Astrid Keus

Monday, 16 March 2020

The shyness of a Hare...

Dear reader,

Last fall on the island of Texel, we had rented a real nice cottage where we could do our own thing. We often like to sleep late while on holiday and when one is in a B&B you have to be around for breakfast at nine in the morning. So, we were quite at home in our cottage. We made our own breakfast when we felt like it, went for walks and cycling tours and slept late when we felt like it. Of course my notebooks and sketchbooks and art materials that I needed accompanied me to get through the rainy days.

Close to the end of our stay, we had one particular wet day. However as the sun set, the rain subsided a bit. Just as I wanted to get my coat to go for a walk with my hubby, I saw this hare! She was fast and very pretty. I rushed to get my camera and raced outside... I followed the hare into the bushes and thought I wouldn't get a shot at it, but then all of a sudden it stood still: There in the middle of the dunes. I must have taken some ten or twenty shots when it started running again and left me in awe. What a beauty it was, she made my day! As I returned soaking wet to the cottage (it had started to rain again, and I hadn't noticed) I was deliriously happy with what I just witnessed. Such a little animal, yet so gracious!

Today I had the opportunity to explore some new mixed medium techniques to further develop my own style. I had such a ball with this little beauty of a hare! She makes me think of that day on holiday in the fall but also of Easter, chocolate eggs and springtime. Even though the Corona virus is throwing a major damper on our lives, seeking the things we love doing help us get through it!

Stay safe, and till next time!
Astrid

Watercolour and mixed medium on A3 paper

Resources: Ana Santos

Friday, 13 March 2020

Swimming through the unknown...

Dear reader,

For the entire world, the Corona virus is something of a new development. We don't really know where it came from, how it mutates or where it is going to end. So, until such time we know how to treat it, we swim amidst the current, take the necessary precautions and hope and pray that we survive the ordeal.

Most of us are currently housebound or semi-housebound working from home. I am in the fortunate position to have a computer where I can connect with my dad on the other side of the country and share some of the works I make. At the same time, I can keep tabs on his happenings and whereabouts. (Trust me, he gets up to mischief!)

This morning, while waiting for some other projects to dry, I painted this fish below. It started as a wet-on-wet water colour project but soon the imagination took over and I rendered the painting with charcoal and Posca pens. Quite happy with this one! :)

I just love the way pigments of different mediums flow and catalize with each other... It's almost like watching a scientific process! For me making art is not just about the end-result, it is a process and sometimes meditative experience which leaves me totally relaxed and in awe. It was a good meditative exercise and gave new insight in the combination of different techniques.

Hope you have a super weekend, till next time,
Astrid

Watercolour and mixed medium on A3 paper
© Artwork by Astrid Keus (March 2020)

Resources: Ana Santos

Friday, 6 March 2020

Mesmerising Seals

Dear Reader,

Every year my husband and I go to our favourite island Texel. A stunning heritage site due to its conservation of the Wadden situated on the coast of the Netherlands. It is a relatively small island but it's beautiful nature and ambiance makes it the perfect place for a holiday or weekend away! We can ride our bikes in blissful serenity and enjoy the feeling of country life amidst cattle, sheep and goats.

On the island, there is a seal rescue centre called Ecomare. We often go there to photograph the frolics of seals whom due to the nature of their injuries such as blindness, cannot be released in the North Sea again. I was amazed how some blind seals were so at ease with one another. It comes then as no surprize that I just had to do an experiment with watercolours to capture the joy of one of the seals.

Watercolour and mixed medium on A3 paper
© Artwork by Astrid Keus (March 2020)

Photo credit: Maarten van 't Zelfde

Thursday, 5 March 2020

From my sketchbook: The mystery of mermaids...

Dear reader,

I've always had a fascination with the world underwater so I dived into the challenge to paint a mermaid with octopus and seahorse! I must confess, I was battling to be very creative over the last two years and I needed some good inspiration to find my flow back... The inspiration came from another artist by the name of Tamara Laporte (check out the website: https://www.willowing.org).

