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!

Naples

"Napoli"
30x40cm oil on canvas
(private collection, Brussels)

I've never been to Naples but was asked to paint this view based on some free Internet photos. It was a good exercise to work on a cityscape after all my recent flower still lifes.

 

"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.

Art Exhibit & "Fete de la Musique" on 18 June 2022

 

I will participate in a one-day art exhibit at the "Ferme Rose" in Uccle on 18 June 2022 from 11h00 to 18h00. At the same time, musicians will play in the courtyard all afternoon.

 

Find the complete program here: https://sites.google.com/view/dimanchart

https://www.facebook.com/DimanchArt/

La Ferme Rose
44, avenue de Fré
1180 Bruxelles

Fun on the Internet

I find that Internet challenges are a great way to try out new supplies or techniques. For instance, there's a portrait challenge on Instagram @faceportraitclub that's gaining followers. They manage to pick reference photos of people you'd like to draw and they find insightful poses that result in portraits with meaning. I've been practicing small format colored pencil portraits:

@quanghoart

 

@danajerimaier

 

 

@treadle_trowel_thimble

Another time I tried Intaglio printing using Tetrapak. More on this technique on my Flickr account: HowToAlbum

 

 

 Ukrainian solder, based on photo by @sergekhivrich

Then there's the 2022 version of EDiM ("Every Day in May") that just took off. I'm trying out various pencils on black paper, experimenting with my Caran D'Ache Luminance and Derwent Coloursoft pencils as well as a white gellyroll. You can easily meet this challenge with quick sketches of everyday objects so I'm trying to keep up. Day 5 was "fruit":

Find the rest on my Flickr album:  EDiM

Exhibit at "La Ferme Rose" on Sunday, 10 April 2022

 

I will bring a few recent works to the group exhibit "Dimanch'Art" on Sunday, April 10th (11:00am to 6:00pm) at La Ferme Rose in Uccle.

Please stop by and say hello if you are in Brussels!

Dimanch'Art Website (includes map of location)

 Photos from the other exhibitors are also on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DimanchArt

A walk in the desert in the spring

"Springtime in the desert"

Polychromos on A4 Dawler Rowney smooth heavyweight paper

 

Watching the garden grow during the pandemic

 

“Waiting”

Polychromos on Steinbach paper 

Isolation Blues

"Let the games begin"
Ink on paper, just for fun!

On a roll

 

I've recently realized that pencil rolls can be useful to protect colored pencils when traveling. So, using a store bought version as my model, I managed to sew three to house my Faber-Castell Polychromos collection.