Parc de Wolvendael - 1 mai 2013 (first stages)

May 1st was a pleasant surprise: sunny and warm enough to sit in the park and paint!  

Later finalized in the studio:

 

"Le 1er mai au Parc de Wolvendael"
20x25cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

KOH-I-NOOR colored pencils

Today, I sketched a scene from Google's Street View for the Virtual Paintout in Lithuania. This is "Lukiškės aikštė", the largest square in Vilnius:

"Lukiškės aikštė"

Koh-i-Noor Hardmuth Polycolors on 9"x12" Dawler-Rowney Lyndhurst paper

I've enjoyed using these pencils so much that I recently decided to purchase the ones I was missing.  My chart below shows all 72 colors (except no. 37 which was not available).  Numbers 1 through 36 came with my original box of 36. I'm not sure it's really worth having the entire set because a few of the colors seem very similar but I'm glad I got the silver and gold (39 and 40) as I use them everywhere. There's also an "0" that you can use for blending.

The pdf chart you can download from the Koh-i-Noor site (Downloads, Polycolor) may be more practical as it's organised by color rather than number (with lightfastness levels, etc) but you can't see the colors very well so it's probably worth making your own chart. 

Virtual Paintout - Chile - February 2013

Hola amigos! Estoy en la Región de Valparaíso en Chile! Actually, I'm visiting the area in Google Street View for the Virtual Paintout. Above is a scene I found in Viña del Mar -- looking towards the valley from the Avenida Angamos.

Here's the link: "Caballos en la calle"

My second submission is on my Flickr account:Vuelve!

In fact, I’m really getting involved in the destination this month. For the first time in my life, I went to a Chilean restaurant: Araucana. We had Pisco sours, Empanadas, Anticuchos, and Torta chilena. Delicious! 

To see the rest of the Virtual Paintout contributions, please visit VPO

"Caballos en la calle"

27 x 36 cm, Koh-I-Noor Polycolor pencils on Steinbach paper

Virtual Paintout - Isle of Man (II) - January 2013

I've always wanted to paint haystacks but the ones you see in the fields nowadays are usually wrapped in ugly white or blue plastic. So when I ran across these attractive triangular ones in Street View, I decided it was now or never. This is a small 5" x 7" panel -- I would love to start over on a larger canvas but it's already Sunday evening!

"Haystacks at Balladoole"
5x7 inch, oil on canvas panel

Virtual Paintout - Isle of Man - January 2013

I have been searching for the name of these yellow flowers which line the roads on the Isle of Man. I had already painted them when the Virtual Paintout was in Ireland. They might be "yellow gorse". The link to the location is on my  Flickr Photostream.

"Yellow Gorse near Cranstal"
5x7inch, oil on canvas panel

Virtual Paintout - Slovakia II - December 2012 - more time

I kept working on this until I was happy with the result. I was in too much of a rush to submit a first version to the VPO on the last day of December. This has also got me thinking I'd like to plan a trip to the country this spring!

"Slovak Spring"
34.5x26.5cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

Virtual Paintout - Slovakia II - December 2012 (first stages)

Happy 20th anniversary Slovakia! (I heard on the evening news that they split from the Czech Republic on 1 January 1993.) Street View images of the country are filled with blossoming fruit trees so I gave up looking for snow and decided to start dreaming of spring already! (road to Voznica)

Wishing everyone a positive and productive 2013!

Virtual Paintout - Slovakia - December 2012

You have to be in the mood for spring if you travel through Slovakia using Google Street View because most of the images were taken in April or May.  Yet the spring scene I selected above has a bit of a red and green holiday feel to it, doesn't it?

This is my contribution to Bill Guffey's current Virtual Paintout. Here is the link: Liptovské Matiašovce, Slovakia.

"Liptovské Matiašovce, Slovakia"
24x24cm, oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

Virtual Paintout - New Brunswick - November 2012

Above is a tiny oil sketch of a street view scene in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick for the Virtual Paintout this month.  I hope everyone there is all right after Superstorm Sandy.  Link to Google reference photo: here

"Fresh Lobster"
12.5x17.5cm, oil canvas panel
(private collection, Brussels)

Virtual Paintout - Croatia - October 2012

Bill Guffey selected Croatia for October.  As usual, I spent lots of time exploring: from scenic seascapes to urban centres and finally mountain vistas -- it's a beautiful country.   When I found some autumn trees near Stirovaca,  I had to get my paints out and start right away.  Above is the resulting oil sketch.  Link to Google Street View: here

"October in Croatia"
15x20cm, oil on canvas panel