Today I returned to roundism again. Did you ever have the feeling that you had to burn all bridges? Something you could spend the rest of your life doing felt familiar and safe but nevertheless… Last year I did my last roundism drawing. After the completion I instinctively thought that was one final mark and then stop. Well, now I am not so sure anymore.
At the Binckhorst I met a model who posed nude for me and a student of mine. The live model sketch was in pastel and in fact I got the taste to do some more.
Sheep have more fun or do they? It so happened that my dear friend, poet and photographer Alexis de Roode went for a little stroll in nature.
Last Saturday I went to the Heineken Music Hall near the Johan Cruijff ArenA for my second vaccination shot. On the other side of the A2 there is Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, a village to the south of Amsterdam.
A day ago I experimented with Art Graf. I was quite surprized and therefor I thought it would be nice to do a portrait of Geesje Kwak.
Of late I am exploring textures of fabrics like satin, silk and all other shining objects such as gold and silver. Two months ago I made the first one, depicting Geesje Kwak.
This drawing of a woman in a red kimono is based on a session with my regular model. It so happened that I teamed up with a student of mine who rents a lovely studio in The Hague.
This graphite pencil drawing of Maassluis is an inbetween exercise. Lately I am fantasizing about combining ‘realism’ or whatever realism might mean to an artist and my personal roundism style.
Sometimes a model just can’t let go. After my last drawing Geesje Kwak still lingered in my mind. I also happened to find more pictures of her, taken by Breitner.
There is this girl that I know for a long time: Geesje Kwak. Throughout the decades I visited many museums. Once in a while I also come across Breitner’s famous oil paintings in the ‘Girl in Kimono series’.
After my last drawing of Rotterdam (Het Depot – 15-03-21) I thought it was time to do another drawing. I had something vague in mind: something impressionistic and rudimentary.
This drawing of Beek is a continuation of previous graphite pencil drawings like Marlot – 04-04-21. In these latest series of I set out to sharpen my feel for realism meeting my roundistic principles. Of course I see abstract phenomena in real objects already for a long time.
Sometimes a portrait commission comes along. This time it was the commissioneer’s opa (grandfather). Usually I am reluctant in accepting such assignments but this one was fun to do. The lighting was beautiful: full of midtones so I could study the skin folds thoroughly.
Marlot is close to where I live. On my morning walks I can choose between the Haagse Bos or Estate ‘Oosterbeek’ farther away. Up north there Park Marlot I have sketched a couple of times. There is also the residential area with villas and big semidetached mansions. On my way back I saw this incredible lane with a sun bursting through the dense tree branches.
On my walks I came across Estate ‘Oosterbeek’ again. I was in the mood to do another landscape after my last one of Buitengoed Leeuwenbergh. After all, Spring has arrived and South Holland is covered in sunlight. Let’s hope the sun will bring relief in this cursed pandemic.
Last week on my way home from a student I came across Buitengoed Leeuwenbergh. It was late in the afternoon and surprizingly a drizzly grey day turned into a blue sky with a beautiful sunset. It so happened I saw this incredible and bizarre curved tree trunk.
Rotterdam’s latest acquisition is the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. There was this online première in Januari 2021 during corona times but it drew less attention than deserved. Upon my word, I declare ‘Het Depot’ or in slang Rotterdam ‘De Pot’, a new wonder of the world.
In autumn 2020 I made my last drawing in the Golden series, called Golden Reality – 14-09-20. Since then I almost forgot about that series because I started drawing in graphite again after my big Frida Kahlo Project
How can The Blues Brothers turn into The Proud Brothers? That is simple enough. Take a big country and turn it into a madhouse.
Just on the brink of Christmas I thought I should make a roundism drawing looking rather risqué. It was a strange and hefty year for us all, I think.
Some time ago I visited De Smorenhoek, a small but long meadow surrounded by wood embarkements. From Beek-Ubbergen it runs upwards to Berg en Dal.
Years ago I saved a vintage picture of a nude on the beach. Origin unknown and my best guess would be from the 1930s or 1940s. The picture was rather grainy and but it showed a great composition of a female body in slanted position.
In my classes I often use ‘The Entombment of Christ’ by Caravaggio to demonstrate how artists normally distribute space. Next to this, in my eyes a great artist is one who lets the composition reflect the idea the main theme has to to convey.
And it so happens my niece Lilian turned out to be a great photographer. Lo and behold, artistry runs deep in the veins of our family and I asked her to use a beautiful photo she took of a treeline in Puiflijk, near to where she lives.
A new roundism variation in diagonals, horizontals and verticals. Sometimes you come across a great motif that stimulates to draw instantly.
The previous drawing Roundism – 06-11-20 was set up rather elementary, contary to this one.
After Roundism – 27-10-20 I thought to postpone future colored pencil drawings for a while and return to graphite pencil.
Last model session resulted in a nice pose through which I was inspired to continue my roundism series.
A cat comes in handy when you are out of options and do not want to simply draw a pretty picture of a beautiful woman.
Just a quick sketch of Louise Brooks, moviestar and celebrity of the 1920s and 1930s.
