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

Sketching in oil

 

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

 

 "Place à l'art le 20 aout 2023"
13x18cm, oil on canvas panel

I think that when you paint small from life in a couple hours max, you can call it an "oil sketch". These two were painted en plein air during the Place à l'Art event in Uccle in August. It took place in the park because the weather was good. I got two tables, a few chairs and a spot in the shade -- what more can you ask!?

Plein Air

"Lambertmontmartre at the KMSKA"
20x25cm oil on canvas

Our Belgian heatwave made the day nearly unbearable but I wanted to take advantage of the Lambertmontmartre event in front of the Antwerp Fine Arts Museum to do some plein air painting. If you arrive early, you can get a spot with some shade under the trees.

https://lambermontmartre.be/info/

 

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

Then in Uccle on 2 July, I set up a stand near the flower shop and did a small painting. The flow of people going to the "Marché Bio" brought visitors to our "Place à l'art" exhibit.

Finally plein air weather

 "Antwerp's Cathedral"
25x20cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Ekeren)

After a very rainy spring, the sun finally came out in Belgium so I brought my paints to the Lambertmontmartre outdoor art market on Sunday. The event was exceptionally held on the Groenplaats, where there is a nice view of the Cathedral.

There were crowds of passers-by given the sunny three-day weekend but the sun and wind was challenging for exhibitors without parasols and weights. What a pleasant surprise when my still-wet oil painting sold right there on the spot!

Here's an oil sketch showing some of the atmosphere on the square:

 

"Lambertmontmartre 2023"
15x15cm, oil on canvas panel

Earlier this month, I attended an urban sketching event at the MAS museum. Here's the quick sketch I painted between rain showers -- the pink billboard advertises a nearby seafood restaurant:

 "Vis-aan-A"
15x15cm, oil on canvas panel

The Blooming Garden

"Time for the Hollyhocks"
25x25cm oil on canvas panel

Last summer, I continued my project of painting all our garden flowers. I'm not yet bored of sitting in the sun, observing and painting the variety of colors and blooms: budding, flowering, fading, dried out, gone to seed... At the same time, I'm determined to use all the small canvases I've accumulated. I've also been avoiding solvents so these are painted with Rosa Gallery Oil Paints and Linseed oil ("raw" for cleaning the brushes and "purified" as a medium). 

Below is my  4x4 inch collection:

"Fucshia Bells"

12x12cm, oil on 3D grey canvas

"Pink Kisses"

12x12cm, oil on 3D grey canvas
(private collection, Horsham, UK)

"Wild Roses"

12x12cm, oil on linen canvas

"Purple Petunias"

12x12cm, oil on linen canvas

“Regal Pelargonium”

12x12cm, oil on linen canvas

Sometimes it's not easy identifying the flowers. Geraniums are more confusing than I thought. In fact many of them are actually pelargoniums. Here's where I found the above pink-orange blooms: GardenTags

Painting the Antwerp Docks

 

 

"Straatsburgdok, morning light"
25x32.5cm, oil on Figueras oil paper 

From Antwerp by bike

« Castle gardens » (Ekeren)
15x15cm, Rosa oil on canvas panel

I've been trying various systems for painting on location. This happens every year when the warm weather returns. Tiny 15x15cm panels mean I can paint quickly without having to refill my paints. They fit perfectly into my small paintbox which is now attached to a tripod. Then I have a cardboard box that holds the wet panel: I stick it to the back of the box with putty, close the box, and put it in my bike bag.

 The tripod pochade box setup

"Day at the Zoo"
20x25cm, oil on canvas

While small panels are easy to transport, they are not always easy to paint. The above is a bit bigger but still fits into my small wooden paintbox+tripod. It's equivalent to 8x10 inches for which I have a wet canvas carrier. 

Another try with the 15x15cm panel but I need to go back to this spot as I didn't get very far before the wind picked up.

 
« Galgenweel »
20x25cm, oil on canvas

Finally, on the lake yesterday I used a bigger box and held it on my lap. The sky was amazing, the weather warm, and from this spot I had a view of the "Royal Yacht Club Belgie". It’s a little more challenging to balance a box while painting but then I don’t need to carry the tripod. Also I’ve got all my paints in the box. I like using Rosa oil paints for location painting because I've got them in small 20ml tubes. But next time I´d like to take advantage of their thicker consistency to paint in a looser, sketchier style — maybe for a cityscape with crowds of people…

 

Above is my bigger paint box in use. I had to stand up here which I'm not used to any more. But otherwise, the setup worked well because it was "hands free". If only I could find a utility box or wall so conveniently placed each time I went out to paint! They are more stable than easels and this one was even in the shade. And while there's so much worry about carrying home the wet panel, this time I just clipped it to one side of the bike bag and took off. That worked fine!

