Masuria

We just came back from a great vacation in Masuria, Polonia. We cycled 4 to 5 hours every day, and there is no better way to experience a landscape than cycling...We met friendly people everywhere and got wonderful meals in the evenings.

Masuria has it all: woods, fields and lakes - and beautiful churches and castles to visit.

Oil Pastel Sketch

A friend showed me her new oil pastels which she had bought...and I couldn't help trying them. It was already dark outside and raining cats and dogs, so I sketched this from a book. The original sketch is
from Paul Lewis.

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Chelidonium majus

Those who know me are not surprised when I say that I am interested in flowers and herbs. Recently, I attended a workshop about herbs (old knowledge, preparation, recipes, cultural background) which will take until September, 2013. -Every month, our group meets for two days. As a result of this, I will have to make a herbarium. Instead of pressing flowers, I decided to paint them.

I started with Chelidonium majus, Schöllkraut in German or  greater celandine, tetterwort, bloodroot in English.  A n d  in Norwegian svaleurt. When I came to my office's parking lot recently, I discovered a tiny specimen growing there. I was surprised to see that plant, still with leaves, in January. After some snowy days in December, the snow melted away - and that plant grows there, still all green...

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Imaginary Landscape

 

Thinking about trees in spring, I painted a daring watercolour; daring, because I used a lot of paint and created at least three or more layers. Moreover, I used crayons and opaque white, therefore this is far from being a classical watercolour.It rather seems to be a Tempera painting.
I like the overall feeling the painting evokes, although there are "mistakes" in it, like the very strong shadows underneath the trees and the too dark wood in the distance.
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Muscari

One of the bulbs I planted in November 2011 were "Muscari". They appear now all over the garden. In the attempt to make a "loose" watercolour, I tried to capture the "essence" of the flower, the feeling I have when I observe it.

What I learned was that I have to use much more water than I usually do. And I'm not sure if I really want to do "loose" watercolours. When I think about painting plants, I normally like the "botanical painting" approach. Well, I' ll take it as a kind of experiment.

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Illustration Friday





I participate the first time in Illustration Friday and made an illustration for their theme "vocal" for this week. I had fun, but  "illustration" means something different as "watercolour".


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Merry Christmas!

 I have seen a beautiful photo at Britt-Arnhild's blog:

It shows a landscape near Trondheim (I guess)

I tried to make a sketch and capture the cold, icy mood.
I wish everybody here and all the readers of my blog a Merry Christmas and a Bright new Year 2011!

P.S.: I have been busy with a lot of other things the last months. But I will be posting regularly again . So stay tuned.

From my sketchbook

After some last, lazy summer days ( but constant work in the office), I show you a sketchbook entry I made while taking a walk. - I carried a very practical, totally light weigt aluminium stool with me and therefore, could draw exactly from the point of view I wanted to. I find this stool - in combination with a backpack - much more useful than these so-called "fisher chairs" where the backpack is a part of the stool (or vice versa). I know because I own one of them, too...After all, I'm a great fan of outdoor gear...

Nach den letzen  Sommertagen (mit ständiger Arbeit im Büro) veröffentliche ich heute eine Seite meines Skizzenbuchs, die ich während eines Spaziergangs zeichnete. Ich hatte einen sehr praktischen, kleinen, faltbaren Campingstuhl mit mir; so konnte ich genau von dem Blickwinkel aus malen, von dem ich wollte. Ich finde diesen Stuhl wesentlich praktischer als diese sog. "Fischerstühle", die einen integrierten Rucksack besitzen (oder umgekehrt- der Rucksack hat einen Stuhl integriert). Ich weiß das, denn ich besitze auch einen solchen...Ich bin nämlich ein großer Fan von Outdoor-Ausrüstung...

Val Venosta day trip

During our vacation in South Tyrol, we made a day trip to Schluderns in Val Venosta. Schluderns is a tiny village with a beautiful, old church and many wonderful houses and places to dream and rest. In the yards, you still can find the famous, old "Pala" pear trees. They say that in former times the physicians all over the Valley took vacations when the "Pala" pears were ripe, because then almost nobody fell ill...

