I like big bulbs and I can not lie

Next year the society of Dutch botanical artists will get the opportunity to show their work in the Shirley Sherwood gallery in Kew Gardens, London. The mission is to show lots of paintings and drawings of bulb flowers. Naturally it will have the tulips. I guess there is no avoiding those. But I definitely didn't want to portrait tulips, Narcissus, crocuses or hyacinths. There are so many flowering bulbs worth looking at and many much more appealing than the regular narcissus and tulip. So I picked two of my favourite bulbs. Large and gorgeous. First Fritillaria persica:

I did it in coloured pencil and I love how this flower moves like a dancer, swaying her hips.

The second one is Galtonia viridiflora. Not a very common bulb but I have had them in my garden for years and just love the green/cream coloured elegant bells. This one I started in watercolour but half way decided it would look better in coloured pencil.

Hope they both will be admitted for the exhibition in London and that many of you will be able to visit the exhibition. Of course I'll post the announcement of the opening and exact dates here and on Facebook. Until then I'll get started with my next (fun) project. More about that in future posts too ;)

Me in Tresoar

Next Sunday will be the opening of a very special little exhibition in Tresoar, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Title of the exhibition is "Bloemenboek" (or "Blommeboek" in Frisian). It's all about the Florilegium painted by Franciscus de Geest in the 17th century in Leeuwarden. The book is all hand painted, never reproduced and very special. Normally it's being kept in Rome in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale but until the end of this year it is home again in Leeuwarden. Several months ago I was asked to participate in this event and I was so intrigued by the story behind the book and the time in which it was painted that I naturally offered my cooperation. Tresoar is the historical and literary centre of Friesland (a province in the North of the Netherlands). I had been there before with my mother to search for information about our ancestors (the archives are huge!).

This Spring the man behind this exhibition, Haye Bijlstra, came to my studio to make a short video of how I paint a botanical illustration. We went to Buitenpost where there is the Frisian Botanical Garden 'De Kruidhof'. For the film I chose to paint an apple blossom. Haye filmed me for four days while I painted. Of course it took at least 10 days more to finish it but it gives a nice idea of the process.
After the exhibition I'll post the film on my website but I can already show you the result of the painting. Of course the painting is in the exhibition too along with two other paintings done by yours truly. So, for now, here's the blossom of Malus domestica 'Reinette de Blenheim'.

Courses

These months are all about courses... last week I went to a master class about composition with Anne Marie Evans. I knew she was the best teacher already. This time she gave us such a great class that really opened our eyes and I think it made us all move up a level. We worked and struggled all week with Peonies and at the end of the week I had made a composition with two flowers and a leaf that I would never have done or tried before this class. I don't know if I ever will do something like this composition again (it's a bit too decorative for my taste) but that is not the point. The point is that she made us think much harder and force ourselves to do something that we never would have done. Not going for the easy or obvious composition.

Here's me and Anne Marie (thanks to Janneke Brinkman for taking this photo). See how wild my hair is from all the fighting with the composition? :P
She's here giving me some tips on one of my older paintings that I haven't finished yet. I was very happy to get some pointers that made sense and also that she loved my dark shadows (teehee) and the thin filaments I managed to get into the painting. But that is all more fun for me that it is for you. All you want to know now is how that Peony composition turned out... right? Ok, here it is:

Like I said, very decorative and it would be a great wrap around a bar of heavy scented pink soap. I haven't done much more than this since then because there's my own class that I'm teaching these weeks. I hope to get the Peonies painted after that.

This week my students learned how to draw leaves and flowers, how to measure things, how to work with graphite pencil and more basics. Next week they will start with coloured pencil. I'm very excited about that since it's the first time I'm doing a course about that. I'll try not to forget to take some pics next week so I can show you the place (we're in the greenhouse of De Kruidhof. That's a botanical garden in Buitenpost in Friesland, in the North of the Netherlands).

Finally another photo of moi that Ria van Elk took at the Anne Marie Evans Composition Course in Leiden (I really love this photo):

Bulbs Instead

Look what my parents gave me last weekend. Isn't it just gorgeous? But this post is not about Peonies...

It should have been about the progress I've made with my Clematis. Unfortunately my shoulder, neck and elbow are hurting too much to work with my coloured pencils right now. Especially working on the easel makes it even worse. That's a bit ironic because I started that big drawing on my easel to sit straight up and therefore it would be better for my neck.But that Clematis will be there later. I took many sketches and studies of it so (with all the reference photos I took) I will be able to continue that drawing in a month.