"Fête de la musique à la Ferme Rose"

 

"Fête de la musique à la Ferme Rose"

20 x 25cm, oil on canvas

(private collection, Uccle)

 

It's never been so hot on June 18th in Belgium. Nonetheless we had our exhibit at the Ferme Rose while musicians played in the courtyard. I painted quickly trying to capture the light before it changed. I had left the blue chairs empty to fill in later when the crowds arrived, not realizing that they would pick up all the chairs and move them to a shadier spot off to the left. I also waited to paint the musicians later because I figured the light didn't matter so much back there. So when the five person Brasilian band, Roda Rio, stepped on stage and they fit my composition, I added them. Of course, people enjoyed the music so much they started dancing, photographing the group, and blocking my view but that's all part of the challenge of "plein air" painting.

Ekeren countryside

I’m trying to take advantage of the nice days in September to get more plein air practice. 

 "Sint Mariaburg"
13x18cm, oil on canvas

Today from the bike path I could see the church in Sint Mariaburg. It was a beautiful sunny morning so I found a spot in the shade on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, passing trucks were a nuisance. One even parked next to me for ten minutes with the motor running.

 "Oude Landen"
15x15cm, oil on canvas panel

At the beginning of September in the Oude Landen I only had cyclists, joggers and dog walkers passing by. Almost as good as painting in the garden. I was a bit nervous about the free-ranging Galloway cattle but they didn't turn up.

Antwerp oil sketches

"The MAS"
15x15cm, oil on canvas panel
(Private collection, Antwerp)

The 28/8/21 group event at the MAS in Antwerp was a good place to test my small pochade box in a USK setting. I found a bench in the shade. It was a little windy and people kept stopping to look at the water but I managed to get something done. When I realized they were looking at a bunch of flower bouquets (a spot where someone may have recently died), I quickly finished up. That probably helped me decide to suggest all those boats without going into too much detail. 

 

" Lambermontmartre"
15x15cm, oil on canvas panel

At the August Lambermontmartre art market it kept drizzling. In fact perfect weather conditions for plein air painting are quite rare here.

 

 

 "The Port House"

15x15cm, oil on canvas panel

Finally, I had to try painting the iconic Port Authority building. There's a fairly comfortable spot by the water. I had a hat for the sun, a stool and was holding the box on my lap. It might be better to find a hands free system such as a photo stand attached to my box.

Late Bloomers

 "Late Bloomers"

Oil on 20x20cm canvas panel

Continuing my series of 20x20 garden flowers...  

The primroses came up at the end of August this year. I'd almost lost hope but sure enough the garden was once again conquered by these yellow blooms every evening for a time. 

Ekeren

"Castle Reflection"

15x15cm, oil on canvas panel

"Veltwijck Castle"

13x18cm, oil on canvas

Whenever the sun comes out, I can try one of my pochade boxes. I've collected them at neighborhood flea markets in Brussels ("brocantes") but never had a chance to test them until this year. This one is works well with 13x18cm or 15x15cm canvases. I didn't need to bring much paint since I was working small so everything was quite compact. I managed to carry home the wet canvas by sticking it to the bottom of a cardboard box with some tacky putty -- the type that is normally used for putting posters on the wall.

The castle in Ekeren ("Waterkasteel Hof van Veltwijck") is located in a quiet park with benches, making it practical to paint there. More info.

More flowers in the sun

"Begonias"
oil on 20x20cm canvas panel
(Private collection, Brussels)

"Impatiens"
oil on 20x20cm canvas panel
(Private collection, Brussels)

The weather got better again in Belgium after all that rain and catastrophic flooding.
The flowers in the garden are so vibrant when the sun comes out. I did two more studies, observing the budding, blooming, wilting -- and trying to capture each flower's uniqueness.

 

Garden Colors

 

"Petunias in a yellow pot"
20x20cm, oil on canvas panel

I'm always trying to cut down on the number of paint tubes I carry around. The result is that I have colors in my closet that I don't remember how to use. Time for some research. I began by reading about mixing greens and how it was important to mix warm yellows with warm blues or cool yellows with cool blues for the best results (link). I made a big chart of mixtures and discovered that Phthalo blue was actually quite useful. I'll definitely need to experiment further with that. Meanwhile I'm also taking a new look at my reds.

The petunias were a fun place to start. They pop out in the sun, I can't come close with my standard palette. Transparency seems to work: “permanent magenta”, "permanent mauve", "rose madder", with the white of the canvas showing through. I may try this again like Carol Marine suggested on Daily Paintworks: The Sunflower Challenge

"Hydrangea or Hortensia"

 

I always knew them as "les hortensias" -- the shrubs full of flowers by the steps leading up to my grandfather's house -- but maybe they are more often referred to as "hydrangeas" in English. In any case, these pink flowers that veer towards brown as they age are fun to paint.

  

"Hydrangea or Hortensia"

27x22cm, oil on canvas

Garden work

"Zonnebloemen"

15x21cm, oil on gessoed cardboard

"Jardinage"
15x21cm, oil on gessoed cardboard

"Fuchsia eruption"
21x21cm, oil on gessoed cardboard

"Fuchsia II"

15x21cm, oil on gessoed cardboard

"Blooming"
20x24cm, Oil on canvas