Postcard from Etretat

 

"Postcard from Etretat"
5x7inches, oil on canvas

Another of my recent projects, was contributing to this year's PAE charity event. The "Postcard Art Exhibit" took place in Scheveningen last weekend. This time they were raising funds for an art program that helps people with Alzheimer's. Read more about their project here: https://www.postcardartexhibit.com/

My plan was to post a link to the postcard I contributed to promote sales. But, looks like it already sold on opening night. That's always nice to see. You can still buy cards from other artists at their on-line shop (link above).

My painting was inspired by an antique black and white postcard of Etretat. I imagined a sort of Monet color scheme to bring this one to life:

 

 

Meanwhile, I made a second submission, also based on an antique postcard (but from Saint Malo). This was just in case the first painting got lost in the mail. I read they keep additional contributions for future use, so this one will not be in the 2026 catalog:

The Postcard Shop
oil on 5x7inch canvas

Spring Sketching & Painting

 "L'aubépine en fleurs"
40x30 oil on canvas 

I see I haven't uploaded anything to this site in a while. Spring is such a hectic time. I think even the garden feels the need to rush and get everything done before summer. I've been trying to capture some of it in a sketchbook but can't seem to keep up. Yet when the "Aubépine" (Hawthorn) put on it's extravagant display once again, it was time to get out my paints. 

More news coming shortly but, meanwhile, check out my recent Flickr albums:  the Lotto Brussels Jazz Weekend and the Zinneke Parade. 

Parcours d'Artistes -- "Chambres avec Vues 2026" - Namur

 

The open-studios event in Namur, "Chambres avec Vues", is taking place during two weekends in March. It's a great time to visit the city and meet all the artists. There's even an interactive map on the city's site so you can plan your tour. 

I'll be exhibiting at "Côté Cèdre" on 14-15 and 21-22 March
from 11h00 to 18h00

 Find all the information at the following link:

 Chambres avec Vues 

Some January Snow

 

Snow is rare here in Namur and when we do get some, it doesn't last very long. So when I looked out the window and saw this, I had to get out my paints and give it a go. What a difference from my recent green series! Stay tuned for Spring next...

Meanwhile, I wish everyone a healthy, happy, creative New Year! 

 "Playing in the snow"
60x40cm oil on wooden panel

 

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

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 Vues" 2024

The 2024 open studio 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