Le Kauwberg - les dessins

I never tire of drawing the patterns created by the slopes and foliage of this park. On May 27th, I brought my Faber-Castell Polychromos and 8.5" x 11.5" Daler Rowney sketchbook there -- I've decided this is the combination that works best for this subject -- and I captured a small family picnic in the grass (above).

In March I drew the sand of the former quarry using the same FCP coloured pencils in an 8.5" x 11.5" Strathmore sketchbook which has lighter paper but it's also grainier so I was less happy trying to make that combination work. 

I find it so difficult to come up with the perfect drawing kit -- always trying to find a lightweight solution that includes everything I could possibly need. The FCPs are too heavy now that I've assembled such a large set but if I try to narrow down the selection, I'm convinced I'll be missing an essential colour. 

Every season at Le Kauwberg provides new inspiration but I tend to spend more time there in Spring:

5.5" x 8.5" DR sketchbook in early June 2010

8.5" x 11.5" DR sketchbook  + FCP in April 2010

8.5 x 11.5 DR sketchbook + Derwent Coloursoft + FCP in April 2011

I've saved most of the above images to my Flickr account as well.  Here is a link to a drawing from late summer last year: 20 August 2011.    (8.5" x 11.5" DR sketchbook + FCP) 

More to come!

Virtual Paintout - Jerusalem - May 2012

"The Shuk"

11.5 x 16.5 inch, pastel on paper
(private collection, Brussels)

The Google team has recently added Israel to Street View.  I am finding some amazing views in Jerusalem and have been trying them out in pastel. Above is a covered market in the old city: the winding path goes on and on and every step along the way could inspire another painting. Below I used oil pastel to capture the panorama from the Mount of Olives.

"Jerusalem Skyline"

6x9 inch, oil pastel on watercolor paper

Virtual Paintout - Gdansk - April 2012

I was impressed by this massive structure in countless shades of red brick on a square in Gdansk and completed the above drawing before discovering it was the "Muzeum Bursztynu". Further research led me to realise that bursztyn was actually the Polish word for "amber" - that souvenir stone I brought back on a necklace when I visited Poland ten years ago. Aside from jewelry, the museum also has a collection of insects found in amber. It turns out that amber is "fossilised tree resin" so the insects must have gotten trapped in the resin before it turned to stone. This fits in well with the other section of the museum, which relates to the building's long ago use as a prison tower and torture chamber!

Here is the Google Street View image that inspired the above drawing: LINK

"Muzeum Bersztynu"

21x29.5cm, colored pencil on paper

Virtual Paintout - Saint Petersburg - March 2012

McDonald's has been established in Russia for 22 years now -- time flies! They opened their first hamburger restaurant in Moscow on 31 January 1990. As usual they tried to add products that corresponded to local tastes. In Russia this meant cherry pie, potato wedges and cabbage pie!

I'm sketching on the Nevsky Prospekt again (via Google's images of Saint Petersburg). I used a combination of pencil, markers, water soluble crayons, ink and yellow highlighter (8" x 11.5").

Street View Link


"Макдоналдс"
8 x 11.5 inch, pencil and marker in sketchbook

Virtual Paintout - Санкт-Петербург - март 2012

"Невский проспект"
21x29.5cm, Neocolor II in Daler-Rowney sketchbook

This month's Virtual Paintout takes us to Saint Petersburg! I can't believe how much it has changed since I saw it in 1988 (as Lenningrad). I tried to find my photographs to locate the same views but have misplaced them. By clicking around in Google Street View -- looking at views from bridges -- I wound up on the Nevsky Prospect and began to draw in a sketchbook with Caran D'Ache Neocolor II's. Here's the link:

Street View

Elba Beachscape

"Elba Beachscape"
30x30cm, oil on linen canvas panel
(private collection, Brussels)

Virtual Paintout - Elba II - February 2012 (first stages)

This is my second submission for the Virtual Paintout in Elba. I'm on the Lungomare John Fitzergerald Kennedy in Cavo looking towards the beach. Of course, that's just wishful thinking! I'm not really there; I'm painting from the Google Street View image (see LINK).

"Elba Beachscape"
30x30cm, oil on linen canvas panel
(private Collection, Brussels)

Wolvendael Magazine - February 2012

My 2006 painting of the "Foire de Saint Job" illustrates page 49 of February's Wolvendael magazine ("Journal Ucclois des information communales, culturelles et commerciales")!

Virtual Paintout - Elba - February 2012

Right after my last post and my Street View travels over Rocky Mountain ski slopes, the weather suddenly turned cold in Belgium and on Friday it snowed all afternoon causing huge traffic jams throughout the Kingdom. Now that it finally feels like winter here, Bill Guffey has decided to send us to a warm, sunny island in Tuscany for February's Virtual Paintout -- not a bad idea! The Via della Costa winds through breathtaking scenery where cliffs drop into the Mediterranean. I couldn't wait to try painting this view of Chiessi in the Comune di Marciana. This was not as easy as I expected but definitely a lot of fun and I'd like to try the same view again on a bigger canvas. The only problem is that I already have several other locations picked out on Elba...

Here's the Street View image in Google: Chiessi

"Chiessi"
24x30cm, oil on canvas

Virtual Paintout - Summit County, Colorado - January 2012

For January's Virtual Paintout, Bill Guffey sent us to Summit Country, Colorado. What an amazing location! I soon understood where the county got its name. The Google “street view” team actually put on their skis for this one: more like “slope view” in parts. It was difficult to choose a location to paint. I must admit I was looking for something I might be able to send out as a holiday card next December... I hesitated between Christmas decorations in town, skiers in action, a view of snow covered peaks and various groups of evergreens. This weekend, I took out a small canvas board and painted the above. The weather in Brussels has been unseasonably warm so I really enjoyed this getaway in the snow!

Here's the scene in Google's Street View:
LINK

Don't forget to visit the Virtual Paintout blog for the entire collection of winter landscapes inspired by Street View Summit County.

"Slope View"

18x24cm, oil on canvas board