Hi internet friends!
Welcome to the first of (hopefully) many blogs. I don't know if blogs are still a hit nowadays but I have always love the thought of having one... so here it is.
You can expect a new blog every end of the month (and perhaps some extra's in between) where I take you with me in a little summary of that past month. Think about little scribbles, thoughts, writings, sketchbook spreads, recipes, favourites of the month, a nice coffee shop I discovered... and many more. There will be some cycling related stuff so now and then but I mainly focus on my artsy stuff and other ordinary things that take my attention. A little peek inside my life.
Ok, ready? Lets go!
It has been quite gloomy and wet weather the last past days ehh.. few weeks now. Although it's not the perfect cycling weather I do love it. When I do my morning walk with Joppe and come back home with a cold nose and damp hair of the fog, I can't help myself but smiling while warming myself again with a good coffee. These are the days my inspiration is overflowing and I feel like drawing and painting all day.
Past month I have been participating in Peachtober, which is a monthly challenge where you create something around a new word everyday. It was quite challenging for me as I started out with complex ideas but because I was in a hurry it wouldn't turn out as I hoped it would.. so after 6 days I was completely done with it... oeff not even managed to do a week.
After a break of almost two weeks I revisited the prompt list and got the ideas flown again. This time I made the agreement that it is okay to skip a day or more but mostly: keep it simple. It was like I woke up and because I let go of my high expectations I suddenly saw so many more options and got much more inspiration. Within this bubble of excitement little Sprout was born.
Day 19 was 'uniform' and so I got the idea to draw a little mouse dressed like a scout boy.. This little mouse was so full of character that I couldn't let myself making up a little story around him. I picked some days between day six and 30 and this little mouse was involved in some more stories and adventures. Still skipped a lot but I had a good time. For more of my entries check out this link.
Sketchbooks are always a bit hard for me... somehow they have to be perfect, which is of course not the purpose of a sketchbook. A sketchbook is a place to sketch, scribble, try out something different and to have fun. So my thought was to create a sketchbook, with just a few pages so it wouldn't be hard to fill in completely, where I could just enjoy creating simple things... What a blessing it was. I used Fabriano Artistico fine cold press paper as it is my favourite watercolor paper ( I personally like it better than Arches) and a lovely print I found in an old 'FLOW' magazine for the cover. It was like I made a cosy corner to draw in. (See here how I made the sketchbook).
I think the fact of allowing myself to draw everyday objects, things I saw or just random things I would like to draw helped me so much in enjoying to paint and made it easier for me to fill in the sketchbook. I think I got a bit stuck in the 'serious' part of art and lost touch with my more natural coming fantasy. I hope you enjoy seeing some pages as much as I loved drawing them :) Now let's finish this sketchbook!
1.'Op kop' coffee beans - There is this nice cycling cafe in Joure called vanmark where you can sit down for a nice coffee and cake. Now the thing is: Mark, the owner, roast his own coffee beans.. and those beans are terrific. We bought 'Guatemala' several times now and it's a nightmare when we run out. If you where thinking about trying out some new beans, this is the sign you where waiting for. Thank me later.
2. Home baked bread - A few weeks ago I bought this extra fine multigrain flour as I had the idea to bake some bread loafs out of it.. Last week the moment was there and let me tell you, no bread will top homemade bread. I tried to make some cuts on top you often see on sourdough bread (I bake with yeast) and it somehow turned out pretty okay-ish. Made some spicy tomato-carrot soup to pair with (too many thick!!) slices bread dipped in oatly spread for supper. Luckily there is still a kilo flour left, I see more bread loafs in the future.
3. Autmn pear cake - With this rainy weather I love making this delicious pear cake. Not only is it super delicious, it is also a veryy simple recipe. (you can sub the pears for apples if you fancy those more) (also extra points if the pears/apples are homegrown)
ingredients:
for the pears on top
2 pears
2/3 TBSP brown sugar
a nice amount of cinnamon
for the batter
115 gram butter
150 gram brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamon
2 eggs
210 gram all purpose flour
baking powder (according package for 210gram flour)
a bit of salt (don't skip!)
75 ml oatmilk (or any (plant)milk)
insturctions:
pears
Peel the pears, remove the core and cut the apples into slices. Mix with the sugar and cinnamon.
Batter
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a small pie dish. Stir the butter with the sugar, cinnamon, cardamon and vanilla extract until soft and add the eggs one by one. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt into the batter. Gently stir in the milk. Pour the batter into the pie dish and divide the pear slices, and the liquid that has been released, over the top. Bake the cake for about 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
ENJOY!!
Thank you for taking your time and I hope you liked this first blog post. Hope to see you again :-) All the best,
Aafke
ps: below some downloadable calendar backgrounds of November for Iphone and Ipad.
pps:
If you like what you read and would like to support my art journey with a little tip you can always buy me a 'ko-fi'. Every help is appreciated :)
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