Johan Derycke
Woops… already Halloween, eh? Fortunately, my lack of posting does not mean lack of painting. I’ve been really busy with a personal project, which I can’t say much about yet. It concerns a gift for one of our daughters because she has posed for me this summer. It’s more of an illustration project, but in…
Last week, I spent a few lovely days in Omerville, a small village near Giverny, France, where a large collection of stunningly beautiful paintings by Joaquin Sorolla are at display. Although my stay was short, it has left a deep impression on me. France is a wonderful country (as you probably know). The immense wheat…
I’ve started a new personal journey with my recent pleinair frenzy. I’m now trying to become friends with nature. Not that I fully ignored nature before this year, but I just wasn’t that aware about the beauty that is around me everywhere. At least, that’s how it feels. Being in nature and studying it has…
I’ve decided to rework some of the pleinair studies I did. I usually just see them as studies of light, or should I say the effect of light, but I want to explore my subjects more intensely and profoundly than the few hours I spend with them when painting outdoors. For this one, I decided…
This is somewhat of a confession. I’ve got quite sensitive hearing and painting outside for me is really difficult. There are not only the 20 million visual triggers that distract me, but also loads of sounds. One of the sounds that has a negative impact on me is the buzzing of insects. I’m one of…
You didn’t think I already failed on day 2 of the 30 paintings in 30 days, did ya? Of course I didn’t! I painted these little houses yesterday and all the sudden I found the sun on my panel, so I stopped there and then, about 80 minutes in. I finished it this morning, spending…
Buy with PayPal Here’s one from last week I painted in Veltem-Beisem. The house is on a road that is part of some popular cycling routes. That’s also how I discovered this place. I’m grateful for the crooked lantern pole, as it looks beautiful. Yes, you are allowed to call me nuts… I think this…
Believe it or not, but I saw a crab crossing the street today, 160km out of the coast. I was in Aarschot today, where apparently they suffer from a Chinese mitten crabs plague. According to our local TV station ROB, the crabs have been accidently imported via shipped sea containers into Belgium, where they’ve spread…
Last friday, I worked my last day at the company that I’ve been serving for the last 5 years. Altough it was tough having to say goodbye to some lovely colleagues, I’m really glad I can say I have a new office now. At least for a little while, I will be painting a lot…
Here’s another one from 2015. I was drawn to the cast shadow of the tree on the greenhouse, caused by the rising sun. It was quickly changing shape and position so it was a matter of getting it right quickly and then sticking to what I had seen that struck me.
In an attempt to make up the lack of posts from last year at least a little bit, I’ll post some work for you to see here. This one was painted in the botanical garden in Leuven last summer. If I remember it correctly, it was during the month of may, but it could be…
ENGLISH Just a quick message to prove that I’m still alive. A lot has been going on last autumn, through the winter, and now this lovely spring. From the cancer of my mum, supporting her until her death on new year’s eve and then supporting my dad, over the death of my father-in-law 3 weeks…