So to prevent myself from falling into a large gap of boredom I went to Eenrum last weekend to visit "De Kleine Plantage" again. Summer/Autumn bulbs from Hein Meeuwissen and Rita van der Zalm were there. So I had a drooling time at their stand. I had a few Dahlias planned for my garden but what I really wanted to buy were some wonderful looking bulbs. Flowers were less important. I also bought another Arisaema griffithii rhizome. Hopefully I will get some results from it this year.

The bulbs I bought are really nice and I started to draw the most beautiful one almost immediately. The problem was that I couldn't finish it the day after because we had a birthday party here. So the bulb was already two days in the house when I actually could start painting it. Unlike all the other bulbs I bought, this one started to grow as soon it felt the warm temperatures inside my house. Next time I'll try not to forget to put my bulbs in the fridge until I can actually draw it. But let me show you... always better than words, no?

This is the bulb I'm talking about. Isn't it a beauty? Sprekelia formosissima this is. I was so in love with the silver and dark brown skin in combination with the lovely pink sprouts. I took this photo on the same day that I bought it.
Now here is the bulb I painted only two days later:

You see how fast it's growing? And even when I sat painting it, the flower-buds kept moving and growing... So I have to paint fast. Fortunately I'm almost finished with the buds now and I can soon start to paint the rest of the bulb but I'd better hurry with that too before the flowers will open. Yikes!!!

The rest of the bulbs I bought? Here they are:

Hippeastrum Sonatini 'Helios'. A hardy Amaryllis with very light green-yellow small flowers. I didn't like the bulb so much but the flowers looked amazing. Couldn't resist :P

This is Lilium 'Pink Perfection'. I'm not crazy about Lilies but this one I bought because the colours in the bulb are so pretty.

And finally some of the most beautiful bulbs I know: Narcissus 'Paperwhite'. Again, I'm not a fan of Narcissus flowers but the bulbs I adore. Look at the rich dark brown and shiny skin! Mouthwatering beauties....

So I'll be busy painting to rest my shoulder and elbow. I don't mind... I love bulbs!!!

Painting in Eenrum

Last weekend I was invited to demonstrate botanical art and sell my paintings, prints and cards at "my" nursery De Kleine Plantage in Eenrum. For some years now they are selling my cards in their shop and every year I'm invited for the Liefhebbersdagen. It's in the second weekend of September and many other nurseries, bulb sellers, specialised shops, bookstores, etc. are invited to show and sell their goods at De Kleine Plantage. It's always quite a big event garden and plant lovers in the Northern part of The Netherlands. I took some photos again this year. It's so nice to look at the plants that are flowering now, finding new introductions of plants and of course to meet up with friends who share the same passion.
Down below you'll find the tiny painting I made last weekend. It's Clematis 'Jan Fopma'.

The beautiful border of pots and containers at the entrance of the nursery:

The plants for sale, ordered by colour. It's nice to see plants of the same colour all together, easy to combine and it looks wonderful too.

This is at the greenhouse where I was painting. Part of the greenhouse was made into a tearoom, the other part was for a jewellery maker, a book store selling old and antique gardening books and me. On Sunday also Gert Tabak and Ton ter Linden joined us with their cards and books.

 

 

There were quite a few bulb sellers. The biggest of all was Hein Meeuwissen. Unfortunately I didn't have time to get some bulbs myself but I will order some. The displays of all the sellers was so mouthwatering....

Some of the plants that caught my eye at the nursery....

Allium tuberosum

Aster 'Vasterival'

Clematis 'Dark Eyes'

Clematis 'Princess Kate'

Clematis viticella 'Maria Cornelia'

Echinacea 'Maui Sunshine'

Kosteletzkya virginica

Purple Kale

And here he is: Clematis 'Jan Fopma'

Plant and seed shopping

I went to Eenrum again today, to my nursery "De Kleine Plantage". Mainly because they sell my cards and lot of them were sold out. I never leave empty handed when I go there. They have so much pretty plants and things. But no big buys today, even though it was their Roses and Clematis weekend. I want a peach coloured rose in my front garden but didn't find one that was good enough. Most of the ones that had nice flowers grew on shrubs that were too low for the place where I want it. Other roses with great flowers (gorgeous even) were ramblers. Also not what I need right now. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere or just alter my plans, go for something red instead or something.
Anyway.... I did buy some plants and some seeds. Here's what I bought:

- Agastache "Black Adder":

photo: Guy Hendrieckx 

- Foeniculum vulgare "Giant Bronze" (had it for years and love it):

Anemone 'Rosenschale':

photo: De Kleine Plantage

Lythrum salicaria 'Blush':

photo: Adam Woodruff

And these seeds:


- Eschscholzia californica 'Milky White':

photo: Annie's Annuals

Tropaeolum majus 'Salmon Gleam':

photo: Deeproot Plant Base

Tropaeolum 'Black Velvet':

photo: Busy Bee

 Lathyrus tingitanus:

photo: Florus

Cosmos Rubenza:

photo: Sericea

Papaver rhoeas 'Parelmoer':

 

Scabiosa atropurpurea 'Black Knight':

photo: Photofarmer

Sowing tomorrow with Bertus :))
 

Spring is coming!

