Sparrow

 

Today just little sparrow sketch from my garden.

Sheep / Schaf

 

I drew the sheep while testing a few natural colour mixes without using premixed brown colours. I wanted to get to different browns and rose colours by mixing them. I used the following colours for the body of the sheep:  A very diluted mix of pyrrol orange mixed with yellow, a bit of violet and for the dark passages I used asphalt colour.

Das Schaf habe ich gemalt, um ein paar Farbkombis auszutesten. Ich wollte die Farbtöne erzeugen, ohne die standardisierten braunen (und rosa) Farbtöne zu verwenden. 

Für das Fell habe ich also folgende Farben verwendet: Ein sehr heller Mix aus Pyrrol Orange mit Gelb, ein wenig violett und für die sehr dunklen Passagen habe ich die Farbe Asphalt verwendet.

Schweinchen Dick

 

Back to some sketches I did after our visit in the open air museum. I saw these nice pigs and wanted to sketch them. We did not have the time to do that on site, so I decided to sketch them later.

Zurück zu Skizzen, die ich in mein toned Sketchbook gemacht habe. Während unseres Besuchs im Freilandmuseum, habe ich diese hohenlohischen Schweine gesehen. Malen konnten wir sie aus Zeitgründen nicht mehr, denn das war ganz am Ende unseres Besuchs, aber ich hab sie dann einfach später skizziert.

USk Hohenlohe - A step back in time in Wackershofen Outdoor Museum

Oh yes it was really a step back in time in Hohenlohe open air museum with about 70 carefully selected historical buildings (farmhouses, barns, mills, church, etc...), flower, medicinal and vegetable gardens as well as many animals.

This is what they say in their flyer:
"Take a step back in time and walk in the world of our forefathers! Come to the Hohenlohe Open Air Museum to experience everyday life before there was electricity, telephones, computers or TVs!

Located in the scenic expanse of the Hohenlohe plain (Hohenloher Ebene), the museum is comprised of 70 carefully selected historical buildings from various villages and towns all over the Franconian portion of Württemberg. Each building was painstakingly transported to the museum site and furnished with authentic period pieces.  Among the buildings open to visitors are farmhouses, tradesmen homes, workshops, barns, mills, a chapel and a jailhouse."

It was difficult to choose where to sketch in the beginning as the variety of subjects was enormous. A blacksmith was in the area as well that day.

I tried to leave from work as early as possible, keeping in mind that the timespan till the museum closes would be relatively short and I wanted to cover different places of the museum.

I arrived about 45 minutes earlier and after entering the gate I looked directly for the medicinal garden.

I find this very interesting and the subject  prooved to be a good choice. I was the only person there while outside of the garden lots of holiday children groups and other visiters were actively exploring the site. 

From now on the clock was set as the others would arrive at 14:00. A fast sketch and a bit of colour. I would have to finish this one later (finished piece above)

My sketching friends arrived and we changed location. 

 

The geese were very interesting. They did not move extremely fast which was good for sketching. Some looked at us and some slept and twisted their head in the back of their body which looked a bit funny.

As soon as we sat down by the geese area, suddenly lots of children surrounded us and we had nice talks. I am sure, if we would have given them pen and paper they would have had a lot of fun there, too.

Later I needed a coffee and the Museums-Bistro was open. A cherry cake and cappucino later in the yard of Gasthof "Roter Ochsen" we drew what each of us saw in front from our comfortable seats and table.

I drew part of the Gasthof with a few seats, the greenery and the lampions around that house. We were the last ones to leave the area and at the time they were about to close we said hello to the pigs, they had in a different shed.

All in all one of my most productive outings and so much fun...the variety of subjects is enormous. Thanks to my fellow sketchers.

 
Mit ca. 70 verschiedenen Häusern aus verschiedenen Epochen tauchten wir mit dem Besuch im Freilandmuseum in eine vergangene Zeit ein. Es gibt Bauernhäuser, Gasthöfe, Armenhaus, Gärten, Mühlen, eine Schmiede und eine Kirche sowie jede Menge Tiere. Für Maler eine sehr grosse Auswahl. 

