Opdracht via Facebook / Commission through Facebook

Een portret in opdracht

Opdrachten kunnen ook via Facebook komen. Ik had een poosje geleden gereageerd op een Facebook pagina genaamd Krokodil heeft hulp nodig. Degene die deze pagina beheert, Simone, had toen mijn pagina bekeken en mijn dierenportretten gezien. Daar dacht ze aan toen haar hondje Jill plotseling overleed. Ze zou graag een getekend portret van Jill hebben ter herinnering. Ze vroeg mij daarnaar via een bericht op Facebook. Met wat chatten over en weer werd het nodige afgesproken (formaat, prijs, e.d.). Ook de foto van Jill die als voorbeeld zou dienen kwam met zo’n berichtje naar mij toe. 

Simone vond het goed dat ik dit portret als promotiemateriaal wou gebruiken. Ik heb het als WIP (Work In Progress, of WIW Werk In Wording) op Facebook gezet. Elke dag als de tekening weer een fase verder was plaatste ik een foto daarvan op mijn eigen Facebook pagina en in een paar Facebook groepen. 

Nu is de tekening klaar. Vandaag heb ik die naar Simone opgestuurd. Ze had er natuurlijk al de foto van gezien op Facebook. Dit vind ik een goede gelegenheid om het geheel hier in mijn blog te zetten. 

A commissioned portrait  

Commissions can come through Facebook. Some time ago I commented on a Facebook page called ‘Krokodil heeft hulp nodig’ (about a crocodile that needs help). The administrator of that page, Simone, then had a look at my page and saw my animal portraits. She remembered this when her dog Jill suddenly died. She’d like to have a portrait of Jill, for remembrance. She asked me in a message on Facebook. With some chatting we came to an agreement (price, size, etc.) Also Jill’s photo was sent to me in a message. 

Simone agreed I could use this portrait for my promotion. I put it on Facebook as a WIP (Work In Progress). Every day when the drawing was in a new phase, I posted the photo on my ownFacebook page and in some groups. 

Now the drawing is finished. Today it was sent to Simone. Of course she already saw the photo on Facebook. I think this is the right time to post this all in my blog. 

Webshop

Zomaar ineens zag ik dat één van mijn Facebook-vriendinnen, Madeleine Schineis, aanbood om via haar webshop kunst van anderen te verkopen. Zijzelf maakt aquarellen, maar ook allerlei ‘hebbedingetjes’. Die verkoopt ze via haar webshop Flowers&Arts.

Via die webshop verkoopt ze nu dus ook een aantal van mijn aquarellen. En kunstwerken van Marion (acryl) en misschien nog meer … Kijk maar eens!

 'Hortensia', één van de negen aquarels die nu bij Flowers&Arts te koop zijn / 'Hydrangea' 

Suddenly I saw one of my Facebook-friends, Madeleine Schineis, offered to sell art made by others in her webshop. She herself makes watercolours, and also all kind of little ‘musthaves’. Her webshop is named Flowers&Arts (sorry, but it’s in Dutch … )

So now in het webshop she sells my watercolours too. And the art of Marion (acrylics) and maybe more … Just have a look!

 'Tropical fruits', one of the nine watercolours for sale now in Flowers&Arts / 'Tropisch fruit' 

Tweetalig / Bilingual

Tweetalig!

Voortaan zal mijn blog tweetalig zijn. Tot nu toe schreef ik in het Engels. Dat deed ik omdat ik veel internationale contacten op internet had. Nu ik heb besloten om van tekenen en schilderen mijn beroep te maken ga ik me meer richten op het Nederlandse publiek.  Natuurlijk kan ik ook voor  buitenlandse opdrachtgevers werken. Ik woon echter in Nederland, dus dat ligt het meest voor de hand.

Ik heb mijn onderneming opgericht in december 2013 (KvK nummer 59379251). De bedrijfsnaam is gewoon mijn eigen naam: I.M.Leonora-den Ouden. Mijn productie gaat in drie richtingen:

- portretten e.d. in opdracht;

- illustraties (kinderboeken);

- tekeningen en aquarels die ik verkoop op kunstmarkten en via galeries en mijn webshop.

Hierbij een van mijn recente tekeningen. Onder het Engelstalige deel zie je er nog een. 

'een kleurrijke acrobaat', kleurpotloden op zacht perzikkleurig papier/ 'a colourful acrobat', coloured pencils on pale peach paper

Bilingual!

From now on my blog will be bilingual. Until now I wrote it in English. That was because I had many international contacts on internet. Now I decided to make drawing and painting my profession, I will target the Dutch public. Of course I can work for foreign clients. But I live in the Netherlands, so that’s the first choice.

I started my business in December 2013 (Chamber of Commerce nr. 59379251). My company name is just my own name: I.M. Leonora-den Ouden. My production goes in three directions:

- portraits and other commissions;

- illustrations (children’s books);

- drawing and watercolours, which I sell at art fairs and through galleries and my webshop. 

