Painting in Belgium

I returned from a trip to my hometown in Belgium, Lasne (near Waterloo) a few weeks ago and managed to get my paints out while my devoted mum looked after the kids. It's an interesting thing painting a place I know so well, but never looked at it with my artist's eyes before because I only started painting plein air landscapes after moving to England. I spent a lot of time driving around looking for a good spot to paint as I was rediscovering it from a painter's point of view. Here are the six paintings I produced during my stay.

I painted this one below from Place d'Ohain. Lovely little square surrounded by a few shops, including the butcher which you can see far right of the painting. It started to rain as I started painting and I got my feet wet, but it did bring lovely reflections on the road so that was a bonus.

Ohain in the rain  10"x8" oil on board
Available here

Here are a few steps below

The finished painting

Detail

One of the place I really wanted to paint was the fields where the Battle of Waterloo happened, situated only minutes away from my parents' house. Such a beautiful place and a big part of my childhood memories. It was so quiet while I painted this, couldn't help thinking about what happened there just over 200 years ago. 

Les champs de Waterloo   oil on board  10"x8"
Available here

I had a great time painting the clouds with freedom. Bliss!

Detail

I did a second one on that day from the same spot but looking towards the old cobbled road. This is the road we use all the time to go to Waterloo. It's very old and bumpy but simply gorgeous. 

Waterloo - La route des champs  10"x7"  oil on board

Detail

Below is an other painting done at the square in Ohain, this time looking towards the bandstand, which is a bit of a local landmark there. I got married at the guildhall just opposite it. A bit of a contrast between my lovely wedding dress on the day, and my stained worn out artist's clothes while I painted this! 

Place d'Ohain  16"x9"  oil on board
Available here

Detail

Below is the road leading to Lasne centre. Very small but lovely high street, full of memories. The painting shows the local bank, the florist where I got my wedding bouquet, the restaurant La tartine, and the old video rental shop where we would rent VHS tapes at the week end (I feel old!) 

Lasne  10"x12"  oil on board
Available here

Detail

Finally, below is a painting of an other cobbled road in the area. I was craving for a big bath of greenery so this surely satisfied me! Lovely light filtering through the branches too. 

Route de la Marache, Lasne  10"x12"  oil on board
Available here

Detail

That's it for my Belgian paintings. They are all available on my website here:
www.valeriepirlot.com/belgium

Lastly, just a quick note about shows:

Two of my Belgium paintings will be on show at the exhibition "Lasne en peintures" which will be held at the Maison communale later this year. My work will also be on show at the bibliothèque de Lasne early next year.

For those in the UK: Andrew Taylor, Bob Child and myself are running our show in Bradford-on-Avon again this year (fourth year now) and it will be 6-8th October.

More info about all this very soon.

Finally don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to get all the latest news! Just enter your name, country and email here:
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Show now on in Belgium: The Battle of Waterloo in paintings

After 10 years of showing my work in UK since moving in England, I'm finally doing a show in my homeland, Belgium. For those who follow my blog, you might remember my series of paintings done last year around the Battle of Waterloo and surrounding countryside at the occasion of the 200th anniversary event. Well I'm glad to say those paintings are now on display in the Tourist Office of Waterloo and the show is on until the end of August.

The tourist office is situated in Waterloo centre, Chaussée de Bruxelles 218, 1410 Waterloo. Click here be directed to their website. They have put large banners on the facade so you can't miss it! This is me posing proudly in front of it! 

This is a small exhibition but it includes a variety of things such a paintings, sketches, artist material and original antique objects from the battle:

And this is me during the opening reception that took place a few weeks ago. In case you are thinking I have eaten a bit too much belgian chocolate, you are partially right, but I probably should mention that this growing belly is also the sign of my next big creation that we will be welcoming at the end of the summer :-)

Here is below a sample of the artwork on show. Most paintings on display are for sale and can be purchased on the day at the venue. For those who can't make it to the show, it is possible to purchase the available paintings directly from my website. They will then be reserved for you during the show and shipped at the end of the exhibition. Click here to go to my website.

And to finish, some pictures of the re-enactment that took place last year: