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

Place à l'Art 2024

"Bloemen"
15x15cm, oil on canvas panel
(private collection, Brussels)

 

Change of location*

See you at the Parvis Saint-Pierre this Sunday morning, 18/08/24

My exhibit at the Parvis Saint-Pierre in Uccle in front of the church:

 Sunday 18 August 2024 from 9h30 to 13h00 (Morning only)

Several bus lines or trams 92 or 4 will get you there. The stop is "Heros".  

NB: If it rains the event is cancelled.

The complete schedule for "Place à l'Art!" is listed on the Uccle website:  Uccle Culture: Place à l'art 2024.

*Normally in August, the event is held in the "Théatre de Verdure", but this summer Parc Wolvendael is closed due to the storm that took down trees there in July and caused a fatal accident. Works are still ongoing to make the park safe for visitors.

Ostend Postcard

 

"Ostende à la Belle Epoque"
24x30cm, oil on canvas

Continuing with my postcard theme, I took a stab at recreating a scene from an antique postcard of Ostend (bought at the Jambes Sunday flea market). I wanted to convert the stiff B&W photo into a sketchy oil painting with dabs of colorful paint: a fun challenge. 

If, like me, you are wondering about copyrights on these old photos, here is a link that explains it: copyrights & old pc's. So that's good news and it opens up a whole new area for me to explore.

Namur Parcours d'Artistes: "Chambres avec Vue" 2024

The 2024 open studios days in Namur take place during two weekends in March:  

March 16th and 17th

March 23rd and 24th

Some 500 artists will open their studios or show their work in shops, galleries, churches, cafés, etc. 

The Interactive Map and the full catalog is now on line: Carte et Catalogue

You'll find me by searching my name in the "Catalogue Chambres avec vues - Partie 1 : Namur", or on the Interactive Map.

We'll be open from 11h00 to 18h00.

See you there!

Surfing California

"Surf City"
27.5x35cm, oil on canvas

"Big Sur"
24x30cm, oil on canvas

Another cold and rainy period in Belgium after that surprise snowfall last month. Not much point in painting outdoors in this weather so I found myself surfing the Internet for inspiration. There's always something to paint in the Facebook group, "Free references photos for artists". Looks like I'm now a big fan of contributing photographer Susan Roghair, especially her beautiful California coastline photos. I first chose Huntington beach (aka "Surf City") in order to practice painting tiny people. Painting waves is also a nice challenge. Then I saw her series of photos of Big Sur --wow! Wouldn't it be great to follow the coastal highway when all the flowers are in bloom like that.

Oil on Postcard

 

"Knole Park, UK"
oil on postcard canvas panel

Another postcard-sized painting in oil, this time for the @landscapeartclub. The Instagram weekly challenge is hosted by @painted_by_natalia and in this case the photo of Knole Park UK is by @artynatabee.

I'm still working on using up my postcard panels from Le Géant des Beaux-Arts. These come in handy when I don't want to start anything big.

Namur!

 

"Il neige!"
25x25cm oil on canvas panel

We had some excitement here in Namur: it snowed 15cm this week -- locals say it's been 13 years since they saw a snowfall like this. So, I tried my hand at painting snow. 

 

"Il a neigé!"

30x24cm, oil on canvas panel

 

 

But before all this, there were what seemed like two months of solid rain; the grass stayed green, plants kept their leaves, while moss and mushrooms flourished. Weather forecasters found a myriad of ways to describe the grey skies and precipitation. I started jotting them down. They tried to remain positive: "...et puis cet après-midi on espère que quelques eclaircies vont commencer à se dessiner". 

 

Here's a view from December with the Meuse River in the distance:

 

"En attendant la dissipation"
oil on 25x25cm canvas panel