Category Archives: Mindful Observing Colours

A Pink Moment

Posted in Beautiful, Botany, Colours, Dutch Tulips, Flowers, Magnolia, Mindful Observing Colours, Seasons by

 Enjoy spring’s pink moments…

Spring Blossom

Magnolia

Magnolia detail

Tulips

  • Malus ‘Red Sentinel’ Blossom;
  • Magnolia Branches, coloured pencil drawing Paula Kuitenbrouwer;
  • Magnolia branch, coloured pencil drawing Paula Kuitenbrouwer;
  • Yellow-Pink tulips.

Are you enjoying pink in your garden or your local park? You love or hate pink? Did you ever had a pink moment and later asked yourself ‘What was I thinking?’

Nature knows how to handle pink well; it mixes it with fresh green, dark brown and orange-red, as you can see studying the above photos and drawings. I think pink needs to grow up and does that well by relating itself to more adult colours like green, brown and red. Right? Or not? I invite you to share your thoughts on pink.

Paula

Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite original drawings, fine art cards, reproductions, and business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com

Clever Design; combining textures and colours

Posted in Beautiful, Beautiful Utrecht, Design, Dutch, Mindful Observing Colours, Putting different elements together, textures and design, Utrecht, Work in Progress by

What can be found behind some of Utrecht’s old façades? Utrecht has some trendy places for having a tea, coffee, lunch, or dinner and these places are cleverly designed.

Dom Hotel

Here is the tea-coffee, lunch-room, and restaurant of Hotel Dom. Have a look how all elements are put together. Notice the soft, wavy fabrics that make you think of a summery breakfast room, with open windows through which a warm breeze floats in. Notice how that romantic feel contrasts with that hard metal frame and the business-like chairs that give you a modern and ambitious feel. Notice the soft tan colours versus the hard red and watery aquamarine blue. Not many designers can balance those colours. There are hard lights and soft lights, hidden, and oversized lights. All the contrasts work together.

Grand Cafe

The Longbar of the Winkel of Sinkel’s lunch room is fancy. It has a dominating two level spiral staircase that offer elegant curves. The whole place has lots of sparkles and it daringly has surfaces that change their colours automatically, thus outrageously combining different bright colours. This is a place for the young: it is seductive, ambitious, and glamours. The bar is what young people want to be: shiny, daring, and elegant. The designers of this place must have kept that in mind: let a place resonate with its visitors and they will come back, time after time.

UtrechtTo have a tea, coffee, or lunch in a more meditative style, visit the tranquil ‘Refectory’ (De Refter) of Utrecht’s Central Museum, housed in the former Agnes Convent. The Refter is the old convent dining hall, that has sensitively and beautifully been renovated. There are two long dining tables with chairs, in the past for all the monks or nuns, now for museum visitors. Another wink to its history are the chandeliers, that are now modern, but still minimalistic. The whole place respectfully carries memories of the old convent, yet it now feels perfectly modern. Most likely the nuns or monks who ate here had to practise silence. Today, these long tables make you sit closer and more connected to other museum visitors, offering the possibility for a spontaneous talk.

Enough tea or coffee! Let me rush back to my drawing table. I’m working on a pair of common kestrels. I want them to be ready to fly off before spring.

Falcon

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

Same Portrait, Different Colours

Posted in Colours, Mindful Observing Colours, On Art by

 I found these two images of Da Vinci’s portrait of a woman (c.1473) and I like to invite you to observe the difference.

Of course the portrait is the same only reflected. However, the colours are very different as a result of photography (lightning) and/or printing (pigments).

The large version has mainly a terracotta sepia colour palette. The beautiful warm reddish colour is complemented with a bit of subtle deep purple discolouration above the eye and in the dangling hair of the woman. The paper looks damaged with some whitish discolouration and even a bit of very vague green. The black is beautifully deep, especially at the place of the eye and next to the profile to the woman to push her face to the front and her hair to the back.

Now, observe the smaller version. This image looks faded. Still there is some orange-sepia at the top of the head. The eye looks black, with green and soft red. There is more green and blue in this image. Notice the soft green eyebrow and deep red in the nostrils. The woman’s dangling hair is grey, green, blue as well as red-brown. Her dress comes close to greenish-yellow and her skin is tan in her face and chest. There is just enough black left to suggest depth, and enough ‘white’ to suggest light.