Als ich ankam, bahnte ich mir den Weg direkt in den Medizinalgarten, denn der interessierte mich. Es waren noch etwa 45 Minuten, bis meine Malerfreunde kommen wollten. Genügend Zeit eine Skizze zu machen und etwas Aquarellfarbe aufzutragen. 

Als die Anderen eintrafen waren wir bereits in der Nähe des Gänsegatters. Es war sehr interessant den Gänsen zuzusehen und ihre Bewegungen zu skizzieren. Die waren sehr schläfrig und einige drehten ihren Kopf zum Ruhen auf den Rücken. Das sieht witzig aus. Einige Ferienkinder gesellten sich zu uns und wir hatten einen unterhaltsamen Plausch. 

Dann wurde es aber Zeit für einen Kaffee und wir ließen es uns im Museumsgasthof Roter Ochsen gut gehen. 

Die Sitzplätze waren bequem und wir beschlossen direkt am Tisch noch ein Bild zu malen. Dann war es auch schon wieder kurz nach halb sechs und wir wollten ja noch etwas mehr sehen. Wir besuchten die Schwäbisch Hällischen Schweine in ihrem Gatter und waren die letzen Gäste, die das Gelände verließen. 

Es war sehr unterhaltsam und abwechslungsreich. Gerne wieder.

Take a step back in time and walk in the world of our forefathers! Come to the Hohenlohe Open Air Museum to experience everyday life before there was electricity, telephones, computers or TVs!

Located in the scenic expanse of the Hohenlohe plain (Hohenlohe Ebene), the museum is comprised of 70 carefully selected historical buildings from various villages and towns all over the Franconian portion of Württemberg. Each building was painstakingly transported to the museum site and furnished with authentic period pieces.  Among the buildings open to visitors are farmhouses, tradesmen homes, workshops, barns, mills, a chapel and a jailhouse.

During your visit you will have the chance to see flower gardens, fruit and vegetable gardens, as well as hundreds of animals that were once common features in village life.

Take a step back in time and walk in the world of our forefathers! Come to the Hohenlohe Open Air Museum to experience everyday life before there was electricity, telephones, computers or TVs!

Located in the scenic expanse of the Hohenlohe plain (Hohenlohe Ebene), the museum is comprised of 70 carefully selected historical buildings from various villages and towns all over the Franconian portion of Württemberg. Each building was painstakingly transported to the museum site and furnished with authentic period pieces.  Among the buildings open to visitors are farmhouses, tradesmen homes, workshops, barns, mills, a chapel and a jailhouse.

During your visit you will have the chance to see flower gardens, fruit and vegetable gardens, as well as hundreds of animals that were once common features in village life.

Falke, Milan & Co. - Aquarellstudien

 

My sketchbook is full of studies. This time I studied the birds I see in my close surroundings such as hawk, milan etc. The milans that fly around my area have youngsters and they are very frequent visitors.

Birdwatch is getting more and more attractive to me as the watercolours of birds are often full of movement and wet-in-wet and that is a great pleasure.

 

Mein Skizzenbuch ist bereits voller Studien. Heute probierte ich mal wieder ein paar Vögel, wie Falke und einen der Milane, die über dem Haus kreisen. Sie haben Junge und sind sehr oft sehr nahe. Macht wirklich Spaß die Bewegung, oder die Form in Aquarell einzufangen.

Mood of the day sketch - counting sheep and donkeys....Schäfchen zählen...

 

A few days ago there was a large herd of sheep on my way to work. They stay for about a week to cultivate the land like an enormous lawnmower. I like to watch them and am always happy to also see the nice, curious donkeys and a few goats, which are part of the herd. I really loved to do some studies of the animals.

Vor einigen Tagen war mal wieder eine riesen Herde Schafe zur Landschaftspflege eine Woche an meiner Fahrradstrecke zu Gast. Ich freu mich jedes Mal, wenn ich sie sehe, denn ausser den frisch geschorenen Schafen sind auch immer ein paar neugierige Esel und wenige Ziegen mit dabei. Da juckt mein Malarm ganz enorm und ich musste unbedingt ein paar Bewegungsstudien der Tiere machen.

 

Mood of the day sketches - Mehr Störche

 

Capturing the gestures of the birds in the nest was my aim, although they were high up upon the rooftop. Looks a bit like a bird ballet...

