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"

"Outside" in Chateauneuf

This is what an aquarellista-afternoon looks like! The lush green is real - so are the girls and their aquarelles... We are still working on our theme "inside-outside" and everybody is having their own interpretation, very interesting! Most of the work is not finished yet, but I thought, I'd give you a sneak preview of the work in progress...

On the outside - Ann Edwards' version, with mysterious windows looking in ...

Brenda Moorehouse was just sketching a bit to get the inspiration going - and look at this, it's just a study but I like it a lot! She started, roughly, with the colours and added the dark lines later. It works!

Beverly Ellsey started this great 'look inside', what's the finished result going to be - a warm, South French evening atmosphere maybe?

And a completely different and clever interpretation by Marianne van Wijngaarden in which she shows inside and outside by means of these tulips...

Brilliant work - but bad bad photo's

This is the FANTASTIC aquarelle of Mireille Bonnaud! Leaves, in a whirling wind. I'll take a better picture of this one and post it again next week!

The aquarellista group has been working hard and motivated on a couple of things. The starters did VERY GOOD on their next project, "spheres", the others worked on flowers and began experimenting with our theme: "inside/outside"...

But silly me, I pressed some button on my camera and the pictures turned out so small that you can hardly see what's on them!! Luckily most of the work wasn't finished, soI'll get another chance tomorrow!

I will show you the minuscule piccies though, for a preview....

Experiment with spheres by Helen Bate

Butterfly with volume by Mia Schraa

Iris by Brenda Moorehouse (look at that background!!)

Tulips by Sandra Seymour-Dale

She did lots more by the way, on her dried roses series - but you'll have to wait for that until next week, just like Cathie's, Marina's and Ann's work on the inside/outside theme...

Atelier Libre

Last week a couple of Aquarellista's met up in the Hangar to have a gorgeous lunch (I'm told), do a bit of work, finish projects and have a good time in the sun, with a nice cup of tea....

Of the starters only Helen Bate was present, she created several aquarelles, experimenting with the great aquarelle medium, here is one of them, a wet in wet landscape:

She also finished one of the starters' exercises, that begins with a simple drawing, which is filled up with colour, then washed out with water and a sponge so that the colours fade, and after it has dried, "volume" is suggested by painting on top of it, with highlights, shadow and patterns (for more info see our watercolour book)

The volume exercise by Helen Bate

The volume exercise by Horst Timmermans

Dried Rose by Sandra Seymour-Dale

Stage one of a flock of sheep by photographer du jour Cathie van der Stel: the nice green elements on their backs are of course masking fluid...and they will have four legs, or maybe five... 

Next week the finished project!

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

Carribbean Blues II

Two weeks ago my computer crashed and I didn't post - I still owe you the results of our second session on the "Carribbean Blues"

Peaceful Beach by Ann Edwards

Parasol and deckchairs by Betty Schep

Boat 1 by Cathie van der Stel

Boat 2 by Cathie van der Stel - and LOOK at that underwater part!!!
 Click on the picture to enlarge and appreciate the detail and wonderful colours...

Boat in typical Helene van der Kroft style: lovely summer colours!

Scroll down for an impression of the vernissage of the Abstract Exhibition on Nice Airport...

Nice Airport Vernissage

Last Saturday, the exhibition 'Les Abstraits' was officially opened! It was very well visited as you can see on the picture below!

The artists were introduced by the organisation and the attaché culturel de La Gaude. The nice looking guy on my left is Olivier Menu whose explosive art was printed  on the invitation:

The art was also visible on the monitors!

This exhibition is on until the 30st of July, in both business centers, of Terminal 1 and 2...

Carribbean blues

Inspired by Cathie's holiday, we started thinking about paintings with a Carribbean "feel"... It was great and sunny outside, it was Horst's birthday and we had homemade pear cake and champagne: what more could an aquarellista ask for!! Even without painting, it would have been a fabulous Tuesday afternoon, but we actually started some great paintings that look like they will catch that athmosphere just right:

Unfinished but already very Carribbean-looking! From Lies Timmermans

Work in progress, with still lots of masking fluid on mast and far-away sail, but look at that sky!!

Cathie van der Stel's two promising aquarelles...

Since 2 weeks ago, we have three enthousiastic newbees in the group: Mia, Horst and Helen. They are working very hard at the moment, to understand the difficulties of working with the transparent aquarelle paint, that doesn't allow you to make mistakes, that is so fluid that it flows and drips and stains, also when they do not want it.. But I am very confident that we can sho some results soon! Great things are already happening...

Horst's version of the "don't look at the shapes, just paint the colours"- exercise

NB: Scroll down to the next post for info about the "ABSTRAIT" show in Nice Airport!

Exhibition of Abstract work in Nice Aéroport

Until 30 July the business centres of Terminal 1 and 2 of the airport of Nice, shows abstract work "L'Abstrait". There are marble and other stone sculptures, original 3D objects made out of plexiglass and of course paintings and drawings, in all kinds of media. Acrylics, oils, fresco, laquer, gouache, ink and a couple of aquarelles... yep, they're mine.

 

I've been there all morning to put up my work (6 paintings in total) it was of course great fun to be there and meet the other artists! Catherine Monmarson was there, Michel Baudet, Hannelore Jüterbock, all great artists and very nice and creative and their work is fantastic! OK, not in watercolours, but hey! That's why you have me in there, as your aquarellista representative...

Anyway - If you are in the neighbourhood, go and have a look and if you are in the neighbourhood on May 8th around 6 PM, that's even better: you are most welcome to join us for the festive vernissage!