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The Pop-up on the Langestraat is now closed

86 Langestraat, Bruges Belgium, June 2024

We intended to run this little experiment for six weeks, however, in the end it ran for only four. We closed it down a week ago. The lack of local response (perhaps due to no walk-in opening hours) became too frustrating for me; while for Lode my host, (due to the fact that he possesses no business license for his storefront) opening hours were just not an option. So we agreed to call it a day.

I have learned a few things. First and foremost, the art market in Bruges (in Belgium and even in Europe in general) appears to be focussed almost exclusively on contemporary art. And though I am familiar with contemporary art as a credo, it’s not a church I pray in (most of the time). Or, to put it differently, there’s just not a market for the kind of work realistic landscape work that I do, that I love to do, that brings me pleasure to do. Disappointing, but OK, understood. Move on.

Secondly, since I truly am interested in clearing out my attic – particularly of old work – I’m currently exploring other options. Most people, who are not actively creating themselves, don’t realize that if you’re not busy hustling your babies out and on to other destinations, the backlog that develops can become quite stultifying. And so, now that I’ve finally rediscovered my mojo, I’m very interested to restart with as clean a slate as possible.

I am grateful for everyone (yes, there were a few) who did contact me to come by. And indeed a few visitors did find something that they wanted to take home with them. Nice! Additionally, I’m even more grateful to Lode Viane for the use of his space. Bedankt, Lode!

So, now, it’s back to summertime bliss-land. I’m hoping to produce more simple, 9″x12″ (23 x 32cm) on-site landscapes this summer, similar to the recent Vivenkapelle and/or Scharbrugge – if weather permits. I’ve designed a small pochade box which connects to a standard tripod. Those items, together with a very sturdy folding chair, all fit in my e-bike bags. Cool! I’m mobile and ready to explore the countryside. We’ll see what happens next. Stay tuned…

Pop-up @ Langestraat 86 in Brugge

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Hunter River. May 28, 2023. Watercolor on hot pressed paper. 6″ x 12″ or 15 x 30 cm.

Last summer I rediscovered my mojo for landscape painting. It’s not as though I had ever really lost it, it’s just that the difficulties (as I experienced them) had temporarily overwhelmed my passion. The doorway to my return was definitely watercolor. As a medium, it can be incredibly difficult to master but also, as a medium, it’s very, very portable. So during our travels in Australia last spring the flue opened. On our return to Brugge, new watercolors began to flow. Where to put these new pieces in our already small and overflowing house?

Coupurebrug, Right. Watercolor on hot pressed paper. July 2, 2033. 9 x 12″ or 23 x 30.5 cm

I asked my friend, Lode Viane, who maintains a storefront on the Langestraat (for his house-painting business) if I might be able to use his commercial window space to display some of my paintings somehow, sometime? He said sure, but we left it at that – for the moment.

This spring we revisited the idea. He suggested doing a few weeks long “pop-up”. Easy to facilitate. He offered me the right window for display purposes plus a set of keys to the front door. We ordered some vinyl lettering to announce the project and pressed it on to the lower front window edge. Eh, voila!

Dammsevaart oil on panel. 2012. 30 x 40 cm or 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches.

Dammsevaart oil on panel. 2012. 30 x 40 cm 11 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches.

Yesterday John and I brought some pieces over to set it up. Now we’re off and running. The focus of the exhibit is (primarily but not exclusively) local landscapes, in oil and watercolor. There’s space to exhibit four paintings in the front window, plus interior wall space for approximately 15 more. Passers-by can easily see the front display (which will change weekly) but if you are interested to gaze behind the curtain, make an appointment via info@ellen-trezevant.com. The pop-up will run May 26 – June 22. Hope to see you – if you’re in the hood!

Inclusion in a Juried Exhibition @ the Ashton Gallery in San Diego, California

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Anna Front. A mixed media painting on panels. 44.5 x 63.5 cm or 17.5 x 25 in.

I delivered a painting yesterday to the Ashton Gallery @ 4434 30th St. San Diego. The piece has been accepted for inclusion in an upcoming show entitled “Healing the Divide”, sponsored by the Oceanside Museum of Art’s Artist Alliance program. I am grateful for the inclusion as well as for the existence of a near-by museum which supports local artists(!). Hooray!

