iPad visione

This may seem as a very strange image "painted" by me. yes, an attempt on the iPad. I love exploring what can happen and this came from an experience someone told me about-a vision of someone not taken from reality. so, it became my iPad vision. I can always go further with it using other effects and colors. My Dutch girl friend, Annet,  and I may be giving a workshop here in Holland at the end of the summer to teach people how to be creative with their Tablets.

Old Roses

The roses, after a week of glorious blooming, have gone old with lovely soft ochres, shades of ruby red, purples. Not sure if this one is finished. It is ripening on the kitchen wall.

last evening

A bit of the living room after a session painting the card players last evening. The easel is turned around and I peek through the arched doorway into the kitchen, pick up the painting I need to work on (actually all of them get a turn) according to who is sitting where. Every 15 minutes or so the sitters change places except for Herman who always sits in the left under position. That is the chair and place he has sat for meals and card-playing his whole life (67 years). Card playing is for the last 40 years with these 3 friends.
Why do I keep painting since 1994 on these six paintings (two are elsewhere)? I love to paint this subject and I am not satisfied.  I want  psychological intensity as well as  good painting.
thank you for looking. The photo is a bit bleeched out.

van der Harsten- Way Back When

Yesterday's Blog was about the portraits of the van der Harst family which was and still is part of my history, Hylke van der Harst being my second husband and the reason I came to the Netherlands 39 years ago.
My son Craig Johns came to join the family group for 7 years and is still part of it even though now living in the Hilltowns of Massachusetts with his own family.

I painted anyone who came over the bridge then.

van der Harsten

Last evening we had a mini- van der Harst reunion here. a new baby, Zoe, was introduced to us. She hopefully will be added to the many portraits I made of this family. The photo is of course a Johns=Cooper. The earliest portrait here was painted in 1991. Sjoerd is in Switzerland, Thijs in Brabant, Fridtjof in Mongolia, Dick in Belgium and Sophia in San Francisco. Floran, on top is the closest by in Utrecht.

Spring!

Not that the winter here in Holland was anything compared to that in the Hilltowns of Massachusetts! but we still express a lot of joy when the winds get softer and the sun gives us warm smiles. the waters around us get this incredible deep ultra-marine blue-magenta color.
Herman's sister Wil brought me this bunch of flowers whose name I do not know. The buds start out white-cinnabaar green and unfold into such diverse shades of pink, mauve, lilac and even red.

I couldn't help think of Claude Monet's burst of apple blossoms and Vincent van Gogh's birthday present to his new-born nephew Vincent= almond tree blossoms on a rich blue sky painted while he was in the Saint- Rémy hospital. These two are my heros and they must have been totally involved in the spaces between the throbbing flowers as well as the blooms.

 It's all about the movement of growth and joy of spring.

Yesterday's Roses

Still can't get enough of these Luxor roses!