Something new for the coming new year… portraits.
The original L’Émeraude, created by Alfons Mucha, was a poster in the series titled The Precious Stones (1900, lithograph, 67.2x30cm). His paintings and illustrations were first called the Mucha Style, but soon became to be associated with the Art Nouveau style; a style that emphasized flowing, natural forms.
Alfons Mucha
* 24 July 1860 Ivančice, Moravia (now Czech Republic)
† 14 July 1939 Praha (Prague), Czech Republic
St. Sebastian Church in Rockenhausen, Germany. It’s about 30km north of Kaiserslautern. The church is imposing on the outside and impressive on the inside, very well kept, and the pastel hues of the sun coming through the square glass window panes is amazing.
Watercolor and Ink, 7x5in (18x13cm)
I was about to complain that my day job is interfering with my painting schedule. It’s pretty hectic this week. But then I thought … Hey, wait a minute, my day job enables me to live in Germany, travel around Europe, and paint in great locations. It’s better than many alternatives, so I am happy. ((insert smiley face here))
So I sketched St Sebastian church yesterday. I was going to watercolor it on the spot, but had an ice cream emergency. I was going to paint it today, but just couldn’t get to it. My sketch is below, still in my watercolor sketchbook. I’ll finish it tomorrow. ((insert rolling eyes face here))
A day in the life…
Watercolors today. A painting friend and I set out today to “paint outside”, flowers. The day was a mix of sun, heavy clouds, and wind. Not conducive to painting outdoors. I’m not a fan of painting in the wind. First stop however, was to photograph a view of the city of Leithof. I am thinking about doing a “building” series. I might have been persuaded to paint, but the wind …
On to flowers. We stopped and photographed some roadside wildflowers, but my friend knew of a farmer who has a small plot of ground planted with sunflowers and gladiolas. The sunflowers were wonderful. You can pick what you want and put money in a little lock box. We just wanted to paint, but the sunflowers were pointing the wrong way; no where to comfortably paint, and I wasn’t insipred to paint gladiolas, in the wind. Then we went to a cemetery in the country, hoping to find wildflowers along the stone fence. Nothing. Then we went to the town of Rockenhausen. We didn’t find flowers, but we found this wonderful church (see pic below). My friend sighed. It was impressive, but it wasn’t a flower. We drew the church, and then finally, in a moment of artistic satisfaction, we had ice cream.
St Sebastian Church, Rockenhausen (built 1915)
Me holding a white piece of paper and a pencil
Travel Watercolor: Old Town, Chania, Crete
A cool walkway among the touristy shops near the port in Old Town Chania, Crete, Greece
Travel Watercolor: Scene at the Venetian Port in Chania, Crete, Greece.
The day was sunny and hot, the water, clear and cool.
A beautiful, bright yellow plant with lots of pollen. Seeds from the Rapeseed Plant are crushed to make vegetable oil (e.g., Canola Oil).