I experimented here with a lot of mediums such as acrylics, watercolour, crayon, pearl tint paints as well as Posca pens. Even though I get inspiration from others, I find that somewhere along the instruction process my attention goes into my own work and it all of a sudden starts to live a life of its own. (Which is actually a good thing!)

I've now framed the picture and it is hanging in my bedroom to remind me to delve deep inside of me and do the things I really want to do: Make lots of beautiful art and send happiness into the world!

May this year be a year full of inspiration, creative challenges and beautiful artworks!

Till next time,
Astrid

Mixed media on A3 watercolourpaper.
© Artwork by Astrid Keus (January 2020)

Monday, 30 December 2019

Collage experiments...

Collage of flowers 1

Collage of flowers 2

Thursday, 31 October 2019

November expositie en verkoop met Galerie Beeldschoon popup-galerie, Haarlemmerstraat, Leiden!

Beste allen,

Gedurende de maand november zijn mijn werken, tesamen met andere kunstenaars, te koop bij de pop-up shop van Galerie Beeldschoon!

Mochten jullie unieke kunst willen aanschaffen voor Sinterklaas of de Kerst, dan is dit een aanrader. Er is voor ieder wat wils!

Onze popup-galerie is verhuisd van Haarlemmerstraat 205 naar Haarlemmerstraat 73 Leiden.

Openingstijden zijn:
Maandag: GESLOTEN
Dinsdag: 13.00-17.00u
Woensdag: 13.00-17.00u
Donderdag:    13.00-19.00u
Vrijdag: 13.00-17.00u
Zaterdag:    11.00-17.00u
Zondag:    GESLOTEN

Behalve op koopzondag de laatste zondag van de maand van 13.00u-17.00u.

Let op: Bij aankoop alleen kontant, of bij grotere werken in overleg met kunstenaars.

Monday, 30 September 2019

Jippie

Some dear friends of ours had the cutest cat! He was very playful and often layed in between them to cuddle and spin away. He was in inquisitive little fellow and full of beans.

Alas, he died last year and the were very sad about the loss. Of course I would draw their pet for posterity! Rest in peace Jippie.

Jippie

Size:A3 framed

Medium: Pastel Pencil on Clairefontaine Pastelmat

Photography: Petra and Noah
© Artwork by Astrid Keus (June 2019)

Monday, 23 September 2019

About tigers...

Many years ago, when I was still at the National School of Arts, (Die Kruin) South Africa, we had a very interesting prescribed book for the German language. The story was about a tiger in India, and how it was considered a very sacred animal in their culture. The book fascinated me endlessly and I found the tiger to be one of the most beautiful animals in the world. Not only did the story about the tiger introduce me to the Indian culture, but also how one needs to preserve these nearly extinct species for the future!

As an animal lover, especially for anything 'catlike', I challenged myself to draw the tiger in pastel pencils. I was pretty pleased with this one... :)

Illustration of a tiger

Size:A3 framed

Medium: Pastel Pencil on Clairefontaine Pastelmat

Photography: Jason Morgan, with kind permission
© Artwork by Astrid Keus (June 2019)

Doing botanical paintings in watercolour

Hi everyone!

For the last couple of months I've been working on several botanical paintings. I've only recently discovered how challenging it is to get this technique under control and it took me some time to practice, practice and practice until it started to look remotely like I wanted it to look. ;)

Watercolour isn't like any other medium, it does what it does: The amount of water one uses as well as the drying process itself has an influence on the pigment which interacts with the kind of paper one uses. You wet the paper, let the paint flow, and add drops of pigment until it dissolves into the paper... You literally have to work it up layer after layer and than the best results are achieved if you let it dry naturally in between each layer. What also fascinated me is that your brush is not just your tool to place the pigment on the paper, but also to 'erase' it off the paper!

It takes oodles of patience but once I started to see the results, I was completely mesmerized by this medium! I can watch how it interacts with different colours and paper, for hours! ;)

My effort resulted in the painting below of an orchard which I have growing in my lounge, and which I photographed myself to get a creative result. Everytime I look at the results I believe I get a lot closer to master watercolour, but it is by no means perfect. Hopefully, as with many artworks created before, they will be the stepping stones to even better artwork in the future!