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Koi fish in watercolor

I have been doing quite a few koi watercolors. Some different styles and techniques and sizes.

Some are more loose than others, which is my usual style of painting. I also tried some watercolour techniques, like using masking fluid, different brush sizes but finally decided it is not my way of painting….I prefer only the brush, water and color. I also tried a more true “watercolour painting” style and not my usual washes or loose line work. Once again, I came to the conclusion that it’s just not me. It just goes to show…one can’t really lie in making art. You can perhaps get away with it for a while, but in the long run, the true you needs to surface. It is quite  freeing  to have finally  come to this conclusion: I don’t want to do true watercolor paintings. I just love line and wash.

..koi 1..

watercolor and dip pen and indigo blue HErbin ink, 24X32cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor-005

 

..Koi 2..

in watercolor and lamy safari pen, 24X32cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor

..koi 3..

watercolor and dip pen and indigo blue HErbin ink, 24X32cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor-007

..Koi 4..

watercolor and lamy safari pen in Stillman and Birn sketchbook, 14X21.6cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor-002

..Koi 5..

watercolor and lamy safari pen in Stillman and Birn sketchbook, 14X21.6cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor-003

..Koi 6..

watercolor and dip pen and HErbin ink(Café et Gris nuage), 24X32cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor-004

..Koi 7..

watercolor and lamy safari pen, 24X32cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor-006

..Koi 8..

watercolor and lamy safari pen in Daler Rowney sketchbook, 21X29.7cm

Ronelle van wyk- Koi fish in watercolor-001

à bientôt,

Ronelle

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen · 2 Comments

A turnip, two spring onions and five gooseberries in oil.

These little studies !i do for February are really testing me. Sometimes I finish a canvas, stand back, look at it and it horrifies me! I then put it way back in the darkand when I come back to it a day or so later, I find it not so bad after all.The painting fairy passed by and touched it with her magic wand.

..turnip..

oil on linen, 20X20cm

turnips

..two spring onions..

oil on linen, 33X24cm

spring onons

I am a little under the weather since last Friday and feel tired, mentally and physically. The gooseberries were a bigger challenge than usual and if the Painting fairy hadn’t stopped by and woven her wand over it, you might not have seen it.

..five goosebrries..

oil on linen, 41X26cm

five gooseberriesUntil next time

Ronelle

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen · 4 Comments

Pomegranates in oil.

My art project for February is oil paintings. I find February the most difficult month of the year. It is usually very cold, rainy and grey, and the worst of all, windy. So it turns put to be the month I spend inside most of my time, painting wise. I usually turn to watercolor work, or drawing, both of which I enjoy. But this year I am taking out the oils in February.

..pomegranate in blues..

oil on linen,  27x29cm

Ronelles art Pomegrante on blueI have bought a lot of small canvases on which I intend to do small and quick stillifes, not  a formal, still life set up, bit more single pieces of fruit and vegetables, objects from the kitchen and refrigerator and veggie basket. I am awful at doing still lifes, I have done only a very few oil still lifes and I can’t say I enjoyed it very much. I find still life too static for me. I have no adrenalin pumping when doing a still life…there is no changing elements like wind or changing light or heat or movement which prompt me to work loose and fast and prevent me from fiddling. Standing in front of a stillife gives me too much time to fiddle, to much time to stand back and contemplate what to do or change, too much opportunities to return to the work and “fix’ what I don’t like.

..pomegranate in greens

oil on linen, 20X20cm

ronelles-art red pomegranateThese little paintings are exercises in different strokes, using different sizes of brushes and techniques and rendition in everything BUT realism.. All of them are done in one go, painting wet-in-wet, impasto, sur le motif, in my atelier. After the third one, I actually started enjoying it. The first painting was horrific..I was so not in the mood for this project, but I didn’t want to fail, so I put 3 pomegranates up on the table, 3 canvases on the easel at the same time and painted all three at the same time. That turned out to be not too bad and I started enjoying it.

..pomegranates in yellows..

oil on board, 33X22cm

pomegranate in yellowsSo, back to the easel where I have a fennel bulb waiting with its greens and whites and yellows…challenging!

à bientôt

Ronelle

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen · 3 Comments

Cream tulip sketches.

I still have 2 days left to capture some bulbs. Not that it means we are in spring. On the contrary, with snow forecasts for this weekend en cold to the bone weather and the fire burning high in the fireplace, it is everything but spring. Inside my barn though, I have forced bulbs everywhere and tulips in vases. Nothing can stop me from bringing some spring inside.

I used lots of different mediums and styles, just simply playing around, messing around. I enjoy working with gouache, I don’t do that enough, so it was great to do some sketches with gouache today. the last image is one of the gouache sketches..but I ruined it of course with that enormous name I signed…tried to be too artistic…

..Tulips..

..contour lines with black Lamy safari pen on Fabraino watercolor block HP, 18×25.5cm

Tulups in pot 10001

..Tulips 2..

..watercolor and J. Herbin ink, café des iles in Stillman & Birn sketchbook, Epsilon series, 14×21.6cm

Tulups in pot 2-001

..Tulips 3..

..watercolor and in Stillman & Birn sketchbook, Alpha series, 22.9x15cm

Tulups in pot 3

..Tulips 4..

..gouache and black Lamy safari pen on Fabriano watercolor block, HP, 18X25cm

Tulups in pot 4

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen · 3 Comments

Still doing bulb sketches.

The potted bulbs all have some flowers and today the little Iris reticulata had its turn. Some quick line work in inks and blotches of watercolor was all that I was in the mood for.

..Iris reticulata 1..

..watercolor and J. Herbin ink(bleu myosotis and lie de the) on Fabriano HPwatercolor block..

iris reticulataThe top sketch was done on Fabriano hot press watercolor paper, my favorite and the inks just work beautifully with the nibs and inks. The bottom sketch on cold press was a different story. The nibs get stuck on the paper with its rough texture and I just don’t like any other paper than hot pressed. you can just look at my signed name to see how I struggled to get a fluid line down.

..Iris reticulata 2..

..watercolor and Sennelier ink(sanguine 270) on Fabriano CP watercolor block..

iris reticulata-001

Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen · 5 Comments

Sketching Hyacinths.

I’ve mentioned how slow I am in January. I fiddle everywhere without getting anything done. With aw eek of January left, I decided to give myself a project for this week. I always work better towards a deadline with objectives and projects. I have some forced bulbs and  for these few days I will render them in more ways than one. My technique is busy changing, which is of course a good thing, but in the process of that change it is without definition and all over the place. Experimenting with brush and line may just open up a new door for a February project.

So  the first bulbs are the hyacinths. Lovely to look at, but they really cornered me. I did several of which I show only these two.

hyacinth bulb 1

done in watercolor an prera pilot pen on Fabriano HP extra white watercolor block, 23×30.5cm

jacinthes bulbes 1hyacinth bulb 2

done in watercolor and Lamy safari pen on Fabriano HP extra white watercolor block, 23×30.5cm

jacinthes 2..à bientôt..

Ronelle