Clouds in Holland

Clouds in Holland. There's a lot of them.

Portrait studies from the IAC

I really enjoyed sketching this man. He was so serene and calm, it was soothing and relaxing to spend a couple of hours drawing him.

Yaah, argh, avast matey

Today it was so windy that I had to hold the easel down in order to keep it still enough to work with the paintbrush. And, my fingers kept going numb. When it rained I sheltered in place with my back to the wind and held the easel to keep it from blowing over. Yaah, argh, avast and what not, it's the Viking in me, but DAMN it WAS fun!

Painting in the rain and wind and cold. Kind of a Dutch plein air version of the U.S. postal service but usually I'm rewarded with a great storm scene or whatever on the canvas. It's all good.

Here's the storm that was blowing in ever so fast from the North Sea.

The walk of the Croissants

Last weekend T and I went to Paris. (3.5 hours by Thalys, the fast train, 39 eurosehap if you plan in advance.) The first morning out, we encountered a very yummy croissant. So we christened the day the "walk of the croissants" and decided to eat our way through Paris. Here's our chronicle of that lovely Saturday. We're still dieting.

A wet day at the beach

Wind, hail, and rain made for a great day in Holland on the beach. I did finish the painting, but was it worth it?

Opening

So, I ducked into a local gallery to avoid the rain a couple of months ago. After talking with the owner, he asked to see my work. To make a long story short, I am part of a show now in the Hague, and the opening will be April 4 at 5:00 p.m at Weimar Galerie 55. Hope to see you there!

Stormy day

Both of these were painted on the same day, a day in which the wind was blowing in from the ocean at about 40 mph or so, very very windy. I got sand in the paint, in the brushes, in my eyes mouth and ears, and man was it great to be alive and outdoors!

Portrait

I enjoyed making these portraits. These are from 20 to 30 minute poses from a live model in a weekly drawing session at the International Art Club of the Hague.

Winter painting in the rain

Yesterday was great - I had just enough time to bike way out into the dunes to paint an ancient farmhouse. I've been waiting for a drizzly and overcast day to paint this scene. I was nearly done when it started to rain in earnest. To finish the painting, I had to keep blowing the droplets of water off of the canvas to see the oil paint. It was cold too. It was fantastic, invigorating, and possibly certifiable.

To stay warm I wear snowpants, layers of shirts, a heavy sweater and raincoat, fingerless mittens, hiking boots and wool socks.

Temple of Ramses III (Ramesses III) near Luxor

The hieroglyphs show piles of severed hands (top) and toungues (bottom) of the defeated Libyans at the Temple of Ramses III near Luxor. The temple dates to the12th century BC. I wouldn't want to be a prisoner of war in this era! Brutal.

The camel market at Burqash

Burqash is a thriving camel market near Cairo. We hired a driver and checked it out on the busiest day, Friday morning. It was well worth the trip. These are big animals, and you can see them being herded around for inspection at auction. The herders use big sticks to control the animals. It is strange to see pickup trucks tooling down the road with a couple or more camels in the bed. The camels with blue marks have been sold in a lot. Unfortunately, our driver did not have room for us to buy a camel.