Inside the Chocolaterie

"Inside the Chocolaterie"

6x6 inch/ 15,2 x 15,2 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

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There is this lovely chocolate shop in Voorschoten, I can make a bunch of paintings from it. It's great from the outside, the inside and the little handmade chocolates are art by itself. I will certainly get back there for more inspiration.

I made some pictures of the progress:

I tone the background with a thinned down burned umber. I set up the big shapes with thin burned umber. I wipe out the areas that aren't right.

 

Because I want to finish this painting in one day, I add the important colors I don't want contaminated with dark or light, first.

 

 

 I quickly block in the rest. So far it's always fun. From now on it can go uphill or downhill..

 

 

Adding details, take distance, don't overwork it: done!

 

grey weather in New York city

"Grey weather in New York city

5x7 inch, 12,7x17,8 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

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Horse power

"Horse power"

5x7 inch / 12,7 x 17,8 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

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I just need it regularly, to paint a beautiful horse. I am back at the stables weekly and reinfected with the horse virus. You like them or you don't. I did for as long as I can remember.

Selfie

"Selfie"

6x6 inch / 15,2 x 15,2 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

 

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It's getting chilly

"It's getting chilly"

11.8x15.7 inch/ 30x40 cm

oil on stretched canvas

$160



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I made this painting in Kijkduin, a beach in The Hague. It was quite chilly, I stopped when my hands were so cold that I couldn't open my paint tubes anymore :)
The beauty of real plein air (outside) painting is that there is real sand sticking to the paint, I personally love this!



 

detail of the painting

work in progress

 

The water is good

"The water is good"

8x16 inc / 20x40 cm

oil on canvas

$125 / 120 euro 

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It's nice to bring the feeling of summer back at this time of year :)

This is Kijkduin in The Hague.



View from above

"View from above"

6x6 inch/ 15,2 x 15,2 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

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View on Amsterdam. There is that overwelming big city view, but then I started to look more carefully and saw so many things, I could paint a hundred paintings of parts of that view.
In this one I liked the Dutch orange mailbox, the typical crossing, boats in a canal and a car driving with an open rear- and ofcourse, the trees in great autumn colors.



Awesome autumn

"Awesome autumn"

6x6 inch / 15,2 x 15,2 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

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The color changes of the leaves are amazing to a painter. And I cannot remember when I last experienced a cold autumn, it's been years and years.
These trees you can find in Amsterdam, next to the Okura hotel.



Let's sit here

"Let's sit here"

6x6 inch / 15,2 x 15,2 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

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I visited the town Voorschoten and walked through a street with very attractive views of shops and sunny sidestreets. Too many ideas to paint. I chose this chocolate shop to start with.



a welcoming home

"A welcoming home"

8x8 inch / 20,3 x 20,3 cm

oil on stretched canvas

$70

you can buy this painting here

 

Recently I happened to be in the neighbourhood where my grandmother used to live. I walked by her house to feel all the flash-backs, it was so weird. A bit creepy (suits the Halloween feeling): the door was open and no one to be seen. I made a quick pic for painting this in my studio: the memories, the light, the welcoming open door and the sneek peek inside. It was all too good.



 

Fresh grass

"Fresh grass"

8x8 inch / 20,3x 20,3 cm

oil on stretched canvas

$70

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We met this horse on the way biking. He looked great in his zebra patterned blanket. We gave him some fresh grass and I shot a bunch of pictures. There was no bright sunlight, something I am always looking for, but I learned also that on a grey day you can judge colors better. It's never boring to paint a  horse, I love it!

 

 

 

 

I always forget this but now I made some pictures of my paintingprocess;

Usually I tone my canvas with burned sienna so it has a medium value. Now I wanted to try something new to see if I could block in the colors better- keeping the colors fresher maybe.

Then, first the outlines of the horse, based on the picture on my laptop or phone:

Then blocking in colors quickly:

Then darks and lights, adjust colors and detail, leave it for a day and finish it the next day, change things that may be disturbing, add highlights and last details.

 



Terrace in Amsterdam

"Terrace in Amsterdam"

8x8 inch / 20,3 x 20,3 cm

oil on gessobord

$70

 

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I made a few pictures of places in Amsterdam where the sun and shadowpattern were very interesting. I like to paint terraces with people. And the bicycle had to be in it, because, you know, it's Amsterdam, and to make a better composition.



There we go

"There we go"

6x6 inch / 15,2x15,2 cm

oil on gessobord

$60

you can buy this painting here

 

 

This painting is based on a picture I took on holiday when we went horseriding with the family. So again, I used one of my daughters as a model :).

