four apples, watercolour in Stillman and Birn sketchbook
Cherries, watercolour in Stillman and birn sketchbook
Fruit in watercolour
Three white roses and a dahlia in oil.
The Iceberg roses(fee des neiges) are still blooming profusely with a few white button dahlias alongside. Even though I brought A stm or two insife to the atelier to paint, I wanted to portray them as if still in their natural environment…a corner of the rosebush.
Three white roses and a dahlia in oil.
oil on linen, 30x30cm
à bientôt
Ronell
Watercolour for Sunflowers.
Some subject are painted again and again and they never look the same, like sunflowers. I have done sunflowers in 2007, then in 2010, 2011, 2014 and now again. they are just wondeful to paint/sketch…the colour alone gives me huge kick when slapping it onto the paper. Sometimes my painting/sketching didn’t work, but I enjoyed painting sunflowers every time. So, before the season runs out, I need to get some sunflowers done in oil…looking forward to that.
Sunflower 1: Watercolour and pen, watercolour block, 30x30cm
Sunflower 2: Watercolour and pen, watercolour block, 3030cm
à bientôt
Ronell
Agapanthus in watercolour.
The agapanthus in my garden are blooming profusely and beautiful in their blues ad whites. To my amazement I realized yesterday i haven’t painted any agapanthus yet. I gave it three attempts. The first attempt is probably still the best , even though it is not what I am after. Most of the time that I try two or more attempts of the same subject, I find that the first attempt is the best.I have experienced it so many times. I think it is probably an instinctive reaction to what you see for the first time in front of you..in order to capture that is…and as we all know… first, spontaneous reactions are always instinctive.
Agapanthus 1: Not great composition, but the first attempt and probably the best of three.
Agapanthus 2: The values way too dark and the overall effect too messy.
Agapanthus 3: Third attempt and I think it turned out the second best of the three efforts. I quite like the lightness of the blooms, but the overall effect is a bit stiff.
Until next time
Ronell
Paris sketches in july.
When we drove into Paris last week and arrived at Porte d’Italie, I could feel it has been a long time since I have been there. I forgot the traffic, I forgot the speed, I forgot the taxis, the motos…but I haven’t forgotten how much I enjoy going in to Paris. I didn’t do any museums. The weather was perfect and I just wandered the streets, took in the summer ambiance…and I did some sketches of which only one or two were completed, the rest will be finished next time I get to Paris.
Paris 1: The ever recognizable presse kiosks of PAris. this one is in the tree lined Blvd St. Germain.
Paris 2: Resting in the shade by la fontaine Sulpice, just opposite Annick Goutal, where I get my favorite perfume, Eau du sud.
Paris 3: I can’t remember where I did this sketch, since I haven’t noted down anything. I could be somewhere where I stopped for a coffee.
à bientôt
Ronelle
February art: Café life.
February is a month in which many stores, restaurants and cafés close for a fortnight, taking their break before spring arrives with all its liveliness. Not much is happening in the mostly grey month of February. Everybody is cocooning and taking Prozac in front of their daylight lamps. Schools are also closed for a fortnight and the whole world goes skiing in February. Tradition. Except…this year is not a great skiing year with snow only on the highest peaks.
In the one café that is open during this month, I enjoyed my coffee and croissant. It is better than Prozac at least. It was stock full of people, being the only bar open in town, with everybody looking for a counter to lean on with their petit noir. I am not a counter girl, I prefer a table and a large one at that for all my clutter.
It is actually great sketching wise, when there are so many people in a bar. Nobody notices you giving him/her the infernal sketching glare, so drawing people is much more relaxed.
Streetview opposite café de la Poste in Bretenoux…Just a building across from Cafe de la Poste. I had my young German shepherd, Lindiwe with me who got impatient and I had to speed up the sketching.
Watercolor and Pilot Prera pen in Stillman & birn sketchbook, 22X14.5cm
Café life 1, 2 3: In PMU, we all call it Cécile’s bar, life was busy and noisy and sketching went great. The only problem was that my pen got empty and it got more and more difficult to make nice dark lines.
Pilot Prera pen in Stillman & Birn sketchbook, 22×14.5cm
Africantapestry 