Hallway Gallery

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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The west-east connection in the house, seen from my studio.
As you can see, I like the colour red very much!

Vittoria, head study

pencil on paper, Bleistift auf Papier, crayon sur papier
21cm x 29,5cm
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Drawing class again today and thus another sketch of beautiful Vittoria. She's totally into the sixties, loves everything from that era and looks like she's just come from a visit to Andy Warhol's studio in New York. She's got big eyes which look even bigger with the thick, black eyeliner she wears. It's such fun drawing her!

Menora

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

This painting is somewhat confusing in more than one way. First of all, I am not jewish nor an alcoholic. I received this menora as a gift many years ago and like it very much and I'm a fan of sparkling and elegant decanters, love the colours of the liquids in them but hardly ever use them!
Secondly, you might wonder what that green-yellow square is in the middle - well, it is not a painting - it's a small frameless window through which we can see a bit of the countryside. Then there's that diagonal "thing" at the bottom of the picture - what's that?! That's the back of our sofa, which stands in front of this corner. And last but not least, what time of day is this?? I'm intrigued by the mixture of daylight and artificial light at the moment (not just at the moment actually), which is a real challenge to paint. It is in the afternoon, all walls are white, but against the light from outside they look very dark. But then there's the light from the lamp shining onto them which lightens them again. I'm not totally satisfied with the outcome and I tell you, I don't know if this is really such a good idea...

Late Afternoon in Autumn

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

It is getting dark earlier everyday now and we have to turn on our lamps in the afternoon already. I like this time of year (actually I like all times of the year), when we retreat into our cosy nest, light a fire in the fireplace and enjoy the blues outside and the warm yellows and oranges inside.

The Pink Lamp

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

I've painted this corner in my kitchen before, but at that time strong sunshine was streaming in through the window, creating strong contrasts. This was not the case today but somehow I felt like painting it again nevertheless. Then realized, half way through, that this was quite a bit more difficult to paint. The shades on the white walls behind the white chairs - uff! The pink lamp is a joke really - just a fun piece from Ikea but I love the colour combination....

The Little Smile

oil on canvas panel, Öl auf Malplatte, huile sur carton entoilé
18 cm x 24 cm, 7" x 9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

This is another commission I recently finished, showing my Canadian friend Marion who is a fitness trainer. ( The real thing is not as red as it is in the photo!)
See the body shape? Wish I looked a bit more like that myself. There's one thing she and her boyfriend (who received this as a gift) asked me to alter - the smile - hence the title. Apparently she was trying out HIS new fabulous kite and was really thrilled about the things she could make it do, which made her smile in happy surprise, which made the photo HIS favourite photo. (They're madly in love....) Well, seems like I didn't capture that smile clearly enough - mind you, I didn't know the significance, the story behind it when I painted it. So, there will be a slight change, but on the whole this is it.

Little Mermaid

oil on canvas - Öl auf Leinwand - huile sur toile
20 cm x 20 cm / 8" x 8"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Here's one of the commissions I have been working on.
This one was hard! I abandoned two first versions and only the third finally, the one you see here, was a success. At least, I think so and the man who received it as a gift thought so, too. That's the main thing - he's happy and I'm happy.

Vittoria, standing

pencil on paper, crayon sur papier, Bleistift auf Papier
21 cm x 30 cm

I just realized that I hardly posted anything this last week, but I have actually been painting (nearly) every day! Can't show it to you yet....
Well, today we did our drawing class again and followed Vittoria's great suggestion to just do one minute poses. Here's one of mine which I quite like. The lines are actually a bit lighter than they appear here, as they were drawn with pencil.
Should anybody be interested in buying it, I offer it to you for 30 Euros. Just write me an email.

Repairs

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

Why "repairs"? Well, this is an old teapot I have, which, in spite of it's missing lid, I love - not only for it's elegant shape but mainly for the little metallic spout it has. Somebody, a long time ago, went to the trouble of repairing this broken spout by attaching a new metal replacement. It looks odd, but it tells a story of caring, of valueing and of making an effort - instead of wasting, throwing out and consumimg. I really like that.

Autumn Item

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Initially I had planned to paint some more of our tins, but then I found these nice mushrooms just outside my kitchen door this morning and changed my mind.
The little ceramic plate was made by my friend Jaqueline - it is simple but at the same time very special because it has a beautiful midnight blue glaze, which unfortunately doesn't show here.

