Small portrait

A small portrait in my sketchbook, after a picture, made with Holbein acrylic gouache. 15x10cm.
 

Bookbinding

 

For a holiday, later this year, I wanted to create a sketchbook of my own design. with different types of paper, and another size. So I made my own sketchbook with a size about 19x19cm, which I finished it yesterday. I used "Coptic binding", a bookbinding system that enables to keep your book totally flat. Handy for sketching. It was fun to do, I hope it will work out well.

Supergrandpa

My grandson Jake wrote a little story for school. I promised him I would illustrate it if it was really cool. So he came up with a story where 3 ninja's were threatening him and his brother in front of the local library (where I take them regularly). But suddenly I was some kind of a cool superhero, who disarmed the ninja's with a few well directed laser beams. 

Well, I could not have made that story up :). Here is the illustration.
 

Tasja Cicak 25 years.

I made this surprise gift  for a dear collegue, Tasja Cicak. For 25 years she is a dear, enthousiast and valuable collegue. She was a redufee from Serajevo, 30 years ago, but totally managed to integrate into the Limburg society. Anyway, hard to see, but this Van Gogh impression of the Barcelona Sacarada Familia is 3 dimensional, made from papier maché and other stuff. WE collected money to sponsor a trip to Barcelona.

Mitzie, deceased

Our beloved cat, Mitzie, passed away today. She was about 11 years old. She will be missed.
 

Maastricht: centre Ceramique

 

Last friday, the magazine corner of the main Maastricht Library. There is a nice coffee corner, where I could make this drawings. I don't think she noticed me drawing.

Maastricht: Laank Gresje

 

Yesterday I could get out sketching again. Maastricht, Laank Gresje. That is the local dialect for: Lange gracht, or in English: the Long canal). On the right you can see the remnants of the inner fortifications wall. Maastricht was always fought over.

Copenhagen: Sne-Sol

 

Sne Sol: a self-built wooden house in the alternative community Christiania, Copenhagen. All houses here were self built. I talked with one of the inhabitants: all houses had their own names, like: the red dragon, Buddha's lounge, the pentagon etc. According to him Sne-sol meant: the sun reflecting in the snow. A beautiful name.

Copenhagen: Nyhavn

 

I made three drawings in Copenhagen, this was the last one. A beautiful old harbour with coloured houses, very pretty. But it was very very cold, my fingers where aching when I finished the ink work. I knew the watercolour wouldn't dry, it usually spoils the drawing. So I decided to colour it digitally at home. Done with Gimp.

Copenhagen

 

After the meetings in Malmö I took a day off to visit Copenhagen, just across the water. This is a church with a peculiar twisted tower, near Christiania, the "Vor Frelsers Kirke".

Malmö: foodcourt

 

Quick sketch of two guys eating a burger. At the foodcourt of the Emporium shopping mall in Malmö: the Se7en Sin Burger restaurant. I was enjoying a Pokebowl myself.

Malmö: harbour

 

Business trip to Sweden, Malmö. I had to attend a meeting for a project to improvements Kidney treatment on a sustainable way. Very intersting.

I managed to go out and sketch on location: this is a sketch I made on early monday morning, in the harbour of Malmö. It was very cold, but I sat protected against the wind, it was manageable.

Igor Stravinsky

 

Igor Stravinsky, composer. After a B/W picture from the Internet. 

Holbein acrylic gouache on toned paper.

Portrait

Acrylic gouache on toned paper. Size A4. After a picture I found on the Internet.

Swimming lessons

 

This afternoon. Waiting for my grandson to finish his swimming lessons, at the swimming pool in Sittard. This father was bored as well, but I have a sketchbook :)

Nuth: Terstraten

Quick sketch of a country road in Nuth, South of Limburg.
 

Nieuwe Hateboer

On friday I usually bring my grandson Willem to swimming lessons. I sit in the canteen for a cup of coffee, there are always a few seniors meeting for an half an hour of coffee. This older woman was sitting on the table next to us.

Hoensbroek in the snow

 

Thick packs of snow in our region, all in just one day, 20-25 cm. That was something we didn't see for a long time. I remember it from my youth, but it is probably getting rarer. Anyway, I had half an hour left this morning, and I rushed to make a snow scene on location. The Castle of Hoensbroek, as seen from my (warm and cosy) car on the parking lot. A4 toned paper, gouache paint, brushpen and black ink.

Marcel Duchamp

 

Marcel Duchamp. Even as a young boy I was fascinated by this futurist/dadaist/surrealist artist, I would devour all available books from our local library. I especially like "The bride stripped...", which I still don't understand.

Anyway, it is painted after I black and white picture I found (from the NYT). With acrylic gouache, on black toned paper, A4. It was quite complicated to translate the black and white into colour tones.

Drawing

 

Ink combined with Acrylic gouache. Based on a painting by Izumi Kogahara.