Here is one of my recent drawings. Another one you saw under the Dutch part. 

'the highest note', coloured pencils on blue paper / 'het hoogste lied', kleurpotloden op blauw papier 

Your help please

I am writing new texts for my website. First I wrote it all in Dutch. Now I am translating into English (UK). Please read them. Give your comments so I can make them better, before they appear in my website.

Here is the first part.

A portrait, because …

... your baby grows so fast, becomes a toddler, soon a teenager!
I put the phase in life down in a portrait and you will enjoy forever!

... your parents have their fiftieth wedding anniversary only once in their lives. A portrait of them together is a great gift!
I can use their wedding photo, or more recent pictures as my reference.

... you lost a beloved one (human or animal) in death. You miss him/her every day. You don’t want to forget him/her.
With my portraits for ‘in memoriam’ the bereavement will feel a little softer.

... you want to present yourself in a professional way. You want a portrait that shows who you really are.
I paint portraits you really want to show in your company.

... there is so much you value. A place of nice memories. A special event. Something you love to see. You name it.
If there are photos of it, I can use them for a drawing or painting. Otherwise I find or make photos and use my imagination.

... an ordinary snapshot doesn’t have the impact of a drawing or painting. Using them to make a drawing or painting with the help of your photos I make souvenirs of lasting value.

About me ...

 In my childhood my parents stimulated my creativity. They also taught me to love nature.

I did my best to choose a school that would help me use my creativity in my life. My choice was a school for becoming a teacher in drawing and textile arts. But I found it wasn’t the right choice. ‘In front of the class’ was not my kind of place. After two years I left the school. But I was glad I learned a lot about many different techniques.

I married and had children. My creativity was limited to a ‘hobby’. It was in my second marriage I discovered it could be more than that. My new husband, Carlos, promoted me as an ‘artist’ for his friends and family. I started painting portraits, as gifts.

Would I be able to become a professional artist? That question appeared and reappeared in my thoughts. I started making paintings I wanted to sell. I had booths at local art-fairs. On the internet I did what I could to ‘become known’.

In 2013 I saw there was a market for my art. At exhibitions my watercolours were sold. I had some commissions. I was even asked to illustrated a children’s book! The office-job I had to earn my money felt like it took too much of my precious time. I was happy to hear the company wanted to ‘shrink’ and I could stop there when my contract would end. I registered at the Chamber of Commerce for ‘the big step forward’.  

To illustrate it here is a portrait paintings I made recently. 

November 2013

A Sketching Challenge

The Facebook community 'Sketching Workshop' organised a challenge for this month. We (some of the members) try to make 50 sketches this month. We put the sketches in an album at 'SW AgSketchMo'. There are 30 sketches in my album now. I saw there is someone who already has 50! Her name is Barbara Moore.

If you are on Facebook, you can have a look there. But I'll show some of my sketches of this month here.

cactus flower, sketch in soft pencil

an old lady in the train, quick sketch in soft pencil 

kaki / sharon / persimon fruit, sketch in four-coloured BIC ballpoint

 aloe vera plant, quick sketch in soft pencil

 plane tree leaves, sketch in soft pencil (blended with finger)

 plane tree, sketch in ink and coloured pencil on a brown paper bag

my booties, sketch in soft pencil (blended with finger)

Experiments

I think the following time you will see some changes happening to my blog here. I am experimenting with backgrounds (using photos or paintings I made myself) and lay-out. It will take some time untill I will have found a 'final' look (if ever ...).

Another experiment is my 'webshop'. I follow a tutorial by Rose Schuring 'Grow your art business online'. After her explanation on the importance of having a webshop, I started mine, with three watercolour sketches in it. Maybe soon there will be more. You can find it HERE, but sorry it is in Dutch, with Dutch paying services. If you are interested to buy one of my works, and you're not in the Netherlands, please contact me by e-mail: i-m-leonora@hotmail.com .

One of the watercolour sketches for sale is 'Oak leaves', you see here:  

sketching daily

Maybe there is a thing called ‘talent’. But sure the most important thing is PRACTICE. Practice does not make perfect (as ‘perfect’ doesn’t exist in this world). Practice helps you develop your skills. That is why I practice drawing as often as possible. I do my best to make one sketch every day.

I make small sketches of ordinary things I see every day. I folded a large (A3) paper in 12 squares. They are each about 10x10 cm. I make a sketch in every square. Sometimes I use two squares for one sketch. Here you see such a paper with sketches.

When the weather is good, I sketch outdoors. Weeds in my garden are a great subject.

Also indoors I can find nice subjects. Like the dishes I washed ...

... or the towel.

Sometimes I even dare to sketch a living animal. Soon you’ll read more one that. Here is a preview.

I will do my best to show you some of my sketches more often in my blog. Some will be under 'More art', some (together  about a certain subject) in a new post.