Besides bigger paintings i make mini's, they're '24x'30. It's a good way to practice my skills. Measuring, sketching, painting. I love to keep myself busy with those kind of handlings. My creations are all ideas from looking at pictures or people. My head starts spinning and i see the beauty of it, shadows and points of light. The sketch i start sometimes looks so good, but to start painting after fixation is really the better challenge. Most of the times it comes out better than expected. Sometimes it gives me a feeling like something magical occurs, layer by layer, stroke by stroke. The way and the techniques i apply like blending, dilute and fade let the painting come out so enlightening, it always amazes me. Somehow finally i feel a little more confident, but hey i'm only human and not prefect. Practicing your skills is always important, wether it's in a sketchbook of using your ipad with a stylus pen. At first it feels akward but after trying a couple of times it really works out fine. There is so much you can do with an Ipad; sketching, paint, coloring etc. As a matter effect it's really fun and also when you require to use your result as an example for your work to put it on your canvas with real brushes instead of stylus pen. Since i dropped my ipad and let it fixed my pen is not working anymore on my pad. So i'm thinkin to get myself a new Ipad and a new stylus pen at Amazon
A new life a new beginning
Here i am, a new grandchild is born. And in the midst of it all, with babysitting 3 kids, i try to sketch and paint for what it's worth. Gaining a lot with this new born baby and grieving too, knowing i'm also about to loose dear people in time. Never the less i have to stay strong, smile when i feel sad. But it's so hard (although it's comforting) with a new member; a 6th grandchild in this sweet family of mine, i know i have to keep going, keep writing and posting stories with some new work.
So here i go, here is some new work to show.
Have you ever had a dream ?
Yes, i did. Dreaming about being successful and financial independent. Oh Boy, if i could do it all over again, i would never work for a boss. But i did, for more than 40/45 years. How many times have i looked for a way to escape the businessworld and feel free to do what ever i want. To not get up early because my clockalarmset went off and know duty calls. It was an everyday ritual, to get out of bed, hurry to get ready to catch a bus, to the nearest station, fetch the train and the tram, to be on time at my desk at work. Feeling awful cause leaving my kids, was giving me heartaches. And i was not that ambitious then. Haha, i literally worked for the money. But those times are over and it feels so good. I am my own boss now. I still get up early in the morning, just to make myself a cup of tea and take a seat behind my desk in my studio and realise how lucky i am to do the things i love to do and that is painting. Creating my own Art and now and then write in my blog at my website. Yes i do feel grateful, i don't want sound i'm not! Sure those years where good years, they helped me and my hub getting through and my kids ready for a successful feature. So now we feel confident and satisfied that we did the job good. They are on their own feet now, having a family of their own with enough (grand)kids to raise. As a matter of fact no. 6 and 7 are on their way. But enough now about my family life. It's time for a new sketch and a new blog. But first i show one of my grandkids . . . . . . .
With oilpainting so much is possible
You can make it in any kind of colour, on paper, on canvas, on wooden boards etc. Just make a choice. I always recommend; start sketching after you primed your surfaces at least 3 times, let it dry. Then start sketching, keep your eraser close to you cause you'll going to need it a lot. When finished you have to fixate your peace before you start painting, in my case oilpainting. My favorite brands are the watermixables like Artisan from Winson and Cobra by Talens. Yes, solvent free oilpaint. No more toxics, no more bad odors.
Luckily they expended more and more beautiful colours! But what is watermixable oilpainting exactly? I tell you it's one of the best solutions ever, cause water-soluble oil paint is a modern variant of oil paint. The paint is designed to be diluted by water. The brushes can also be cleaned with water. Traditional oil paint is diluted with turpentine, with turpentine being used to clean the brushes. All oil painting solvents can give you inhalation problems, a nasty odeur no matter how 'non-toxic' they claim to be, it's good to open some windows, for ventilation. Good to know is that you can simply combine all your old oil paint, mediums and other oil painting materials with the water-dilutable oil paint. In fact, to help artists to make a switch from traditional oil paints to watermixable oil paints, i recommend Cobra oil medium watermixable. Great if you already have a lot of tubes of "old-fashioned" oil paint. Just add this medium to your left-over tradional oilpaints ...
