Inspired by H.N. Werkman … or Creative Play

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Remember the blogpost of my museum visit to the H.N. Werkman Exhibition in Groningen in The Netherlands? When Birgit and I came back from that trip, we were so inspired by Werkman’s artwork, that we went right into her studio and played. Instead of using a printing press we used a mono printing plate. I later continued playing and refining some of the Werkman inspired printing techniques in my own style at home.

This is the first print I made inspired by Werkman.

I call this “Man with hat between houses” :) LOL- titles are also inspired by Werkman- I loved that he just described what you see in his titles and it was kinda funny.

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The Werkman exhibition inspired me, because his prints talked to me. I love how simple shapes combined tell a story.

As you can tell- the following one was inspired also by The Netherlands trip :)

“Windmill with 5 sheep”

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Werkman worked with Stamps, Stencils, Paints and texture Tools – I loved the combination of these tools and media as that is what I use all the time too.

“Blue Skyline with watertower”

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I loved his color choices – He was very bold in his colors which as you know speaks to me too.

This print is inspired by my visit to Toledo, Spain.  “Passing on the Toledo Bridge”

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Most of all, Werkman was inspiring to me because he dared to try new things. He was a printer by trade…who wanted to be an artist, and he combined his knowledge of printing with experimenting with new and revolutionary techniques for prints. Amazing!

This last print I did was a bit tricky with all the different elements and I am not super happy with the colors- but still fun! “Lady Liberty on 4th July”. I learned a lot from experimenting with this.

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It is wonderful how a visit to a museum can expose you to artists you might not have known before and then give you a huge push to try something new and fun.

What did you see lately in a museum that inspired you?

Comments (10)

  • Joi@RR

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    Oh wow – I missed this post. How in the world did I miss it. These are wonderful Nat. YEAH – I just knew you would get lots of use out of all those incredible pictures and memories from your trip. My favorite it the first one – Man Between Houses – rather describes our lives – always between something!! I just like the colors and the layout and symbolism of this one. But they are all FABULOUS. Even Lady Liberty is GREAT. Keep this up… these are just so inspiring, creative, color intriguing and delightful. LOVE them all. And I just have to say… blessed today to see you creating!!! Hugs j.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Joi, always love reading your comments and thoughts! you are such a motivation for me! Have a gorgeous week! hugs, nat

      Reply

  • Ami Pilon

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    I really like these. It looks like your view is spectacular.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Ami! my view from the studio is pretty nice – I love seeing Lady Liberty, even it is more the side-back view of her ;)

      Reply

  • cheiron

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    Wow Nat these prints are AWESOME!!! I would love to see a class on this type of technique (hint, hint).

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Cheiron :) Yep – class is coming ;) hint hint- LOL

      Reply

  • Cheryl Zacher

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    Very nice. I love the color pop, and the common sights we all see everyday. Also, the judicious use of white space. Looks like you nailed it!
    Joy Joy

    Reply

  • Deborah A. Pierro

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    Hi Nat. I really liked all of these prints. I think they turned out really well, especially since they are monoprints and you have to paint pretty fast. I really missed your regular blog posts, like this one!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Deborah! I will try to do more of blog posts like this one -it is just sometimes life gets in the way and we can’t do it all- but i love doing these kind of things and I am keeping your comment to heart and try more again :) Have a wonderful weekend!, Nat

      Reply

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