Sketch of Vittoria

pencil on paper, crayon sur papier, Bleistift auf Papier
21 cm x 30 cm

Instead of doing my usual painting class, we had this beautiful model sitting for us today and did drawings. I hadn't drawn people for years and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge in spite of the fact that I noticed how rusty my drawing skills are.

Stainless Steel

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Haven't posted for several days now because I was busy getting two portrait commissions finished, which are surprise birthday gifts, so they can't be posted yet. You will get to see them in a week or two.
Outside it is now gray, wet and cold - on schedule with the beginning of November and
perfect for painting inside. After my series of landscapes and the portrait commissions, I felt like painting a stillife again and was attracted by the soft reflections on our stainless steel kitchen counter. My husband LOVES and collects tins, which has, over the years, resulted in quite a selection of beautiful old and new tins of all kinds, scattered around our house. Here you see a few more recent ones, actually quite ordinary yet graphically interesting tins containing cubes of different stocks, for sale in our supermarkets - and a wooden box of tea - and a carafe for water.

Siorac de Riberac

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Luckily the weather didn't change and we actually had a beautiful, clear, sunny autumn day which was great for painting "plein air". This is our small village as we see it on our way out into the world. It is situated on a slope and overlooks a beautiful valley with it's romanesque church, dating from the 13th century.

Changing Weather

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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On the Way to Aubeterre

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Guess I'm on a roll here and I hope you're not getting bored, but I am really enjoying painting our countryside at the moment.

House by the Woods

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Country Road

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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This road is on the way to Lusignac, a beautiful village, where several friends of mine live. One of them just gave me a call to invite us round for drinks and "nibbles", as he said - love that word - as he and his Javanese wife will be leaving for a longer stay in Java next week. So after having painted it today, I will now drive along this country road and verify if I actually captured it well!

Autumn Fields

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Startet this one yesterday afternoon and left it looking quite different than now, thinking it was more or less finished..
Today though, I changed nearly everything and like it much better than before.
Nevertheless I'm not sure it was worth so many hours of work! Sometimes it's better to just start a new painting!

House in the Valley

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

St.Emilion

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Should you ever come to this area, stop by in St.Emilion and taste some excellent wine while enjoying spectacular views like this one into the valley of the river Dordogne!
It is actually even on the list of the "World Cultural Heritage"!

Farm Track

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Wet, muddy and chilly, but beautiful colours to enjoy and paint!

Path to the Neighbours

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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It's become really cold here suddenly - this morning -2° celsius which is below freezing point! So the colours of the leaves are changing and offer wonderful painting subject!

Down to the Lake

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
sold - verkauft - vendu

The landscape around here is nothing really spectacular but nevertheless it is very beautiful. When going along some little road in a forest or through a plane of some ordinary fields, every now and then you will suddenly be surprised by a fantastic view into a wide valley which opens in front of you into the far distance, as in this picture - I like that change of closeness and vasteness.

Vineyards in the Bergeracois, France

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Well, looks like I will be painting these landscapes for a little longer, as they do help me to loosen up. Actually I always start fairly loose with bold brushstrokes (even with paintings that end up very tight). Then somewhere along the way I get drawn into the details, which has in parts also been the case with these last landscapes but at the moment I'm trying really hard to focus on colors and values and nothing else. So when I notice I'm going too far again, I take a bigger brush and bravely cover up all the details with one big splash (as far as that is possible on this small format!). AND - it is soo liberating! AND - it is mostly for the better!
Ps: "Splash" seems a bit exaggerated but I don't know which word would be more suitable...

Cold Morning in Autumn

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Our garden with view into the valley and rolling hills on the other side.
I am trying and enjoying to keep the paint more fluid and plan on doing more landscapes for a while. But then - I don't always stick to my plans...

Homeward

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Houses in Chignac, old farm near Riberac, Dordogne

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
Buy it here

This part of France is still fairly authentic, in spite of many foreigners having converted old buildings like these - often to the better, sometimes to the worse. But one does still come across properties that don't seem to have changed for centuries. And just when you imagine the farmer coming round the corner on a horse carriage - voila! - there he comes on a huge modern tractor!

Rose Hips

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Le Pot Rouge

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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Same subject, different angle, different light - always interesting to see things from a changed perspective..... not only in regard to painting!

Ancient Walls, detail of old French farm

oil on canvas panel - Öl auf Malplatte - huile sur carton entoilé
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9"
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This is a part of our property that hasn't been renovated yet - probably one of the very first buildings that was built here a few hundred years ago. The walls really are ancient and the wood of the doors look like weathered, wrinkly old faces - very beautiful.