Apple for Christmas

With this simple apple, I would like to greet everyone a very Happy Christmas. May you all enjoy all the blessings that the holiday season brings. Thank you very much blogger friends for your continuous visits to this blog. I might not be a frequent visitor to your blogs, but rest assured that when I got the time I will continue admiring and visiting your arts. God bless to you all.

Plumeria flower from my parents farm

This is a 6x6 inches watercolor painting of Plumeria flower from my parents farm. In the farm, there is an old Plumeria tree that gives beautiful colorful flowers just as this painting. The flower in this painting is on the cutted tree trunk.

End of summer rose from our balcony

I managed to paint this 6x6 inches rose - in watercolor - while I was busy practicing in oil paints. This rose was one of the last summer roses from our plant in our balcomy. I hope all of you will have a good and safe weekend.

Oil painting study

Two weeks ago, I joined with other members of our painting club to try oil paints for the first time. With my goal of just knowing how oil paints work, I chose a simple image to paint. So, the above painting is my very first oil painting. In the original, the small trees are much darker, which is supposed to be so as in the reference image I used. I don't know why they are much lighter in this photograph. Right now I am busy  with my second oil painting study - just to be more familiar with using the paints.

More autumn leaves

Picked up these leaves under a tree near my house. Their brilliant colors tempted me to sketch them. The sketch is in watercolor.

Autumn leaves

Started this small sketch of autumn leaves yesterday, but I only finished it today. The weather outside is rainy and gray, so I thought it is a good time to sit and paint.

9.10.2015 Twin Rose

Yesterday, I sketched these roses by directly using watercolor on the paper. I based this from my own photograph of a friend's roses. I wish everyone a peaceful and blessed weekend.

30.9.2015 Grapes

Watercolor, 24x30 cm

Bought these reddish-pink grapes from our AH supermarket. Decided to paint them because of their colors. Have a wonderful weekend to everyone.

16.9.2015 Rose

Watercolor, 24x30 cm

Reference photo

Last month, I had some moments of feeling like all I wanted was to paint roses. Perhaps that was because we have a rose plant that gives us so much enjoyment, for it continues to bloom even until now. In total I painted four rose paintings including this one above. If we did not go on holiday I could have painted more. I photographed this rose from Intratuin garden center here in my city.

A rose from the Aveleijn's garden

Watercolor, 24x30 cm

Inspired by my photograph of a rose from the Aveleijn's garden near my house. Aveleijn is an organization that provide services to handicapped people.

Pink rose (6 August 2015)

Watercolor, 24x30 cm

Got the inspiration from the rose painting of artist Lafe.

Red violet magnolia

Painted this newly-opened magnolia in acrylic on canvas. The size is 20x26 cm.
(For image inspiration, credit is due to morguefile.com.)

A fruit tray on the table

What you see in this painting is partly our dining area. The table is actually white but to make it livelier I covered it with a checkered table cloth. The fruits in the tray are two oranges and one apple. I used acrylic paints and acrylic paper in this painting - the size is approximately 30x40cm.

Tulip in red violet

I just finished painting this red violet tulip today which I started yesterday afternoon. This is based from a photograph I took while walking along the house opposite 'Tea House Sprakel in het Bos' near the former military terrain in Twente in my area. There were other kinds of tulip blooming under the trees in front of the house but I found this type livelier to paint. This is in acrylic painted on 400 grams acrylic paper; and the size is 30x40 cm.

Soft pink rose

I just cannot get away with roses. Here is another one which I think I painted two months ago and forgot to post here. This is in watercolor and about 5x7 inches and done on Fabriano Artistico cold press paper.

Small sketch in pen and watercolor

In my sketches, I usually use the back of the paper of my unsuccessful painting. In this way I maximize the use of sometime expensive watercolor or acrylic papers. I like very much sketching, it gives me peace and pleasure. I did this small sketch of fresh carrots just after buying them from the supermarket.
I wish everyone a good and successful week.

2015 Valentine's Rose

This rose is one of the roses from a bunch that we had during this year's Valentine's Day. I love flowers but roses are my most favorite. This painting is in watercolor, 24x30 cm in size.

Crossed legs

Yesterday, our painting club had  again an exhibition showing our old and new paintings. Everybody in the club had a great time. Some of us were fortunate to sell something. But the most important thing at least for me was that I enjoyed the exhibition, e.g. the preparation, entertaining people's questions and hearing positive things about my works, etc. This was the reason why I have no post for a couple of weeks. 

About the painting below, it was one of my paintings included in the exhibition. And it was the most popular and appreciated subject among my paintings during the activity. It is in watercolor. I took this image while the painting is already framed with glass, so the color is much better in the original.

Have a nice week to everyone.

Watercolor

Hibiscus II

Watercolor, 18x23 cm

I based this painting from my own photograph of a newly-opened hibiscus flower which I took during one of my trip to Asia sometime in May, 2010. The flower is in pale yellow with some darker yellow lines. In the original painting, its colors are much livelier than what you see here. 

More pleasant and fruitful art days to everyone. 

Hibiscus I

Watercolor, 15x18 cm

It is raining and dark outside although it is only 16:30 in the afternoon. Since I prefer to paint with natural light, I stopped working on this hibiscus. I will set this aside for sometime to see how I would like to finish it. 

I used my own reference photograph for this painting which I took during my visit in Asia. I do not know yet the specific name of this hibiscus but it is a typical single variety found in tropical climate.

I wish you all a fruitful art week ahead.

A quick rose sketch

Watercolor, 14x19cm

Did this light red rose very quickly late in the afternoon yesterday. It was just to satisfy my feeling of something like I have to paint that day.

A robin

I'm not really happy with this one but anyway I decided to show it here. This is in watercolor, 14x19 cm. on acid free watercolor paper. Fine days ahead to everyone.

A bright tulip to start the day

Yesterday, I painted this tulip just to try my new set of Winsor & Newton artist acrylic. I like the quality of the paints. Will use them more.

This is a small size painting, 14x19 cm on Fabriano acrylic paper. 

Yellow orange rose

Watercolor, 14x19 cm

Gave this as a birthday card to a couple whose birthdays fall on the same day. They just had a celebration last week. Based this painting from the photos I took from a bunch of roses we had last Valentine's Day. I used here Fabriano Artistico rough watercolor paper.

An apple a day

Watercolor, 13x18 cm
On acid free Fabriano Artistico watercolor rough paper

Apple is one of the regular fruits I eat everyday. Usually, I peel the fruit before taking it because of the danger of the pesticide sprayed on it. Nowadays however, I choose to buy the organic ones so that I can also eat the skin of the fruit. It is in the skin where most of the vitamins sit.

Open rose

Watercolor, 14x19 cm
On Fabriano Artistico white rough paper, 300 gms

I wish you all a nice weekend and beautiful week days ahead.

Newly-opened rose

Watercolor, 27x35 cm

I wished I had loosen up a little bit in this painting.

Have a good day to everyone.

Hello!

I am back from my almost three months travel to Asia. It was quite exhausting but I enjoyed and accomplished many things during the trip. Right now I am recuperating from a severe sore throat, cold and coughing which I caught after a day of arriving back here in Holland. This was I thought due to the change in weather condition. In Asia where I went to, the temperature was always above 25 degrees centigrade, while here it is always freezing. Anyway, yesterday I felt missing my paint brushes, so I decided to use them and play with my watercolors. If I did not paint for sometime, usually what I do to start again is to just play with colors. Below is one of the two sketches I made yesterday, a reddish pink pear.