It was an interesting picture, with the sun in the dark paddock, the step up stool from Ikea, the way she was sitting, ready but not totally sure. I think they are a great pair together.

 



 

On the highway

"On the highway"

6 x 6 inch / 15,2 x 15,2 cm

Oil on gessobord

$60

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Clouds above the highway home. This 'golden hour' of the day I never seem to be able to paint. It gets dark earlier now and this is what you get as a present on the highway.

 

plein air from the back yard

"View from the garden"

8x8 inch (20,3 x 20x3 cm)

oil on canvas

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Great to paint plein air from a safe place like your own garden. Luckily I have a green view. I tried to capture the light quickly before clouds appeared, that's why it's painted quite boldly- I love painting this way.

Shopping district / winkelstraat, Den Haag

 

"Shopping district"

6x8 inch (15,2x20,3 cm)

oil on gessobord

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This is a view from upstairs in the centre of The Hague. I made many pictures and from the most interesting ones, I chose the best composition. It is an interesting view, looking down, and it is a challenge to paint everything in the right perspective :)



Pintar Rapido 2016 winners Amsterdam

Pintar Rapido 2016

 

I joined the Pintar Rapido in Amsterdam this weekend. Lots of artists from all places came to Amsterdam to make a painting in a day and exhibit their work on sunday in the Posthoornkerk in Amsterdam.

 

 

Saturdaymorning after I got my Pintar Rapido stamp on the back of my empty canvas, I took off to a coffeeshop, hoping for some nice light and a good spot in a quiet corner.

 

I found it:



This seemed like a nice composition and I did what I always wanted but never dared to do: paint in public. I took out my stuff and.... nobody cared! This is Amsterdam ofourse, nothing is weird here :)

Some interesting people came by, compositionwise, so there was enough subject to choose from.

I started painting people, they went quickly, I made it into another person, etc. I ended up practicing my skills in quick painting people.


The people in the foreground were suddenly gone, when I was nearly done. So, some details I added later from a picture I made with my phone.

 
And this is the result after 2 hours:

 

"Coffee at the Damrak"

8x8 inch

oil on canvas

 

I made it back far before closing time, next year I can do a bigger one.

 

Happy with the result, I love painting plein air like this (even though it's indoor air).

 

And the exhibition? My painting got sold straight away and I even won a 4th place prize!!!! On top of that I got to meet my favorite plein air painter Roos Schuring, who was one of the judges.

What a weekend...

 

The prizewinning paintings on stage>

 



"All tied up"

 

"All tied up"

6x6 inch (15.2x15.2 cm)

oil on gessobord
 

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This is the third painting in my ball python series- so far. This is actually my own pet, a baby coralglow pinstripe ball python. I am totally taken by these relaxed, amazingly beautiful and harmless animals. His color is actually a deep yellow color with orange and translucent pink and purple. Can you believe a snake like that??! He is still a baby, his color will change over time. I am going to try and capture these colorchanges in the future.





Hiding ball python

"Hiding"

6x6 inch

oil on gessobord

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Every ball python has a different pattern. You can see forms in them. Mostly you can see the typical alienheads, but this pastelcolored one has a little heartshape.



ball python

 

"Ball python"

6x6 inch (15.2 cm)

oil on gessobord

 

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stating the obvious

"Stating the obvious"

6x8 inch (15.2 x 20.3 cm)

oil on gessobord

 

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This is such a funny sign. I was running and had to wait for a traffic light and saw this. I must have seen it a million times but never noticed it- a sign to tell you you have to push the obvious, surrounded by yellow, button. The guy in the sign looks so stiff, you don't think he will make it across anyway. He is better off not to push it..
Now I see it everywhere.





Outside drinks

 

"Outside drinks"

9x12 inch (23x30.5 cm)

oil on canvas

SOLD

 

 

It's cold but no one seems to mind. Fire is burning, drinks are being replaced as soon as finished, there is laughter, everyone is having a good time. Just a friday night somewhere in The Hague.

 

It wasn't totally dark yet, but I had to redo the dark bits 3 times to make it dark enough to let the fire stand out. I should try to paint from dark to light next time, maybe start out on a dark purple background instead of my usual burned sienna one...



Dutch cow

"Dutch cow"

6x6 inch (15x15 cm)

oil on gessobord

 

sold

This beauty cow with her yellow, numbered earrings, caught my attention at the petting zoo. I tried to paint it less saturated than I normally do, inspired by the Dutch masters. Mix the colors you see, not the colors the picture tells you, that's my own learning point for today :)

Cow at the petting zoo

"Cow at the petting zoo"

8x10 inch (20x25 cm)

oil on stretched canvas

 

buy this painting here

I do get into the Dutch theme lately...what is that besides windmills and cloggs? Cows! They are very normal here for the Dutch but I am again (after my recent repatriation) amazed by such a big lump of animal, adapted to all the running kids around her, waiting for her stable to open because it's feeding time. Just a wonderful animal.

