Bibbi's portrait - a wonderful struggle

In December 2011 Aquarellista Britt-Marie Isaksson left the South of France to go back to her homecountry Sweden... Bibbi is a wonderful artist, with an outstanding technique and amazing imagination. Before they left, her husband asked me to paint her portrait and Bibbi later asked if I would make sure there were 'Marina things' in it...

It had to be a 'reconstruction' portrait - Bibbi didn't 'sit' for me and wasn't there to be sketched or just checked if I was doing right, but I had a couple of pictures to help me - and of course I know Bibbi and of course I have an image in my head that I wanted to paint: that of a lively woman, with a warm and comforting smile, a great artistic talent and a colourful fantasy.

In the photographs I had were no 'usable' hands - so when I had decided on the pose, I took a picture of my own hand and used that...

And there was another challenge: if I paint a portrait, I really 'dive' into that person and whilst painting, I often 'become' that person. What I didn't realize was that painting a colleague-artist, meant that I kept adopting her style! It was really difficult to paint Bibbi and not paint like her... And more than once I thought, I'll start with a new one. But putting it aside for a week helped me get a fresh look on it and in the end it all worked out fine. I am happy with the result - and luckily, so are the new owners!

Aquarellista's go Provence

Entrance to Mas in Grasse, Beverly Ellsley

The past week as well as the coming month, our work will be dedicated to the Provence. Because it is a source of inspiration, with so many different possibilities, from landscapes, to villages, to flowers, to abstracts based on colours or shapes! And also because six aquarellista's will have an exhibition in Valbonne in September, showing... their view on the Provence!

Here are a couple of  impressions:

Parents of the groom by Brenda Moorhouse

 

Provence lansdscape by Horst Timmermans

We're slowing working towards "getting the hang of it" ... so watch this space!

Spring Flowers

Dancing flowers by Helene van der Kroft

Last week I brought a bunch of irises from my garden... here's an impression of what the aquarellista's made out of that!

Wonderful still life with Irises and other wild flowers, composed by Anna-Karin Fast in her characteristic direct style

Very subtle Iris painted wet-in-wet by Marina Teding van Berkhout

Brenda Moorhouse, back from the Isle of Man created a biggee - and considers it as a work in progress. But now that I see it, I wonder if it is not just right as it is now...

Lovely and happy bunch of irises by Lies Timmermans: Mysterious background to be added next session!!

"Newvby" Horst gave the iris a try too - and everybody agreed that it looks promising - very promising!

Cathie van der Stel felt like painting from the top of het head - and painted several, amongst them these poppies...

...and these...

...and a couple of gorgeous pink roses, that by the way look as if they are drifting in the water...

>> Scroll down for more aquarellista posts

Flowers & Faces

While some of us were having permanence in the "Poetic Portraits" exhibition in Casablù in Valbonne, the other aquarellista's had their regular Tuesday meeting in the Hangar! We just did what we felt like, no theme, and this is what we came up with... not bad eh?!

Flowers by Ann Edwards, note the fabulous combination of ochre tones and Payne's grey

Tulips by AnnaKarin Fast, aren't they a bunch of happy flowers! Very subtle composition too...

Very interesting work of Sandra SeymourDale. Everyone present had their own thoughts about this, varying from flowers, to footsteps. It is by the way inspired on microscopic potato cells (or so... help me out here Sandra! To me it is an origin, a cosmic soup from which a life form appears... Very explosive and fascinating!

And then there was Bibbi, she let the brush do the work and this is what happened! Fantasy, combined with recognizable shapes in the usual great Bibbi tones!

And Bibbi also started a new painting, it has already progressed much further than this but I didn't take a picture. Another face full of expression...guess what she is thinking... More about that in next post

Above three stages of "Cathies evil twin sister" as we called it. Very well done, and you can clearly see that "contrast" works. And that Cathie van der Stel deserves a career in fashion painting! I would be very interested to see more of these characters...

And then one more by Sandra Seymour Dale, another monumental and moving picture. The grey masking fluid is still there, much will change when she removes that and the strong white will appear! Exciting...

That's us, working in the Hangar:

Poetic Portraits exhibition

The Poetic Portraits exhibition of the Marina Artist Team in Casablù in the heart of Valbonne is still on and will last until Friday 12 February PM. Don't miss your chance to check out their great aquarelles!

