Veronika Bekker

Still life oil study. Roses and Aphrodite.

2012-01-26T22:03:00.000-08:00

Watercolor pencil study.

2012-01-23T22:33:00.000-08:00

Drawing with pencil is a very intuitive process. At first glance it might seem very easy, but every pencil has its character and its secrets. The main difference from the usual colored pencil and watercolor pencil is it's "lead". The leads are made by using compressed water soluble paints and this process does not allow the lead to crumble when drawing. Water-soluble pencils can be combined perfectly with other materials. Often they are used in watercolor paintings, ink drawings, and paintings. You can easily erase them just like regular graphite pencils before adding water. The uniqueness begins when the pencil hits the water. The artists can use watercolor pencils in different ways: dilute a pencil drawing with a wet brush, use the pencil with a pre-moistened tip, or drawing on wet paper. When you will apply the water, you'll notice how the lines dissolve, creating the watercolor effect. The intensity of color will depend on the amount of pencil layers, the thicker the layer - the richer the color. You can mix colors to achieve the desired hue. There are significant differences between working on dry and wet paper. On moist paper watercolor pencils leave soft and wide lines. As the lead dries the line will become thinner and dimmer. It is not recommended to work with a sharp pencil on wet paper. Make sure that the tip of a pencil is always clean and wipe your pencils with a dry cloth.

Pastel sketch and Digital life painting. My process.

2012-01-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

30 min pastel sketch.

2.5 hours digital painting.

Martin from Veronika Bekker on Vimeo.
Time-laps 2.5 hours life painting. Photoshop and Wacom tablet.

Painting and Drawing- same model.

2012-01-14T00:36:00.000-08:00

Plein air in Colors of Fall.

2011-11-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

Plein air is a term derived from the French phrase en plein air, which literally means 'in the open air'. It's a familiar concept today, but in the late 1800s when the Impressionists ventured out of their studios into nature to investigate and capture the effects of sunlight and different times of days on a subject, it was quite revolutionary.

An early Fall is a great time to paint outdoors. Bright colours and fresh air are very exciting opportunities to practice your painting skills. Focus on what you see, not what you can imagine or intellectualize about the subject (otherwise you may as well be back in your studio).

Consider scouting out locations in advance to decide what you're going too paint and where you would set up. I choose a park very close to my home-studio. This way when you head out to paint you can spend the whole day painting and take along the best selection of colors for that particular scene. Look right around, 360 degrees, so you don't miss the possibilities 'behind' you.
The ideal spot to set up will be in the shade, out of the wind, but this often isn't possible.

There's something about seeing an artist at work that makes people extremely inquisitive, more likely to talk to a stranger, and prone to giving unwanted opinions. It can be disconcerting, especially if your painting isn't going well, and quite disruptive if it happens a lot. Considering positioning yourself where people can't come up behind you, such as against a wall or in a closed doorway. In the park it is impossible, so I tried to set myself far from walking paths.

If you don't wish to chat, be politely non-responsive along the lines of "I'm sorry I can't talk right now I've only a limited time to do this". Most people simply want a closer look at what you're doing, and so saying "Feel free to have a look" then getting on with what you're doing is all it takes. Some people will be keen to give you all sorts of uninvited advice; be thick-skinned and try to get rid of them extreme politeness, for instance with a "thank you, but I'm fine with what I'm doing".

In my opinion a plein-air painting needs to be started and finished outside the studio, because any of them is simply studies and can be used in the future as base for bigger and more serious paintings.

My painting outdoor experience this fall was great.

Painting at Basic Inquiry - 5 hour digital painting.

2011-09-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

Kyle.

Monday morning session at Basic Inquiry.

2011-09-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ed. 6 hour study. Photoshop CS5.

New works!!!!

2011-04-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

Finally I took the pictures of my new works. Take a look on them at my " Paintings" page!!! :)

Solo art show. "Vancouver-Express" office.

2011-03-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

First session on March 7th 2011.

2011-02-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

www.lifedrawing.org

My dear friends, I would like to invite you to an open house ! Would be great to see you there!

2011-02-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

Commission work. Fragment.

2011-01-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

Soft Charcoal on canvas.

This monument was build as a memorial of died citizens of Dzyarzhynsk- Ukranian City.
The Lithuanian Twelfth Schutzmannschaft (auxiliary police) Battalion's 1st Company, led by Lieutenant Z. Kemzura, massacred between 1,000 and 1,900 Jews from the city on October 21, 1941, shooting them and throwing them into a pit; many were buried alive. As it is reported in "The Complete Black Book of Russian Jewry," "For three hours the earth covering the mass grave would move; people still alive were trying to crawl out of their grave."
In July 1942, the Einsatzgruppen killed several thousand Jews in Koidanovo. The city was liberated by the Soviet Red Army on July 6, 1944.

East Side Culture Crawl 2010. Basic Inquiry.

2010-12-11T17:04:00.000-08:00

Palette knife style paintings.

2010-11-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Veronika's Art Studio.

2010-11-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Enjoy Art and Experience the Joy of Learning

I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.

~Henri Matisse