Category Archives: Illustration Friday

Silent Koi Fish and Dragon Fly

Posted in Fish, Gesso Board Drawing, Illustration Friday, Koi Fish by

Koi Fish with Dragon Fly, coloured pencils on gesso board, copyright Paula Kuitenbrouwer, photo Thomas Kluck

A Silent Water World

There are animals that don’t possess vocalizations, or at least they do not make sound to us. They might well be able to communicate with sound that is below or above our range of hearing. Nevertheless, it is probably safe to say fish and dragon flies do not make sound. On the drawing above they just look at each other. It is a silent water world.

Paula

Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite fine art cards of her drawings as well as reproductions, and of some drawings smaller business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header for what is available as well as the price list. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com

 

Apple Picking

Posted in Autumn, Botany, Coloured Pencil, Fruit, Illustration Friday by

 Apple sketch with coloured pencils. Copyright Paula Kuitenbrouwer, photo Thomas Kluck

Yesterday there were many apples scattered on the lawn.

It was time to collect them and we had to jump to the highest branches to get the last ones.

Apple

 _MG_3857

Happy Apple Harvesting Time!

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

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Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite fine art cards of her drawings as well as reproductions, and of some drawings smaller business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header for what is available as well as the price list. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com

Mesmerizing Koi

Posted in Fish, Gesso Board Drawing, Illustration Friday, Meditation, Mindful Drawing by

Koi Series, Coloured Pencils on Gesso Board, Copyright Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Photo Thomas Kluck

.

Why are Koi so mesmerizing? Why are people willing to pay thousands of Euro’s for a pretty ‘Asagi’, a blue Koi? I know now. Recently I sat next to a large pond with koi with beautiful colours and patterns. I looked at them for some time. I got mesmerized. Mindfully I asked myself why I was I so intensely enjoying sitting next to this pond and looking at the slow and gently moving  fish? Suddenly I understood.

The pond with Koi had become my thinking. Each koi fish represented one thought, a thought that lighted up against the dark, deep pond. Thoughts, like fish, swam in and out of my mind. The more the fish got used to me and I to them, the slower they appeared and disappeared. My whole thinking process became more like a flow; it slowed down and became less demanding. I’d let my thoughts come and go while I was aware of their coming and going. Sitting by the pond and looking at the colourful, smooth swimming fish became a meditation.

Has this meditation helped me to understand the obsession with koi carp and the willingness to spend a monthly salary on a beautiful Asagi? Yes, I do understand now, but that doesn’t mean I became so obsessed because that is a choice. However, I decided to draw a Koi-series to capture the meditation experience. Every time I look at my drawing, I like to feel that meditation again. And I hope others feel it too while looking at my drawing.

Paula

Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite fine art cards of her drawings as well as reproductions, and of some drawings smaller business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header for what is available as well as the price list. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com

Cultivate Mindfulness through Mindfully Drawing

Posted in Botany, Coloured Pencil, Free Drawing, Illustration Friday by

Butterfly Card Set

(Spring Blossom with Blue Sky, coloured pencils & pastels, Paula Kuitenbrouwer)

How to cultivate mindfulness through mindful drawing? This is what I do. I select the right materials and choose an object for drawing that inspires me but not overly. Too much passion easily leads to frustration. Paying attention to light is important. Although I like to sit in the garden on a sunny day, I don’t like to glare annoyed at an approaching overcast because that certainly isn’t meditative. Last, I keep my concentration high, but my expectations low. Practice makes perfect and it takes time. After I have done some drawing, I put it away. I postpone judging my work. Later I see if my work falls in the category ‘exercise’ or ‘exhibition’. How do you cultivate mindfulness, calm or happiness through drawing or painting?

Paula

Koi Carp

Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite original art work (drawings and paintings), fine art cards, as well as larger reproductions, and smaller business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header for what is available as well as the price list. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com

Layer (and Layering)

Posted in Illustration Friday, On Art by

(Layer on layer on layer….)

Artists who work with coloured pencils put layer after layer on their drawing paper. This process holds some magic. It is like the gestation of a plant, the stages of pregnancy or the stages of meditation. Something is slowly manifesting from nothingness. It is emerging from inspiration, the unknown, a wormhole or whispered in your ear by the art Muses. There is only so much the artist has to do with it.

Later the artist judges the outcome of the layering process. If his work is according to his intentions, then he is happy. However when there is a gap between the final result (artwork) and his intention, then there is ‘dukkha’ (a word from Buddhist psychology referring to suffering).

But sometimes the final result supersedes the expectation. Something magical has happened! Where the art Muses not only whispering but having a bigger part in it?

When I think about ‘Layer’, I think about ‘Layering’ and ‘Stages’ too. Artists put on layers to create depth. The more stages of inspiration the artist experiences, the more likely he will be surprised by the outcome.

Paula