birthday and painting

Yesterday
I had a lovely birthday with friends
and there will be more celebrating this Sunday :
a dinner party for a special round-figure birthday !

80


Right now the garden is looking lush with blooming trees and new greenery
(haha, birthday beauty for me !)

Just some days ago I started a new gouache painting.
After the initial idea sketch I made a bigger one 
with more elaborate details,
one ready to move onto the heavy water colour paper.
(I often use a grid for that)

I work in layers, starting with the background.
Earlier on I made the whole background in one colour
but with gouache, unlike acrylic paint,
the pigment dissolves again when the next wet layer is added
(colours start mixing !)
So now I changed that and leave certain parts open.

This far I finished today.

 

a fresh start

April started with sunshine and a few showers
but rather cold and windy
so a perfect time to start a new painting.
I always make several small sketches
of ideas that come into my head
for the narrative gouache paintings I love to make.

People sometimes ask
if I shouldn't make illustrations for (children's) books
but then I always tell them
there is already a little story in it . . .

"helping a friend"

I love the visiting birds in our garden
so here's another painting with a great tit in it.
(I made one with them before and it was sold)

Because the Amelanchier (Juneberry) in the garden is in bloom
I thought it was just right to add that one too.
The fun part is, that this (still) small tree
was sown by some bird a few years back !!!

I start with the background when the sketch is on the paper
(300grams watercolour)

There are more sketches
but, tomorrow we have daughter and the children
looking for Easter eggs in the garden
(and it doesn't matter they don't have the egg-hunting age anymore !)

Art Market in BAARN

Yes,
this Sunday we have again an
Art Market :
this time in BAARN

The Cultureel Festival Baarn again organizes the market in the

PEKING TUIN

There will be performances,
workshops for kids, music
and . . .
ART !

The entry is free
and the program is from 12.00  till 17.00 

(One of my paintings for appetite !)

Our stand is near the "Baarnsche Courant Podium"
Maybe we'll see each other there

new bag

In five days time
on Saturday August 19
I will be on the Walk Art Market in Zeist.

My market stall will be in almost the same place as last year :
the path on the left side of the main square
near the entrance.

Because I was "low" on little bags
a new one was made
for which I finished the band yesterday.

The new bag
waiting for a button
(that I will look for tomorrow in the city)

One tiny problem appeared to be there
when I attached the band :
I made it too long for the intended waist length,
so now it will "only" be a shoulder bag . . .

This will be more or less (things sold !)
the way it will look like on Saturday.
(though we hope it will not be as hot as it was last year !)

If you live anywhere near Zeist
please come by to say hello !

There is a wide choice of gorgeous art work
with me
(and others) 

Hope to see you there !

art market

Almost one week to go
to prepare everything
that I will take with me to the market.

 It is always a lot of organizing
because I don't take the same things to every market :
wrist warmers for example
are not necessary in springtime.
But I take little bags, finger puppets
and all of the jewelry.
And surely my textile pieces mounted on canvas !

But most of the paintings will be there too !
I framed the last three today !

a sneak peek of the very newest !

If you live in Holland anywhere near AMERONGEN
please join us on this wonderful
art and farmers market !!!

You might find a lovely present
for yourself, a loved one
or even Mother's day !

I hope to see you there !

May

 First of Mai already
(though the day is still very young)

MAY,
means a new letter of the alphabet
in the "#bibabowildmarathom"
A challenge to make an animal in a month
(in any creative technique)
which name starts with the chosen letter,
a fun game invented by Yaroslava Troynich !

Though I'm still struggling with the previous "Q" for March,
the "C" for April resulted in a CAT for me.
I didn't make a felted cat but took half of the painting
that I'm making (and which is nearly finished)

(hmmmm, I hope only half a cat is still a CAT . . .)

So MAY
is also the time for my first Art- market :

in two weeks :

Saturday 13
in Amerongen !

De Grietmarkt

MAY
is my garden exploding in greens and whites and blues !!!

The Bluebell feast about to begin !!!

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Wat a lovely festive day it was today !
After a (very) quiet birthday on Friday
family and friends were visiting today.

Presents and LOTS of flowers

One of many beautiful bouquets !
(amazing, where these out-of-season flowers come from
hmmmm glass houses of course)

Though NOT a sunny day
(in fact even cold)
the flowering trees in the garden
are bravely showing their colours (for me) !

The green points on the Ginkgo tree
are promising bright green leaves soon too.

Another small gouache painting finished and framed.

(detail)

Easter Sunday (post 1111)

Months are flowing into each other
with all kinds of appointments that keep us busy.
But luckily there is also time
for stitching and painting
and 
family !
No matter how big the grandchildren grow,
looking for Easter eggs in the garden is always FUN !
So today they hunted for eggs
(hmmm, one is still somewhere hidden in the green !)
and later had a yummy dinner.