My workspace is now free of solvents like turpentine, as the only thing you need to dilute Cobra oilpainting is water!
Just try to make the switch from traditional oil paints to water-mixable oil paints, Cobra and Winson (and probably) more developed this medium mix.
Spring is here !
Finally ! Springtime, still a little bit chilly but sunny. In dutch we say: 'Maart roert zijn staart, April doet wat ie wil'!, literally translated; 'March moves it's tail, April does what it wants'! It means it could be very could (in march with a lot of rain, hail or wet snow) or surprisingly pleasant or even warm, sunny in April. Wich could mean it might be a good day for visiting my favourit city in the world. A city where i worked for almost 2 decades. There is no other city where i (you can) feel at home, where almost anything is possible. I often feel like a tourist in my own country. It is such a good feeling to just walk and explore the streets, the parks, the canals, so many different kind of restaurants, café's etc. and look for what makes you happy. For me in Amsterdam there is always something to do, often somewhere an event, never a boring moment. This little country has so much to offer. I think it's a nice opportunity to keep you posted, more ins and outs about Amsterdam, Art and all the interesting spots will follow, promise . . . .
My Study
To practice you need to study (on and on). And you'll notice after a while you're getting better. You'll start having more fun and feeling more comfy, but (still) not satisfied and also unsure. Those feelings will come and go, but i think that's ok! So you take a sketchbook and a couple of pencils and start to sketch. If you want to 'paint' the sketch at the end, I recommend to use a sketchbook for oilpainting for good results. They're not that cheap as a matter of fact, but the oilpaint will adhere better on the paper and when ready you can always decide if you want to varnish and frame the painting and keep it with the rest of all your other work.
So as you can see it looks like a skectch, but i already painted her with Winsor Newton Artisan water mixable oilpaint, wich you can order here at my favorite onlineshop This was such a good decision, so i decided to finish all my oilpaints and make it watermixable with water mixable oil colourpainting medium from Cobra, Royal Talens. It's going to take quite a while i'm affraid, but it's worth it. No more toxics! Anyway to end this part of the story; i feel a little disappointed because i could have painted her on a linen canvas; i am sure she would be a success ! Anyway i don't feel like doing her again, i will start a new study and keep on practicing . . . .
My first painting in my Artstudio.
Yes! I painted my first painting in my new studio and i must say it feels so very good! So much space, it still gives me that wooww feeling. Although i'm still busy with some last styling issues, like finishing up and hang some curtains for more privacy and sphere. I also put all of my stuff and gear neat away in cabinets and bamboo boxes, thank you Ikea
Cause what works for me is their furniture brand Kallax and Besta. You can choose from so many styled versions and not that expensive. Just take a look at my pictures for some ideas. So i also put in a sofa, just to chill. We already had this one in our house; so whoever saved what, got what !
It's been a while !
But i am back ! We worked hard on my new Art atelier/studio, it was a tough renovation unexpectedly heavy as a matter of fact. Especially the wall concrete and bricks were so thick, it took 9 hours to take the wall down bit by bit. Our house was full of renovation dust, but we were helped by one of the best craftsman from the area. And he reasured that everything will be ok. And i must say there's still some work to do, like the little points on the i, finishing neatly is important. The feeling of having my own Art studio is really a dream come true, i really have to pinch myself a couple of times and i am so happy with the results. Best part of it all is actually the styling and decorating, keeping it within a spendable budget. Well if you keep something you'll also have something. So what we did is to keep the costs down, to use a lot of things that are still good and timeless. But also a lot of things that were useless we threw away at the dumpyard. And you know that feels so good. The renovation has been expensive so far, but well spent within our budgetline. Maybe my Artstudio looks a bit to smooth, but that's the way i am, i like to work neat and clean, not messy but more or less i like to work in a tidy environment. It became my workspace and artstudio one at the same time. A space where my mind, ideas and plans become one. Where i also can relax in a part of the house that was once our garage where only junk and rubish was stored.
My Webshop is open!
Come visit and make your choice; i won't disappoint you!
Where it's possible to order 1 or more of my beautiful Artcards, all in different kind of sizes and versions; single or folded it's ofcourse a choice. You can use the cards as a gift or send it to a special friend or a familymember.
The single bigger cards can be put in a frame, it will be a stylefull item in your home or on someone's wall.
