks about how I remember it. Also it's great seeing how bicycle-friendly the city has become since my student days there. Makes me want to go back and visit.

 

"La Rotonde"
oil on 15x15cm canvas 

Happy New Year!

 

Wishing everyone a happy and creative 2025! We started the year off with some Tetra Pak printing fun. In my postcard above I carefully etched out "Happy New Y" backwards so it would print correctly. Then, of course, typically: I signed in a hurry...  backwards! The later version eliminated the mistake:

Tetra Pak print "Happy New Y"
15x10cm postcard paper

INKTOBER 2024

 

 

 

Inktober 2024, Day 22: Camp
Sennelier ink on postcard paper

Inktober preoccupied many artists last month. The annual challenge suggests 31 prompts to draw in ink every day in October. You can find out more about it at Inktober.com. This time, I thought it would be a great way to try out my Sennelier colored inks. But some days I'd just stick to black in order to keep up. Also I decided to draw on postcard paper for a change. So now I've got a bunch of postcards to put in the mail. I had some positive comments regarding that idea. I wonder if others will make postcards next year. In fact there's an Inktober52 group for anyone who wants to make this a weekly habit. 

Find my complete set in this Flickr album: My Inktober Album.

 

Inktober 2024, Day 15: Guidebook
Sennelier ink on postcard paper

Some Reds

 

Dipladenia Fever

27x35cm, oil on canvas

 

Something about the way these red blooms capture the sun that is stunning. I should try a few more versions before they fade away. 

 

This was after spending a morning on the Parvis Saint Pierre in Uccle where I tried to sketch the view up Rue Xavier De Bue towards the former "Maison Communale". I skipped the cars, preferring the way the place looks without them. They used to do "No Car Sunday" on that road but seems like the idea was  abandoned.

 

"Rue Xavier De Bue, seen from the Parvis"
13x18cm, oil on canvas panel