Here is another one with a tiny bit of gouache:

Die Bewegung der Störche einzufangen war mein Ziel, obwohl sie sehr hoch auf dem Dach waren. Es sieht ein wenig aus wie ein Storch-Ballet. Das untere Bild ist mit etwas Gouache gemalt.

USk Hohenlohe in Untermünkheim bei den Störchen

 

My sketching friend Katharina organized a Sketch-Outing in Untermünkheim with the topic of sketching storks. 

It was a very clouded day and intermediate rainfalls made her search for sheltered spots. She came some time earlier and checked the places where we could see the birds best. The large birds nest is on the rooftop of the old townhall. 

We got lots of nice comments on our sketches and explanations about the birds from passers-by. 

In this nest live four storks, two parents and two youngsters. In the beginning there was just one of them to see.

As I finished my first sketch, I saw some nice wooden carved figure at the edge of the same building and tried to capture that part of the house. See below.

 
After having made the two square watercolours, we went to have some coffee and cake. So glad, that this is possible again.

The low batteries were recharged again and we continued...

 

 

Here is the photo of the part of the house I was sketching and below you can see me sketching the storks. Thanks to Katharina, I got that photo.
 
Katharina hatte einen Sketch-Event geplant. Thema waren die Störche in Untermünkheim.

Das Wetter war sehr bewölkt mit etwas Nieselregen. Das hielt uns aber nicht vom Sketchen ab. Katharina kam etwas vor der Zeit und sah sich um, von wo aus wir die Störche am besten sehen konnten und wo wir bei Regen geschützt wären. 

Auf dem alten Rathaus-Dach befand sich das grosse Nest. Zuerst malte ich den Storch und später die geschnitzte Eckfigur am Rathaus auf quadratisches 20 x 20 cm Papier.

 

Dank Katharina gibt es ein Bild von mir beim Malen.

 

***

I did a few other stork sketches, which I will have to scan and show in a few days. 

Next we were searching for a calm spot close to the church and began to sketch. Nice people came by and we were invited to see the church and the clocktower from the inside which was fantastic, as it began to shower (therefore my painting below is not finished...). 

What a lovely and inspiring afternoon with USk Hohenlohe.

Das Aquarell vom Kirchplatz bleibt leider unfertig. Es begann zu regnen und wir bekamen eine spontane Kirchbesichtigung mit Aufstieg auf den Glockenturm geboten.

Wieder ein schöner USk Hohenlohe Nachmittag. 

Unglückliche Amsel

 

A female blackbird flew against one of my windows and a bit drowsy she flew to the next tree which is very close to my kitchen window. She sat there for a while as if she needed to recover. I think she is all right. That is good.

Eine Amsel ist gegen ein Wohnzimmerfenster geflogen, schaute verdutzt und flog in den nahegelegenen Baum. Ich konnte sie eine Weile beobachten, denn sie musste sich erstmal vom Schreck erholen. Glücklicherweise ist nichts passiert.

Amsel / Blackbird Skizze

 

A pair of blackbirds are nesting somewhere in my garden. I often see one of them in my big walnut tree. That day the blackbird sat on the terrace close to the lawn and looked curiously at me inside the house. It felt comfortable and sat there for a while.

In meinem Garten brütet ein Amselpärchen. Die Amseln sitzen oft im Walnussbaum. An diesem Tag saß eine der Amseln am Rande der Terrasse, in der Nähe des Rasens und schaute neugierig zu mir ins Haus. Sie blieb einige Zeit an der Terrasse, bevor sie weiterflog.

Feathers, probably of a pidgeon

 

 

Walked along the forest and saw a place where a bird (probably a pidgeon) found its end because of an attack by another larger animal. Feathers were spread all over the place and it looked really weird. I took two of them home and cleaned them before I sketched them. Here is a photo from my painting desk.

 Als ich vor einigen Tagen am Waldrand unterwegs war, fand ich einen Platz, an dem ein Gemetzel stattgefunden haben muss. Federn (wahrscheinlich einer Taube) lagen überall umher. Möglicherweise Angriff eines Greifvogels? Auf jeden Fall nahm ich zwei der Federn mit und säuberte sie Zuhause, damit ich sie malen kann. So ist aus etwas Unschönem doch noch was Schönes geworden.