I find both versions wonderful. Both have a truly beautiful colour palette. Now notice what colour does to you. To me the large sepia version feels warmer and fills me with human warmth. Due to the predominately terracotta colours, this drawing feel earthly. The smaller faded version overall makes a more ethereal impression. It makes me think more of the woman, who has lived and died and is fading in time, providing me with a sense of impermanence.

If I had to choose one of the versions it would take me some time to decide. For a room that needs human warmth, I would opt for the larger version. For a place for meditation or contemplation, I would choose the faded one.

What about you?

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

Mindfully Observing Colours II

Posted in Color Theory, Colours, Composition, Mindful Drawing, Mindful Observing Colours, Musings by

Have a look at the colours of these vintage bowls. I see warm, Bordeaux red, I see ochre yellow, moss green, deep purplish blue, metallic blue, rock-grey and whitish grey. I see golden yellow and earth-brown. What a wonderful colours in these seemingly faded vintage bowls.

Which colours do I see? Well, I see a warm red heart against a grey dead-coloured background. Is that what makes this so beautiful? Is it the story of how warm love feels against the knowledge that dead is inevitable? I see a small blue-white line around the orange centre. I see a bit of green on the greyish wood. I see a glowing orange right next to the dead black of the key-hole. Which colours do you see? Which story is there to unlock for you?

Which colours do you see in this old wood? I see the whole range of yellow to deep orange, even warm red. I see grey changing in blue. I see dark grey getting darker till black. There is lots of green, white and dark blue too. Because all colours are the effect of light on wood, and none of the colours shine, this is a very pretty colour palette.

Blue and Orange are complementary colours. This mushroom has all colours of blue as decorative rings around its orange centre. It claims its space by a perfect white edge, saying: ‘Here I am, and here I stop’. Notice how the centre looks like a lava pit in a deep ravine. The different colours of blue show geographical layers. Or is it that this mushroom wants to look like a cut through tree showing its age with its pretty layers? Whatever, it is very beautiful.

Paula

P.S. I have no idea who took the four colourful photos because they were posted on Pinterest before the time Pinterest ensured all uploaded pictures kept their links to their original source. I regret not be able to give credit to the owners of these lovely photos. I hope one day they will add a comment to this post that links their work back to their website or blog.

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

Mindfully Observing Colours

Posted in Color Theory, Colours, Composition, Mindful Drawing, Mindful Observing Colours by

I see light tan and greyish blue, soft greenish yellow and warm orange. Reddish brown for the hair and shadow. Soft violet for the neck and light blue on the back. Pinkish tan for the infant. Beige for the seat. Bluish purple and greyish pink for the background. You thought this fresco had faded? There is still a lot of colour.

Which colours do you see? Your mind tells you that wood is brown or grey, but which colours would you choose to make a blend? I see pink and tan. I would use ochre, pink and grey for mixing and use dark grey for the cracks in the wood. There is beautiful sea-green, with blue-green spots and even a tiny bit of yellow on the edge. So, this is about pink and green? Largely, but to put these colours together you need to have patience. Time has bleached the wood! No, colours change, they don’t die.

I notice so many colours in perfect tune. See the orange-sepia at the top of the head, move down to her eye and see the soft terra-cotta. The eye looks black, with green and soft red. I see grey at the eye brows and deep red in the nostrils. Her dangling hair is grey, green, blue as well as red- brown. Her dress comes close to greenish-yellow and her skin is tan in her face and chest. Just enough black to suggest depth, and enough ‘white’ to suggest light. So much beauty in one sketch by Da Vinci.

Notice the light on the hand that makes it come alive with almost warmth radiating. See how the tan-orange colour of the statue and background give the chest, arm and hand a feeling of a real human, while the soft blue reminds us it is a statute. Orange and blue are complementary colours, they offer balance. In this photo they confuse and enchant us. Notice too the dark blue praying rosary that offer a clever contrast with the soft orange.

Paula

P.S. I have no idea who took the four photos because they were posted on Pinterest before the time Pinterest ensured all uploaded pictures kept their links to their original source. I regret not be able to give credit to the owners of these lovely photos. I hope one day they will add a comment to this post that links their work back to their website or blog.

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