Just visit my portfoliopage to make your choice.
If you have technical problems with ordering and need help, wether it's a card or a print? Just leave me a message, i can help you out.
My Artcards come from the Fotofabriek
Wether it's just to send someone a beautiful card or keep it to your cardcollection. lt is always nice to just have my (or any kind of) cards in stock at home and use them by occassion or when necessary. I think they're really something special. By the way paperquality and colours are good, i am really satisfied. You can order my cards each in single or sets, or double, anything is possible. There is of course so much to choose from, but my preference is of course for my own art cards designed and ordered from the The Fotofabriek. If you are looking for something special, then you've come to the right place. Delivery is also fast and neatly packaged.
Artfairs and Artmarkets
I already joined some Artfairs, one for instance was a big one in Amsterdam at the Beurs van Berlage; the Amsterdam (intl.) Artfair. And not long ago i had the opportunity to exhibit my art at a cultural foodfestival in Alkmaar, that was so much fun! It is always exiting to attent an Artevent, where people get together, where they can meet you and your art.
Portfolio
For now it's important to have enough paintings in my Artportfolio. It's really comforting to know i can work on that, cause there are moments that you're so busy with other things, that you realize you have to catch up! So yes, you really need enough in stock, just in case . . . .
As a matter of fact i love to paint every day, but everything takes time. Just like promoting and posting all my Art on social media, while also editing takes a lot of time. One thing that's for sure; i do it all with Canva
Just easy to create beautiful designs for websites and blogs, but also to illustrate, or to style anything what you like !
I love what i do, i mastered it all on my own; painting portraits of women. Nobody ever teached me how to do it, finding it out and work for myself until i thought yes!, i feel confident to go on and with more confidence to continue. Back in the days at school, (when i was younger) in drawingclasses i loved to expresss my creativity by sketching eyes and lips over and over again. And now i draw, sketch and paint especially womenportraits with a beautiful look, family portraits, but also models i like just like the ones from a fashion magazine. Only painted by me, with a twist in my own style. In colour and black and white, oilpainted, varnished and framed. But also prints, cards, apparels and more is available. Just take a look at my Portfoliopage
Shopping for best brand artsupplies like pencils, brushes and paint
One of the most exciting things to do is shopping at Artshops, wether it's online or at the store. But wait . . . when i think at shopping at the store than that has more my preference, definitly! The sphere, the space, the smell of all the artsupplies in the store; the whole entourage gives me goosebumps.
Shops like Van Beek in Amsterdam or the beautiful big store of Arts and Crafts Holland in the Goorn, are a great choice
After having experiences with different kind of brands, my choice of paint above all is Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour Paints. It looks and works just like traditional oilpaint but water mixable oil paints have a faster drying time than the traditional oilpaints, ideal for artists who prefer a quicker workflow.
What also very important is that:
-there are no nasty odours in use – no need for toxic
-reduced risk to asthma and migraine sufferers
-just water to thin in most circumstances
-convenience of cleaning – soap and water for brushes, palettes, clothes and hand washing
-no loss of quality compared to traditional oils, stable, light fast
-good choice of colours and brands
-range of mediums for glazing, enhancing flow, texture and bulking, quick drying
-application as traditional oils (no special methods)
-environmentally friendly
Pencils and brushes
I have a box of graphite pencils, with different thicknesses and sizes, that i use for my sketching. It's a Dutch brand from Bruynzeel, wich is available in several artstores online as well in artshops like the ones i mentioned in this part of my blog. As for brushes, i discovered after i tried some less known brands, that my favourites are Da Vinci and Raphael brushes to work with. After using them so many times and while all the other brands started to worn out, Da Vinci and Raphael brushes still are good to work with and holding their softness on the canvas. For so far my experiences; my preferences to oilpaint is on the linen canvas. I think for now Talens is my favorit, second is cotton that ofcourse is less expensive but has more chemicals to endure. For now i will study a wooden panel, wich is great i think; another challenge to discover.
There must be a way, for a give away. Just a friendly gesture, because the holidays are coming. So the plan is if you buy one card, you get one free. I think it will be a good idea to take a look at my portfoliopage and make a choice, just send me a message.
But i must say busy times due to the holidays, may delay orders.