This was the last drawing of the day and I felt tired ... 10 minutes into the 20 minute drawing and it sucked so badly that I simply gave up. I started playing with it, drawing in a completely different manner... much freer...and it turned into the best portrait of the day. Sometimes you spank the painting, and sometimes it spanks you.
More from the same model - these were 15 to 20 minute poses.
These were five to 15 minute poses. I really enjoy drawing this model.
My typical lunch for painting in the dunes is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But it's got to be made with Jif, only available in the states...and I'm down to my last jar of Jif peanut butter. The kicker is that the sandwhich is only good when smothered with Becel... you guessed it, Becel is only available in Holland. I sense an impending gastronomic and cultural crisis.
It was great playing with a simple van gogh style, very freeing. Out with my friend M, we had a blast. Her painting was really quite interesting, a dreamscape.
This picture is for all the home improvement people out there. This is a lumber store in Cairo taken a few weeks ago. You can just see the shop owner's chair which faces the road in front of the store. Home Depot, Cairo style.
This was a fun night for drawing at the International Art Club of the Hague. I liked the peaceful calm of the sleeping model.
For scale and for pure coolness factor, check out the art and the art patron. I might have to paint this scenario myself.
She has a great show at the Museum Moderner Kunst, and is a fabu artist and possible new source of inspiration for me.
But probably not always so warm and sunny... This is the local library, in a square surrounded by a million other buildings looking just like it. I lay down in the grass to recover from food poisoning while Tamara toured one of the Hapsburg palaces.
T says that there are no pics of me so here's one. We are drinking wine in the Grinzing district of Vienna, which is where lots of wine is grown.
Sacher torte has been a specialty of the Hotel Sacher Wien (pictured, in Vienna) since 1832. You can just see Tamara in the window. It was a lovely trip, although I did get food poisoning which slowed me down for a day or so. I blame bad Sushi, not the cake.
This is a picture taken from one of my new favorite places to paint, and shows a painting that is now in this week's work of the week (www.potamoi.com). I was all alone at this beautiful overlook, as it soon started to rain. The rain made the painting come alive to me, working with the raindrops on the surface of the painting. You can see my bike, which is how I carry all the painting gear around with me. In the distance are two freighter ships that are anchoring just offshore. They don't have to pay for anchorage here, but they have to pay while docked at Rotterdam. Lucky for me, unlucky for the sailors waiting on board.
My awesome Niece Natalia, age 10, made this super birthday card and envelope. It was a card for T sent by my parents. I think it may be the coolest birthday card I've ever seen. Check out the silver-colored buttons on the envelope, and on the corners of the card. She came up with the unique design all on her own. Natalia is so talented!
Here's a pic of my painting buddy. We meet about once a week to paint. It's great having friends to go out painting with, it tends to reduce the interference from the public. Lots of people like to paint here in Holland, and everyone seems to feel qualified as an art teacher so every day I get people telling me what's wrong with the painting. 
This is taken on site at one of my favorite places to paint, the dunes just outside of the Hague. Here, I'm standing on top of a WW2 era observation point, and you can see the beautiful ocean and sky behind me. I'm wearing a sweater knit by my mother, which is my standard gear in the dunes.