The very first sign of spring for me is when the Hazel (Corylus avellana) in my back garden starts to flower. The large yellow-green catkins dangling in the wind always make me smile. So fun that the male (the large greenish worms) and female (tiny red fluffy bits) catkins flower on the same twig.

I wanted to paint a larger twig than this but got a bit bored by the catkins. To be honest, I started to paint it very detailed but soon got lazy. And since I was doing it for fun I made a bit impressionistic catkins. At the end I put in some sharper details and shadows. I think I got away with it :P

Finished Work

It has been far too long since I've blogged something. So, here's an update. Last year, the last two months I didn't paint much. I wasn't well for a while and we had a very busy December. At the end of the month however, I decided to try and enter my work to the SBA show in London, next April. I want to send 4 paintings but it was hard to choose which ones. Also I felt like I had to enter work that reflects my recent work. I think I improved my skills this year dramatically. The course I did with Anne-Marie Evans had a lot to do with that. I now feel much more comfortable with the watercolours.

I wanted to enter my Nectaroscordum striptease but it's a bit personal. I don't want to sell it yet. So I decided to repaint it in a smaller version. Instead of the 5 flower heads, I painted 3. Also I changed the composition. To put them in a row, like I did in the first version, seemed stiff. Not at all what I wanted. So I moved them around till I was, sort of, happy with it.

As you can see in the slideshow, I had a big problem with one of the buds. It was the bud closest to the viewer but it was so grey and dull and there was nothing I could do to make it look fresh again. All I could do was to cut out the top layer of the paper and carefully remove the entire thing. I then polished the damaged part with a small agate stone and repainted the bud, giving it more colour and enlarging it a bit so nothing could be seen of the *gap*.
Here is the finished piece:

I'm also still working on another painting. It's Allium ursinum (or Ramsons or Wild Garlic). I made a sketch of it two years ago but never got to actually paint it. I wanted to give it a go for the SBA show because I was really pleased with the composition. Now this Allium has, as you might know, white, small flowers and large leaves. I first tried a flower head on a small piece of paper to get the feeling of the white, the shadows and the shape.

Next came the leaves. That was even more difficult because they were huge and wavy. All I had was a line drawing. I never got to add the shades to the sketch. So I had to carefully think about where to place the shadows. I therefore made a new sketch of the leaves and added the shadows with a pencil. I'm glad I did because I'm sure I would have totally messed it up if I hadn't done it.

Now I should tell you I'm scared of painting leaves. If possible I avoid it :P But these leaves were really needed. I tend to paint them too fast, use too much water and because of all that, mess it up. I had to tell myself over and over again while I was painting to be slow and work dry. Sometimes I did, but sometimes I didn't.

I had to carefully build the leaves to keep them wavy, clean and fresh but also to add drama and depth. I first did the shaping wash and after that I added the fisrt green wash of bright yellow green.

Now I'm adding more and more layers of deeper green to finish the leaves, adding details where necessary. So... not finished yet but getting there.

The third I finished (yesterday) is a painting I started last year and is one of my all time favourites. It's Pelargonium sidoides. I'm not a fan of Pelargoniums but this one is different in many aspects. The flowers are tiny and have a beautiful deep, rich, dark, almost black kind of red. Like small gems. The leaves are not too big and have a velvety silver grey look. That is such a beautiful combination, it makes you sigh when you first see it. No really, it does!
In a nutshell this is how it was to paint it: The leaves were difficult (because velvety and many cushions) but they went remarkably well, the stems were so thin and took the longest to paint them well and the buds and flowers were obviously the most fun to paint.

I'm so happy with this painting. I love the composition and the way the leaves turned out. If I will sell it I would hate to see it go. But that's the danger isn't it? Maybe someday I'll paint something like this again. Who knows.
The fourth I want to submit is the old drawing of Crocosmia 'Lucifer'. That will be the only one in coloured pencil.

I'll try and make loads of photos at the show and will report on my blog how it was. Ta ta for now ;)