Yesterday I finished my first gouache painting
to replace the ones I sold last year on the art market.

I have three more sketches ready
for a few more
(but I surely won't finish them all before May 13,
perhaps only one !)

(detail)

a SUCCESSFUL day !

After an early start
we had more than enough time in Zeist
to prepare and place all my items on the stall.
We were some of the very lucky ones
to have a place under the trees with lots of shade !
(and Man was very glad that the parking garage
was just next to the park where the market is held :
no long walk back and no car in full sunshine !)

everything ready to GO

Early that morning I was still afraid
that people might decide against a visit
because of the extreme hot weather . . . but
it turned out that many visitors made an early start,
and they even kept coming during the rest of the day too.

What I love most
(apart from selling my art of course)
are the many lovely chats with all the visitors
that are interested in how things are being made.
It was fun to see familiar faces too.

So many different ways people decide
if and what
to buy !
I KNOW you can spend your money only once !
Some people know it right away
and some need "to think about it"
(there are choices to be made !)

It is so rewarding when they do come back
(and even decide then : to take móre than one !!!)

And I love the "stories"

This fish for example, was to be a present for a dear aunt
who has a "sea" - theme for "the smallest room" in the house !

This belt pouch was seen and snatched up right away !

So many lovely customers !!!

I wish them years of pleasure with the items they bought !

THANK  YOU  ALL  VERY  MUCH  !

A FUN day with lots of music too !

"the Nightingales" two great singers and sisters
(nót the British punk rock-band :

their Dutch name IS Nightingale  :-)  !)

And now back to some felting and stitching
for Stitch Club and for the next market in September !

August . . . and another ART market !

Sometimes there are busy times
and then
there are quiet times.

Now I'm definitely right in the middle
of a quiet time !
I'm getting used to the new kitchen,
lots of people are on holiday,
not much stitching lately,
and with this WARM weather it's also best to keep quiet

:-)

But, this Saturday
we have another art market
in ZEIST :

the  WALK-ART-MARKET
(Slotlaan, opposite number 48)

It will be a first for this market,
but I'm sure it will be lovely
with many artists.

Lots of textile jewels,
felted items
and also many small gouache paintings
will go with me.

If you live in the neighbourhood
please visit
and we'll have a chat !

one of my little pouches

ART market

Ohhhhh that has been a loooong time !
Loosening the tight grip Covid had on all of us for a good two years 
makes this possible again.
And I'm very HAPPY because of it !

GRIET MARKT

Zaterdag  14 MEI
10.00  -  17.00
Margaretha Turnorlaan
Amerongen

Biologische producten
Kunst
Straattheater
Kinderactiviteiten
Muziek

(I'm sorry to say I have trouble
to get the original poster here . . . grrrrr)

I hope (and expect) it to be as much fun
as the last two times I was there.
Ha
if I was not already there with a stall,
I would certainly pay a visit !!!

Framed gouache paintings

an imagine from the garden . . .

And of course a variety of Textile Jewels,

textile pieces, mounted on canvas,
little felted bags and
BEASTS !

If you live anywhere near the center of our country
please visit this wonderful market !!!

next market

In a week I will go to another market

the Art Market in Hoorn

Sunday September 2

12.00  - 17.00

I will take my textile jewels and accessories

(felt and textile)

small quilts

and the gouache paintings.

(all of them neatly framed)

This one will not be there

because it was a present for grandson's birthday.

But I will bring many others

I have this lovely box for my broches

and because I sold some in Zierikzee

I made some new ones

For them I used the lovely thick felt

daughter made some time ago.

The green/blue silk embroidery thread

Doris sent to me

came in good use too !

green !

Spring is really here now

and the garden is an explosion of

green 

So I completed the drawing / painting

of a few days ago

with a lot of green too ! 

Camassia leichtlinii

 Now it looks more like standing in its

natural surroundings of green and tiny bits of colour.

This is the Camassia's neighbour :

Polygonatum multiflorum,

only a few stems of a big wild bush !

Thanks Vicky !!!

(the sister of my dear garden-friend Rhonda

went to Australia and couldn't take her garden with her ...)

Many years ago from "wild" France

we brought this beauty home :

Asphodelus albus

This is the white Wisteria against the house.

though I've got it heavily pruned last year !

Such a lovely fragrance !

*

And now for something completely different :

the eldest grandson is the proud owner of some new "wheels" !

He started speed skating last autumn

and in summer they train on skeelers,

on 10 cm high wheels !!!

(almost as big as us now  ;-) ...)

This Saturday, while daughter and me

were at the "Alpaca-knitting club",

Man went to see the training !

(training with the grown-ups !)