Moving!

it's time for a change!

i moved my blog,
you can find me now on poespapier.wordpress.com.

Favorite place to rest

Greenhouse / Drivhus

a new norsk word.

I really love glasshouses. Wouldn't it be nice to live in one? 

When travelling in Sweden, we saw a lot of glasshouses in gardens, 
used for growing vegetables/fruits as well as for reading or working (with chairs, books,…). I definitely want one like these, one day.

Norsk

These last months, we're thinking and fantasizing 
about a big adventure we will start next year. 
There are no concrete ideas yet, but the plan includes: 
Norway and living a year abroad. Hurray! And to be continued...  

Just so you know, from now on, there will be some pieces of norwegian language practicing in my drawings.. :)
(this one is an easy start. but as i like spending time in coffee houses, it is an important one)

Festival trails

I made kind of a trail for a festival for modern dance and movement we organized at work, it took place at the beach and in nature. (we have some beautiful photographs taken)
because the brochure wasn't that catchy, i tried to explain each show in one drawing.
ready for some travel guide now, i think :)

lisa !

i became an aunt this weekend!
Lisa is already the coolest baby in the world. and a little doll.
here is the birth announcement i designed:

finishing touches

after the live illustration adventure (see last post) i ended up with a lot of drawings,
but wasn't satisfied with most of them.
last week, i did some finishing touches and some turned out really fine.
they are still quick sketches (i made them in a few minutes), but in some of the drawings they don't need more lines.

the theme of the show was books, so i made each drawing about a specific book.
i drew two days in a row, that's why there are sometimes two similar sketches.

live

silence on the blog, but not in my sketchbook. 

the last few weeks / month, i used almost every free moment to sketch.

i was asked to make some live illustrations on a annual show of a dancing school,

and i tried to prepare well. 

so, last weekend was the big weekend. and it was such a good weekend.

i took some pictures of my working table :

(i was sitting on the side of the scene - in de coulissen - with a camera above my table,

which projected the drawing & my hands on the big screen for the audience and on a little screen in front of me. all very professional.)

from my corner, i could see the performances and prepare myself for the next drawing (in the dark).

Glimpse of the audience...

it was so nice to draw in a different way (quite fast, and with 150 people looking at it while you draw it), a good practice in thinking sharp and drawing something interesting in a few

lines.

and it was great to participate in the show, thanks for the opportunity oiterpe!

the (too) many compliments made me grow a little.

next: finishing the drawings! and organize all this sketches…

 

big thirty party

This weekend, my boyfriend celebrated his big birthday in style. 
with a great party and a lot of family and friends. 

i made this invitation...

… became very fond of drawing a kind of 'party animal'…

… so i drew one on the portal of the (party) barn, to indicate where the party was.

i like making this big drawings! 

(especially of one of the subjects i'm fond of - and used - to draw) 

What i'm doing lately..

i'm working on some illustrations for Oiterpe (a dance and gymnastics club/school). 
in a few weeks, i'll be doing some live illustrations during their annual dance show.
i'm excited about the 'live'-aspect. 
they have some requests, so i'm forced to draw draw draw (which isn't bad).
15 illustrations, a poster, a bookmark and some postcards. 
maybe a reason why it's silent on the blogside :).

I finished the poster, working on the other stuff.

Friends

drinks with friends, catching up. my saturday happy moment (#33)

Glowing in the dark

on friday, i was a guest on Lisa Tahon's tank series.The concept: a young artist gets 'carte blanche' in an art center, and invites his/her friends for a night full of creativity: expositions, theatre, dance,...

i was flattered that Lisa asked me to illustrate, but struggled with the drawings (what to draw when you don't have a clue). we talked about illustrations in the dark (and lightened by blacklights), which seemed like a cool idea. So i tried, and after two drawing days i was satisfied. 
the picture-taking was difficult (because of the blacklights), so here's just a glimp.
a lot lot lot of legs, one giant leg and some animals with human bodies (seem to never get enough of this).

my first experience in non-applied-illustrations in public. i liked it, but still need a lot of sketch practice..

shy Ms. fox

happy weekends

#32

Pilates

last thursday, i discovered pilates.

after a busy working day, it was nice to lay down on a mat and focus on muscles (that i didn't meet before).

although i didn't get all the exercises, it was relaxing. and i felt healthy.

after a second lesson this week, i'm convinced.

i draw a quick one, 

about 'letting my body sink into the mat' (it really was an instruction).
(happy moment #31)

Black ink

last week in drawing class, i enjoyed working with just chinese black ink.
focusing on shades and composition. 
i like the feeling that after a while, you're seeing the things in a different perspective.

#30

Human animals

while designing a poster, 
i have so much fun making collages of human animals.

Pancakes

drawing 29 - no explanation needed

happy walking family

I have some catch up to do - this week i didn't manage to post my sketches on the blog.
But i'm still on my way to 365 sketches of tiny happy moments. 