Cathie van der Stel amidst her paintings

The show opened with a very well visited vernissage! We made a lot of new friends, did good business and received so many compliments! Rest assured we'll stay modest and realistic as aquarellista's go - but the fact that aquarelles can get these positive comments, even from non-connaisseurs, did us good!

So here's a proud picture of us with one of our youngest models (see the portrait below)...

Portrait of Ines by Marina Teding van Berkhout

Waterlilies & Chateauneuf part II

We worked really hard and concentrated last week - inspired by Riviera's Jazz Radio... Only one aquarellista didn't work on our suject du jour "waterlilies and  Chateauneuf":

Marina Teding van Berkhout, who made these beautiful studies of a female nude...

In the Waterlily section Denise Holt did another version of last week's first attempt after she hadn't touched an aquarelle brush for ten years...

Improvement clearly visible - although I also really liked the first one...

Cathie van der Stel finished hers... Isn't it fantastic!!

And so did Anna Karin Fast - she added some small touches and all of a sudden there is perspective in the picture!

This is a little in-betweeny by Anna Karin - painted while her other painting was drying.

A good idea, and sometimes the start of great works of art.

...~o0()0o~...

Ann hadn't been in for some time and started with a simple view of a street, with lots of contrast... and didn't it come out fine! She's ready for a good old Chateauneuf painting  if you ask me...

A lovely, subtle and poetic view on Chateauneuf by Cathie van der Stel - who else...

And the sunny side of the street - in Chateauneuf -  by Sandra Seymour-Dale

Coming Friday we 'll start putting up the paintings for the Chateauneuf exhibition - It opens the 12th of December and of course I'll update you about it!

View on the village

Detail of "View on St Tropez" by Cathie van der Stel & Marina Kulik

This post is not about a project the aquarellista's have done, this is about something we may do in the coming weeks! As we are going to participate in the second exhibition in the Salle Pontis in Chateauneuf - because they really wanted us back - I 'd like to suggest to create all kinds of views of Chateauneuf... That could be the village itself, it is a truly lovely place, on top of a hill -

or we could also paint some of the many, absolutely fabulous romantic little streets inside the old center...

Below a couple of examples of views on villages - and we'll be back in two weeks with similar pictures, but now with Chateauneuf as subject!

View on St Tropez, the full painting by Cathie & Marina

Place des Arcades in Biot

View on Cannes

View on Antibes

Finished projects and new starts

Week before last, the aquarellista's painted straight forward reflections, in water and on mirrors. Most of that is in the post below this one, but two more were finished and they happen to have come out so good that I show them in an in-betweenie piece...

Cathie van der Stel's fabulous reflection painting - first stage and finished product

Stage 1 and 2 of Beverly Ellsley's Taj Mahal

And then some worked out other ideas: Marianne, Marina and Bibbi

Marianne van Wijngaarden is finding out ways to paint in a more spontaneous and direct way. With this cow she seems to have found the right direction...

And Bibbi Isaksson started on an impression of autumn vine-leaves

(as did Marina Teding van Berkhout: I owe you a picture of her painting when it is finished)

Reflections in Aquarelle

Last week's new theme was "Reflection". I have left out the "unfinished projects" - the next post will show them finished, we will work on them coming session. Everybody has been working really hard, the sun was out just long enough and the results were great!! Marianne van Wijngaarden has been working on the reflection of a white heron in the water...

and so did Hélène van der Kroft - who was very productive!

Here's a "sleeping beauty" also from her hand...

Snowy Mountains and a Lake... Switzerland versus Canada!

By Brenda Moorehouse...

...and Lies Timmermans

Anna Karin painted branches on a mirror, but the reflection was so sharp that with this subject it is hard to see what's reflection and what not... When we are painting outside, we are sitting under the trees - and she also painted the reflection of the leaves...

all in all a very lovely and special composition!

Bird in the water - Anne Edwards gave it two tries! Maybe next week we can show the third and final attempt! She's almost there...

And I couldn't help myself - I have made a reflection-picture of beach tents.

The reflection comes out of my fantasy - if you find mistakes-don't hesitate to write a comment!