Während unseres Urlaubs machten wir auch einen Tagesausflug nach Schluderns im Vinschgau. Schluderns ist eine kleine Gemeinde mit einer schönen, alten Kirche und vielen wunderbaren Häusern und romantischen Plätzen. In den Gärten wachsen immer noch die alten, berühmten Palabirn-Bäume. Früher, so sagt man, gingen die Ärzte im Vinschgau in den Urlaub, wenn diese Birnen reif waren, da dann so gut wie niemand krank wurde...

Barn Sketch

This was the view from our window at the mountain farmstead. The roofs of the old houses -as of the barns - are all covered with shingles and stones.
I made this quick sketch with watercolour pencils.

Das war der Blick aus unserem Fenster am Bergbauernhof. Die Dächer -sowohl der alten Gebäude, als auch der Ställe und Stadel - sind alle mit Schindeln und Steinen gedeckt.

Diese schnelle Skizze machte ich mit Aquarellstiften.

Reschen Mountain Pass

We startet our vacation by driving to South Tyrol via the Reschen mountain pass. The Reschen lake is artificial and buried a whole village, Graun, when in 1950 the area was flooded. Only the church steeple can be seen today and reminds of the old village of Graun. They build a new village nearby, but they say that the old inhabitants of Graun are still suffering from the loss of their homes...

Wir fuhren dieses mal über den Reschenpaß nach Südtirol. Der Reschensee ist ja ein Stausee und überflutete 1950 das alte Dorf Graun. Nur der Kirchturm ragt heute noch aus dem Wasser und erinnert an das alte Graun. Man hat in der Nähe zwar ein neues Dorf mit dem gleichen Namen errichtet, aber man sagt, daß die Leute, die im alten Graun gelebt haben, bis heute den Verlust ihrer Häuser nicht überwunden haben...

Mountain Farmstead Retreat

We will spend the next 14 days on a mountain farmstead in the Italian Alps located near Merano. We're looking forward to hiking, drawing, eating special food, drinking fantastic wine and re-reading some of my favourite books, like: "Peter Camenzind" (Hermann Hesse), very recommendable for a vacation in the mountains, "The city of Segelfoss" (Knut Hamsun) and "The Rover" (Joseph Conrad).

Wir werden die nächsten 14 Tage auf einem Bergbauernhof in der Nähe von Meran verbringen. Wir freuen uns auf's Wandern, Zeichnen, Essen von Spezialitäten, Weintrinken und Lesen einiger unserer Lieblingsbücher wie "Peter Camenzind"(Hermann Hesse), sehr zu empfehlen, wenn man einen Bergurlaub verbringt, "Die Stadt Segelfoss" (Knut Hamsun) und "Der Freibeuter" (Joseph Conrad).

Virtual Paintout May 2010

This is my entry for the Virtual paintout for May. It shows a house in the Czech Republic.

Mein Beitrag für "The Virtual paintout" für Mai - ein Haus in der tschechischen Republik.

Apple Blossoms

The apple trees are blooming. With their pink-white blossoms, they are one of the most beautiful signs of spring for me.

Die Apfelbäume blühen wieder. Mit ihren rosa-weißen Blüten gehören sie für mich zu den schönsten Frühlingsboten überhaupt.

Virtual Paintout-Islas Canarias 2

 This is my second and last entry for the Virtual Paintout Blog, a view showing a landscape near Vega de San Mateo, Gran Canaria, Spain. - I only used the left part of the view for the painting and then created the landscape at the right side like I thought it should be. F.e., I missed out the houses in the background. I had much fun creating the textures in the foreground. I used at least three or four different layers for them.

Dies ist mein zweiter und letzer Beitrag zum Virtual Paintout Blog für diesen Monat. Es zeigt eine Landschaft bei Vega de San Mateo auf Gran Canaria. - Ich verwendete nur den linken Teil des Ausblicks als Bildvorlage; den rechten Teil malte ich so, wie ich glaubte, daß er gemalt werden müßte; d.h., ich ließ die Häuser im Hintergrund komplett weg. Es machte mir sehr viel Spaß, die Texturen im Vordergrund zu gestalten. Ich verwendete mindestens drei oder vier verschiedene Lasuren dafür.