Swapping!

Cathie van der Stel is developing and experimenting with a whole new style... Looking great if you ask me!

Sandra Seymour-Dale was on a roll today

Have I ever posted about one of our favourite subjects in the atelier in Chateauneuf? We call it "swapping" and for one reason or another it is best enjoyed in the summer, when we are outside...yes, I have posted about that: last year, same time... If you want to read about it and see last years' results...:

Click here for the first swapping post

Click here for the second swapping post

a closer look on Sandra's explosive abstract

It is a very simple principle, and really suitable for aquarellista's because they are (have to be) less afraid of failure and less control-freak about their own work:

Create a background and then give your work to somebody else ("swap")! That way you are very free while creating your background, you can experiment and use colours and shapes you wouldn't normally (keep thinking, "who cares it is for somebody else..." it's good for you) and on the recieving end you get shapes and colours that will inspire you to show that you're up to it!

Cathie van der Stel: sheep inside

Anyway - last week we created the backgrounds, with lots of water, laughter, teasing and of course creativity and inspiration - some came out really gorgeous! Coming Tuesday we are going to paint the foregrounds...

Mireille Bonnaud: houses outside

Next to the swapping project we worked on the Inside/Outside theme, and we discussed the September-aquarellista-exhibition. In short, a busy -and fruitful- day! I keep the swapping pictures for next week (when they are hopefully finished), used as illustrations in this post are some of the results of last week...

 Roses (one dry, one fresh) by Sandra-Seymour-Dale

dewdrops exercise by Helen Bate Well done! They're rolling from the paper!

Marina Teding van Berkhout's "old ladies on the market"

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

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!

Vases and water

The week before last we started with a still life of flowers in a vase filled with water. This led to the need for more research on water and glass:

The "breaking" of the object (like a stem of a flower) by the water...

Bibbi Isaksson

The composition of water, glass and flowers I:

Titia Brandwijk

The reflections of light in the glass:

Beverly (now back in the USA for a couple of months) 

The composition of flower and glass II:

Sandra Seymour-Dale

The reflection of the background in the glass:

Bibbi Isaksson
 

Reflection of the light in the water:

Lies Timmermans

The importance of contrast and background:Karin de Bruine

And then there is some work in progress, from Ann amongst others - to be shown next post...

Exhibition in Chateauneuf

From 31 August until 13 September you can admire the beautiful work of a couple of aquarellista's in Chateauneuf de Grasse! There is a group exhibition there, and some of us participate with 2 or more paintings... As soon as I know more (which will be very soon) I'll publish the details - but for now it seemed like a good idea to give a sneak preview of what you can expect! I'll start with the Swedish delegation - Anna Karin Fast, Bibbi Isaksson and Birgitta Engvall. All three are original and creative - but that's where the resemblance ends, in their work they are very different. Bibbi's work is surrealistic and magical - the images look familiar, but the light, the combinations, the surroundings are dreamlike - and they will make you look - and look again!

Des temps immémoriaux - Bibbi Isaksson

Anna Karin looks for her themes in nature - she works realistic, in a poetic, lighthearted way and always gives the subject something extra - via her compositions, the way she uses her colours and the effects of the aquarelle paint

Pebbles - Anna Karin Fast

Birgitta has joined the aquarellista group not so long ago and she is still exploring the possibilities of the medium. With a very contagious enthusiasm! She researches the effects of the combination of aquarelle with other materials (salt, soap, crayon, masking fluid) and is not always looking for a beautiful picture! Good for her - but this one we all love:

Horse Nebula - Birgitta Engvall

During the exhibition in Chateauneuf, in "les Salles du Pontis et du Village" there is much more from these three - as well as from "the others" whom I will introduce to you in coming posts!

We're on Holiday!

Even the Aquarellista society has to go on holiday from time to time... Some of us are traveling far, some stay home and clean up their atelier! But last week, in between a fabulous lunch and goodbye champagne, we still did some painting...

Brenda Moorehouse, who by the way has recently developed a very interesting, cartoonlike style - created this "doodle" that has so many interesting bits!
Ann Edwards toyed with the deep sea theme

Lies Timmermans' "View through" from last week

and this is also from her hand! I have a feeling she likes bright colours

Brenda Moorehouse - doodles 2

And Doodles 3 from Brenda Moorehouse

I probably have said it before - this "doodling" is a GREAT way to discover what you like, what's there inside your brain and to get your inspiration back! And if you don't like it, just throw it away....

Next post about our upcoming show in Châteauneuf de Grasse!

Faces II

Last week we semi-finished the faces, leaving room for experiment and other subjects - but all related to "light". Here's an overview of the results up to now:

Girl smelling washing powder by Cathie van der Stel Two versions of a wedding portrait by Brenda Moorehouse
(one in Acrylics - one in Aquarelle, I know which version I prefer :-))

Girl reading music by Ann Edwards

Stage one and the finished product of Sandra Seymour Dale's "Nude"

Above... 3 stages of Marina Teding van Berkhout's Boys.

She will finish this and then I'll show you a bigger version!
And to top all this off, a subtle landscape

by Marianne van Wijngaarden

Tuesday we'll meet up again and we'll do a "swapping" session: I'll update you about it later, but the idea is that you create a background, knowing that it is for somebody else: after you finish you give it to another aquarellista... It is a very good exercise that helps you get out of your comfort zone, leaves room for experiment and makes the need for "result" a bit less strong. More about it next post!