we're all going on a summer holiday: new etching of a VW camper

We may be just on the cusp of spring but I'm gearing up to summer already and have been working on this etching yesterday and today. I set the line etching up yesterday and prepared the plate for an aquatint layer (which creates the raster effect on the VW campervan, sea and sky). My favourite ink colour is warm sepia which I think just gives it that retro look. A very satisfying day... already listed in my etsy shop! 

"It's puurrrfect", she said

Meet our studio kitty, Moeki. I think she approves of her portrait ^_^ She sometimes hangs out with us in the art centre where we paint...but mostly she sleeps at home in between posing!

today's creation: the piano lady

The paint is still wet...but this is what I was working on today. It's oil on canvas (18 x 13 cm)...still  inspired by the piano lady...

the piano woman: new painting

This is today's creation, oil on canvas 18 x 13 cm. I was inspired by a pianist I recently saw performing on the television...I found it mesmerising to watch her let alone listen to her. 

Wight light: beach holiday photos from the Isle of Wight

These are The Needles off the western corner of the Isle of Wight (off the south coast of England) and it's where I get to hang out when I visit my family. How lucky am I?!! As you know, the coast and it's colours and light are a constant inspiration for our art work. I find it amazing how different it is to where we live in the Netherlands, which isn't really that far away. 

The sea is obviously more dramatic opening directly out onto the Atlantic. Surfers love this beach. Those are chalk cliffs in the background.

And the beloved beach hut. I could hang out here all year. This is on Steephill Cove, a particularly charming place to spend a holiday with small shops and cafes nestled in the huts looking out directly over the sea. 

Just to add to the nostalgia, a couple of photos from a vintage car exhibition that we went to...

The shapes are great!

And a beautiful rainbow to end with... all food for new art!

made in zeeland: new paintings

These are this weeks creations. It's a theme that I've often returned to the last couple of years. They are girls wearing the traditional clothing of Zeeland, the region of the Netherlands where we live. In the summer months we attend a weekly market in Veere by the coast with our etching press giving demonstrations wearing these clothes. I've grown to love the tradition and the history behind it, so I enjoy making these paintings...and I can't wait for summer! (Both are oil on canvas 20 x 20 cm.)

the dinosaurs are coming! New etching from the art class

These magnificent looking creatures were made by one of our younger etchers, Tristan (aged 14). He has a passion for dinosaurs and has made a collection of sketches in a thick book. He joined our etching workshop a few months ago and has been producing these fantasically detailed etchings. This one is quite large (18 x 24 cm) and was first made on a copper plate before being printed in various ink colours. I'm very much enjoying seeing him explore the art of etching.

mmmm cake

A week or so ago I saw a photo posted on facebook of cake made in the shape of Lego. It was a sponge cake covered in brightly colored icing. Well I fancied having a go...but instead made a chocolate cake, and covered part of the cake in white icing. The little cupcakes above were trimmed with a round biscuit cutter and 'glued' onto a square cake with jam. It was pretty tasty! 

skating on ice and the studio kitty: new paintings

The ice has infact melted now...and I'm really glad it has because the studio is warmer and much more conducive for creativity and painting. These are this week's creations. Both are oil on canvas, above 20 x 20 cm and below 18 x 13 cm. The ice skaters are of course inspired by the photos I took at the end of last week, and this is our very dear and cudly Moeki. She's not so keen on the cold, wet weather either, but she does like to hang out with us in the studio, often joining in and walking paint all over the place!

beautiful zeeland: translating light and energy onto canvas

Even in winter, this is our favourite place to be, along the dune coast of Zeeland. Zeeland is a province in the south west corner of the Netherlands where we live and is made up of a group of islands joined together with dykes, dams, bridges and tunnels, and I love it here. It doesn't matter whether it's the middle of summer and full of tourists or midwinter and quiet, the light is always interesting along with the movement of the sea. The colours are continually changing.

We take our bikes and spend all day cycling the paths up and down through the dunes and woods.  On the warmer days I pack my swim suit of course! The sights remain an inspiration for our art work. That you can see as far as the eye and the curvature of the Earth will let you. We enjoy the challenge of translating the colours and light. 

andrea cook - coast: oil on canvas 100 x 40cm

And of course the challenge of translating the energy and power of the sea onto canvas.

francesco antonietti: acrylic on canvas 80 x 60cm

andrea cook - waves: oil on canvas 60 x 50cm

There will be more to come, so watch this space!

the sun sets on the ice

The ice is apparently supposed to melt soon so I took these photos in Tholen just as the day closed and before the skates head back up to the attic.

pizza and ice skating

It's still icy cold outside (and pretty chilly in our studio too). People have taken advantage of the frozen lakes and turned them into ice rinks, skating in front of Tholen's windmill...photos below...and I decided to make pizza to cheers things up a bit. I bought one of those food processor gadgets last week that kneads dough so I had to test it out. It was very satisfying, and the pizza tasted good too! (topped with various cheeses, spinach and olives) 

The icy landscape of Tholen and the newly formed ice rink.

a day in photos...Tholen in the snow

So many beautiful scenes today with a bright sun despite the freezing chill in the air. I thought I'd just share a few...enjoy...