Virtual Paintout - Denmark - September 2012

The Virtual Paintout took us to Zealand in Denmark this month. At first I followed the coastline and checked out the picturesque harbours:  birds, boats, children -- but unfortunately always with overcast skies.  So I moved inland and selected a sunny landscape: 

"62 Sorøvej, Sjælland, Denmark"
13x18cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

The deadline for submissions was approaching yet I was determined to tackle something bigger. I thought I'd go back and paint a harbour but then ran across some springtime scenes with blossoming fruit trees.  I was ready to go when I turned a corner and the season changed to autumn. The Google image said "October 2010" -- how appropriate!  The light was just right -- casting long shadows of the trees that were starting to turn yellow and pink:

Link to reference photo in Google.

"Early Autumn in Denmark"
40x40cm, oil on canvas

Place(s) à l'art - septembre 2012

Place(s) à l'Art septembre 2012
20x20 cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

River and Canal - August 2012

Working on a tan and painting at the same time is no easy feat -- not only are you blinded by the sun but you're usually not getting the best view at the best time of day. Yet I was determined to get some sun during my visit to the US.  This year there was a further problem:  a new breed of mosquitoes that attack in broad daylight (also extremely abundant and potential carrier of West Nile Virus).  So I learned to apply "Deep Woods", set up anti-bug candles, and combine this with various degrees of sun block.  

"August in Yardley" (Delaware River in the distance)
23x30cm, oil on canvas

I also tried putting together an extremely lightweight oil sketching kit that I could carry around effortlessly.  Since I rarely have more than an hour or two to paint, this could be a solution for me because, while sketching is fun, I really miss oil painting. I tried it out on the canal in Yardley and when I was almost ready to go home, a man came by to fish -- providing the perfect final touch!

"The Canal"

20x20 cm, oil on canvas

Technical note (to myself):  Squeeze out some paint in small plastic box before going out / bring small tubes of extra paint (in plastic sandwich bag), a few brushes, a rag, a newspaper, turpentine, a small canvas, all in a lightweight backpack / apply mosquito repellent / take bike and find a bench with a view / lean the canvas against the backpack (easels are too heavy) and apply paint quickly but stay concentrated.  For the trip home, place the small canvas in the bottom of a grocery bag (paper bag inside and plastic bag outside) face up - this works as a makeshift lightweight wet canvas carrier (and can be attached to the handlebar of the bike).

Link to photo of my plastic box (leave the wooden box at home - too heavy): plastic box

August Postcards

 

I've had these blank postcards for watercolor painting for ages but only started using them this year.  Now that I can scan before sending, I'm not worried about dropping them into the mailbox.

    

More postcards here

all of us!

I used to think I was fairly unique in the world.  I mean, there were usually three other "Cathy's" in my high school classes but never another Hale. Even local phone books concurred. But years later, the Internet changed all that. I should have suspected it when I couldn't get my email address back after letting it expire. It was only when Google slowly crept into my life, that I began to discover the others. I remember first finding a school teacher in the South, then a lawyer. Later the list started growing quickly. However, I only stumbled on another Catherine Hale artist about two years ago (Catherine Hale in the UK).  That's when I decided to make my own mark on the Web. I linked myself to my current residence in Brussels so there could be no confusion. Now and then I check again. An 85 year old sculptor in Canada named Catherine Hale had her first show last year: Catherine Hale in Canada.  Now a third Catherine Hale artist has come on line -- Catherine Hale in Australia!  I like their work and each has a unique approach. I'm dedicating this post to all the "Catherine Hale Artists" of the world! ;)

Small paintings of Uccle

"Le Crabbegat"
10x15cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

"Eglise orthodoxe russe Saint Job"
10x10cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

 

 

 

Another View of Mount Fuji

When Fujifilm asked if they could use an image of my Virtual Paintout “Postcard from Mount Fuji” to demonstrate the high quality of their printers, I didn’t realize right away that this would lead me to discover the world of canvas prints. I had thought prints would pale in comparison to real paintings, but - to my astonishment - the result was excellent. When enlarged, my tiny brushstrokes seem transformed into huge colour marks that stand out on the canvas. They’ve explained to me that they use a special printing process on a Fujifilm Acuity UV (ultraviolet curing) printer, where ink is water based and when exposed to UV light, the molecules bond to each other and to the support. The water then dries up immediately.

 

I've tried this out on other small paintings and sketches.  They not only withstood magnification but have been given a whole new life – no longer limited to just one wall or hidden in a sketchbook on a shelf.  For instance, I now have a giant enlargement of my tiny 5" x 8" sketch of Ostend on my office wall. After spending two years reducing everything to thumbnails for computer monitors, it's a lot of fun seeing big for a change! Thanks Fujifilm!

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