#28: on a relaxing and so nice weekend with my family, we went for a walk along the sea (canal) side. there was so much wind blowing, we had fun finding ways to walk faster against the wind. 

friday breakfast talks

having breakfast on a lazy day, it's one of my favorite things ever.
especially in this coffee house where the coffee is named 'bunny' and served in a cup-with-bird.

friday happy moment / drawing 27

wool and big projects

on Thursday i took a day off, visited my brave friend and 

had serious talks about wool, yarn and knitting needles.

she's a beginner in knitting and already planning to make her own waistcoat. 

or sweater. or huge blanket. 

i enjoyed it very much.

drawing 26

Pooring rain / wet shoes

Best moment of wednesday:
arriving at home, changing into dry warm clothes. 

(Sketch 25 of my 365-sketches-of-happy-daily-moments)

11.2: special birth-day..

.. of one of the sweetest friends i have.

the big dinner was my tuesday happy-moment.

of course, she does look much much better than the drawing

(and i believe she has nicer bathing suits) but it was just practice,

since i never drew her portrait before.

so i think this proves the two of us need much more coffee-sketching-wednesdays..

(drawing 24/365)

family friends

it is almost becoming a monday night tradition,

together with a friend we have dinner and watch some television show.

but what i like most, are our conversations in between, about all kinds of things. 

then i always remember - it's so nice to have close friends living close to you, 

they're my family in the city.

#23

Sunday -

# 22
               an entire together-day.

clear clouds

i like staring at clouds - light ones, dark ones, animal ones or just boring ones (never boring though, a cloud).

on saturday, there was a bright cloud hiding behind a lot of buildings. 

unfortunately, i didn't succeed in capturing it in a drawing. 

possibly clouds will be a next drawing project. or maybe mountains.

tiny happy drawing n°21

Musical friday

on friday there was a little festival at work, 
which meant a lot of work and above all a nice, cosy atmosphere.
i especially enjoyed the show of this band.
(tiny happy drawing #20)

Thursday with a kitten (#19)

on our thursday night dinner at a friend's place, 

the new kitten was the center of attention (and he liked it). 

I like the way cats crawl into your arms and put their little legs on the arm, 

they almost look like little humans.

Lovely vegetables (#18)

Since this week, we subscribed on a biological vegetable package: 

every other week we get fresh and seasonal vegetables from a biological farm.

it's always a surprise what vegetables are in the package

- and you're forced to experience with rare vegetables or with too many of the same kind (a lot of beetroot? red cabbage?). 

i love it! 

so as you can imagine, i got excited on wednesday, 

even more since there was a vegetable i never tasted/saw before: aardpeer (translated: Jerusalem artichoke. Strange).

they looked like funny limpy heads (and they have hair). 

we prepared mashed potatoes with this vegetable and a chicken stew. delicious.

tuesday / series (#17)

there's not much i like more than finishing a busy evening on the couch, 
reading a book. or, in this case, watching a series.
a boring sketch - but i'm practicing perspectives (and i know, this one is not that correct…)

sun sun sun

i like the weather these days. a bit cold with blue skies (and sometimes even real sun).
on monday, while bicycling with the sun in my eyes, i even smelled a bit of spring.

catching up

with some wine on a terrace (with sea view) and lots of meat for dinner
i catched up with a friend who i had not seen for ages.
it made me happy. 
(but it didn't inspire me for a sensational drawing. just wine)

(tiny happy drawing 15)

de ideeënfontein (n°14)

Yesterday, i was stressing about a poster-design-deadline.
(it's a standard pattern)
i have no idea that makes sense, i'm getting nervous and 'blocked'.
then i start to read some magazines for inspiration 
(too many good designs i wish i had made) 
i take some paint and start doing something. but it stays quiet on the idea-side.
but while trying and tinkering (i just discovered this word - prutsen),
a little idea appears.
and then i start painting, cutting papers, taking pictures while standing on a chair,
i don't wash my brushes (bad habit), i leave paper all over the place, i run to the shop for a good background paper, i'm making a horrible mess.
but out of all this, a poster appears.
hurray. 
i think it was my happiest moment yesterday, cutting letters out of paper.

just an ordinary friday night,

i wish.

happy drawing n° 13, 
of a little (decadent) celebratory sauna evening.

wish we had a jacuzzi at home,
or even a spacious bath would be sufficient :).

Horses in the morning

Thursday morning (day 12), on the train ride to work. 
The view outside was so beautiful:
a bit of fog, wintery trees and some horses. 
Wow. A fairytale start of the day.   

Yesterday lunch (day 11)

when i think in the evening about the happiest moment of the day,

most of the times it has something to do with food or drinks / coffee.

like yesterday, when i just quickly ate a noodle soup. 

mmm, i could eat noodle soup every day.

and i'm waiting for the good 'pho bo'-recipe. 

Morning coffee on train (sketch #10)

sitting on the train, awake but not yet thinking/worrying,

i think my coffee tastes at its best.

that was for sure the case yesterday. 

because i also took some slices of bread + cheese with me.

tasted like milk and honey. 

like heavenly breakfast.

and it was just cheese and not-so-fresh-bread. 

and the coffee doesn't stay hot. it's rather lukewarm (wat een vreemd woord)

because it's in a plastic cup.

strange.