Painter
The signs of the changing season are upon us. The once bright green leaves of the trees are becoming earth-green and the needles from the pines are falling. The sky keeps it deep colour longer into the morning. It’s Sunday and I start to cycle into the centre of the city to paint a watercolour. …
Usually at this time of year, I’m able to dedicate a lot of time to painting because many of my student’s are taking holidays. This year is different. I’m teaching almost as much as I was in April (at Easter time) and I haven’t taken a holiday since then. But I’m not making an excuse; …
This week I didn’t have time to finish an oil painting, so I went out to explore, bringing watercolours and checking out some new places. By doing so, I can see how the light performs its magic in a certain place and, in the meantime, assure that I can set up an easel and work …
The summer hasn’t been great for the weather this year. It’s been raining a lot in the afternoons but heat can combine with humidity, hence, sometimes it stays hot well into the night. There is talk that fewer Romans are leaving the city for holidays in summer. I can attest this by listening to the …
This morning, I woke up at five in order to check out a site that I had found on google maps. However, when I arrived on the spot, I noticed that there were state police cars all over the place. The square which I had decided upon was part of the Ministry of Defense. I …
I love to paint outdoors. It is an adventure for me that gives me tremendous satisfaction to be able to observe nature in such a way by painting it. My research has lead me from beautiful places of historical interest to isolated places of urban disorder. I have asked myself about the relationship between painting …
My second series from the manual The Mustard Seed Garden consists of rock studies. The progression from tress to rocks is not immediately perceived. However, after executing a few studies, one sees how the lively twisting branches, strong trunks and delicate leafage turn into massive rock bases with undulating hills and falling cascades. My wrist …
I started doing some exercises from this classical Chinese Painting manual: From The Book of Trees – Method of painting a tree beginning with the four main branches To paint landscapes, one should first know how to draw trees. To draw trees, one should be able first to draw the trunk and main branches, then …
In 2011, I went to Hangzhou China with a group of artists that were invited by the city. One of the places that we visited was a building which housed a floor of art supply shops. We made our way around trying to buy things which seemed like a bargain. None of the shopkeepers spoke …
When I think about China, I am tenderly drawn to traditional images of well-known Chinese clichés. In fact, when I visited China, I was struck by how well the Chinese people had supplanted their homeland culture in other parts of the world. I mean the typical Chinese restaurant with its dark woody front and red …