Ik kom helemaal in het Nederlandse thema de laatste tijd... wat houdt dat in behalve molens en klompen? Koeien! Ze zijn heel normaal hier voor de Nederlanders maar ik ben opnieuw (na mijn terugkeer naar Nederland) verbaasd door zo'n klomp van een dier, volledig gewend aan al de rennende kinderen, wachtend tot haar stal open gaat voor etenstijd. Gewoon een geweldig dier.

A dry drivers view

"A dry drivers view"

6x6 inch

oil on gessobord

 

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On my way home, in the car. This is in The Hague. I wanted to capture the rain in this painting. To feel the wet and cold when you look at it. This in contrast with the beauty of the bright, washed colors.
Rain does have his advantages :)

Texas house in the Heights 2

"Texas house in the Heights 2"

6x6 inch

oil on gessobord

 

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I haven't posted a painting in a loooong time, the longest ever. It's because we moved into our first real own house in the Netherlands, my home country. It's all very grown up, and I have been painting walls and furniture instead.

Now all that's done and I am not leaving for a few years.

If I don't get too fed up with one place ofcourse, that's new for me and time will tell :)

Back to the real painting, that I missed so  much!

This little painting I made from a picture I took at my last tour through the Heights, a neighbourhood in Houston. I left Houston after living there for 2.5 years and I am happy I made so many pictures. I want to paint all the houses that made me stop to have it memorized.

Texas house in the heights

"Texas house in the Heights"

oil on gessobord

6x6 inch 

SOLD

I loved the typical style of houses when I lived in Houston, Texas. A lot of these old cute houses were being replaced by the big townhouses, but there were still a lot of inspiring ones. Especially in the Heights; I drove through the streets and wanted to paint every house I saw. Luckily I made a ton of pictures.

old photo

"Old picture"

6x6 inch

oil on gessobord

 

buy this painting here

Recently I found a stack of war pictures that my husband collects. In between al the soldier and battlefield ones was this one. A serene interior with magical light. It left me wondering about the huge story behind a picture like this, taken in time of war.

model dog

 

"Model dog"

8x8 inch (20x20 cm)

oil on stretched canvas

Buy this painting here

 

This dog is THE best dog to have. Certainly as a painter. She pulls the sweetest faces. Or the funniest. Or is in a hilarious pose. She is an uncommon breed. She has a slight resemblence to fantasy characters you see in movies. She can even model for a painting.

My one year old Chion, Nikki.


Happy place, friends

 

"Happy place"

oil on gessobord

5x7 inch

 

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I've been watching this room for so long, it is now a familiar place to me where I would feel totally at home.

Often your favorite series can make you relax in the most stressful circumstances :)

Cuddles

"Cuddles"

oil on gessobord

6x6 inch

SOLD

 

These two horses were waiting for their daily ride, one already saddled. They were fighting, it seemed, but soon I saw they were playing, cuddling even.


Russian dacha

"Russian dacha in the snow"

oil on gessobord

6x6 inch

 

buy this painting here

 



 

 

In Sakhalin, Russia, there are many Dacha's. They are used by the Russians mainly as weekend homes, growing your own vegetables, escape the city and enjoy nature. I used to live there for a while and the crispy snow there was incredible. Now, all over the place in the world, weather is going crazy but here in Holland...rain. So, I enjoy the snow on my painting.

This snow painting is inspired by the weekly challenge on dailypaintworks.com. It's a great art website where many artists post their art.

This is my gallery there:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/miranda-dalessi-6014/artwork


The North sea from Scheveningen

 

 

"The North sea from Scheveningen"

6x6 inch

oil on gessobord

 

SOLD

 

 

I am so happy I live close to the beach again! The sky changes every 5 minutes so it wil be a good challenge for me to practice my plein air skills soon. First, I wait for my gear to arrive in the container from Houston. And that is a good excuse not to conquer the cold, slicing wind at the moment :) So, I made this one in my studio from pictures.

Along the road in Texas

"Along the road"

6x6 inch

oil on gessobord

buy this painting here

On a trip through the hill country in Texas, we passed this house and I just HAD to turn back to take a few reference pictures for this painting. 

This is the last painting of Texas really made in Texas... I am now settling back into my home country, the Netherlands. Losts (lots!!) of inspiration here too but I am still hung up on my Texas themes. So, I will paint a little of both worlds in the future.