Birth of Venus,
While still looking for interesting matters to draw, the Birth of Venus from Botticelli, is a grateful subject.
Culemborg, where I live, lays along the river the Lek, one of the great rivers in the Netherlands. So my tribute for this landscape will be my Venus emerging from the sea will arrive at this riverside.
I have seen a lot of pinups lately, with interesting ornamental figures such as flowers. This inspired me to make such a portrait myself. But instead of rising out of an oyster, she raises from my boat, with lowered sails in a river landscape. Notice the black poplar, populus nigra, at the back, a characteristic species of this type of landscape and it is nice to draw for it has a distinctive silhouette.
This type of ship, a vlet, with those centerboards at the sides of the boats, which are called "zwaarden", is typical Dutch. It looks like my own boat.
After making a drawing, I'm cutting it out in cardboard paper and then laying it in, gluing, with pieces of transparent paper at the back, very satisfying.
Birth of Venus, cartboard and translucent paper, 42x28 cm.