The opening will be this Saturday, January 14th (2023), 4 – 7 p.m. and the show will run until February 3rd. Here is a link announcing the event. To the left is a thumbnail of, which also includes a link to, the piece that I submitted.

Circle, Along the Damse Vaart

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Along the Damse Vaart. Watercolour on hot-pressed paper. 6" x 12" or 11.5 x 32 cm — Along the Damse Vaart. Watercolour on hot-pressed paper. 6″ x 12″.

Another watercolour, a medium which by the way, is incredibly difficult to photograph. The colour of the spectrum of light influences the photograph. So if I try to create a photograph on a bright sunny day the subtle highlights become washed out. If I try to create a photograph on a cloudy day, there is an inevitable bluish tonality to the light. I can try to colour-correct for that using software but then colour is lost in the process. The highlights inevitably suffer. So suffice it to say that the image presented here is the best I can do to given my skills and conditions. Sigh, the warm yellow wash in the centre is underrepresented. OK.

Otherwise, I had a lot of fun doing this one. It is created on hot-pressed paper, whose flat texture allows for finer detail, especially with the (HB) graphite pencil. I continue to enjoy discovering the possibilities of working wet-in-wet, dry/saturated-in-wet, wet-on-dry or even dry/saturated-on-dry (not much of that last one here). I continue to explore a reduced, complimentary palette within a circular motif. I didn’t use any masking fluid on this one, however I did make use of paper towels to blot back areas of a dark wash, like in the soft dappled light on the tree or foreground on the left.

Unframed. $50 or 50 Euros plus shipping and handling.

Please contact me if you are interested.

The Circle Game or Homage to the Circle

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I returned to Ruskin’s “The Elements of Drawing” this summer. (It’s always good to start anew and never assume that you know whatever you think you know – because most likely, you don’t) So as I was playing around with watercolours, Ruskin suggested creating shapes and filling them in, beginning with the most basic of shapes, the circle. I was creating these sun-like shapes on a landscape oriented pad, 6″ x 12″ and immediately wanted to superimpose a real landscape over it. So I did.

The Schipdonk Canal. Watercolour on cold pressed paper. 6″ x 12″ SOLD

The first in the series, was of a scene along the Schipdonk canal somewhere around Eeklo. Since I thought it turned out rather well, I thought, hmmmm…., this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship? I liked the serendipitous contribution of the sun-like circle, compositionally and chromatically, enhancing its one-point perspective. I also liked the idea of doing the landscape in a simplified colour scheme of two complimentary colors. I began to imagine doing more, particularly of my favourite scenes around here.

Farm on the Damme Vaart. Watercolour (Alizarine Crimson and Thalo Green Light) on cold pressed paper. 6″ x 12″

The second in the series then is of a farm along the Damse Vaart that I have painted in the past. I really like the sweet, afternoon light on the farm buildings in the middle ground but have struggled to make it an interesting composition. Would this circle approach help? I decided to try it with a green/red palette, The result was OK, but compositionally, still rather static, so I enhanced the golden circle with an external wash of purple. It felt pretty rad. 🙂

Framed. $50 or 50 Euros plus shipping and handling.

Bend in the Damme Vaart. Watercolour (Thalo Blue and Burnt Sienna) on cold pressed paper. 6″ x 12″

Well, OK, what’s next? I have plenty of favourite spots around here, so I chose another one further along the Damse Vaart, this time at its bend (which I have also painted in the past). I ended up doing three different versions of it: the first in a ‘normal’ colour scheme’ (boring!); the second in Thalo Blue/Burnt Sienna but with a horizon line that was about a 1/2″ too high (ugh!, toss); and the last one (pictured here) with the Blue/Sienna colour scheme but a lowered horizon line ( it finally felt right chromatically and compositionally).

Framed. $50 or 50 Euros plus shipping and handling.

Luckily these small experiments are easy to do so there’s more to come. Stay tuned…

Please contact me if you are interested in either of the DaamseVaart pieces.