This graphite pencil drawing ‘Berg en Dal – 17-05-19’ is about one of my dearest memories of my childhood. In 1980 I went with my parents for a walk on the famous N70 route. It starts in the outskirts of Nijmegen and runs through Beek and Berg en Dal. To foreigners the fuss about the route must be hilarious but to us flatland dwellers this is great. The Netherlands are not well known for their hillsides, viewpoints and steep slopes. Abovementioned route is for a change. The N70 runs on a big moraine, stretching from Nijmegen into Germany. There are plenty of forests, intermittently some meadows and beautiful vistas. There you can look over the Ooijpolder, the Duffelt and you can even see Elten on a clear day.
I still can remember the excitement of the beginning of the route at the Maartenskliniek. The spot you see in the drawing is not far from it. Maybe I was drawn to it to draw it for a couple of reasons. There must have been a whole lot of wood chopping going on. Quite a few trees were removed so there was a lot of light pooring through the foliage. That turned the place from a dense forest into a playground of sparkles on treetrunks and branches. Exactly my cup of tea.
This time I wanted to experiment with cubistic planes again. See if I can capture a forest scene within one hour. The goal was to only slightly indicate recognizable forms. Make them more abstract than they let on. In the drawing my dad Henk is walking ahead of me, inspecting some timber that was left in the woods. Yesterday it was my mum’s turn in Plasmolen.
Graphite pencil drawing (Pentel 0.5 mm, 3B) on Winsor & Newton paper (10.5 x 14.8 x 0.1 cm – A6 format)
Artist: Corné Akkers
Sales info: info@corneakkers.com
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