Royal Talens, Rembrandt artist paint, competition winner prize, color swatches, acrylic paint, oil paint, aquarel granulation, www.Fenne.be

I entered the Rembrandt competition and…

I was one of the 3 winners! You might think of Rembrandt as only very serious oil paintings by the Dutch Baroque genius from the 17th century (1606-1669), but it's also...

De stripgids, Strip academie, Kim Duchateau, one page comic, drawing course Belgium, Turnhout, www.Fenne.be

Drawing comics homework

Curious to learn more about comics and how to make them, I joined a course by one of my favorite magazines "de stripgids". It's a Belgian/Flemish magazine dedicated to comics,...

Nordic winter,patreon session with TJ Marston, sketchbook drawing, acrylic painting, www.Fenne.be

Nordic winter drawing session

This sketchbook session is a bit special, so it gets its own blogpost! Earlier this week, 'Nordic winter' was the theme of TJ's Patreon session, and we were going to draw/paint/sketch...

Drawing natural textures and mark-making, sketchbook, www.Fenne.be

Februari sketchbook

In February, I've been using two sketchbooks: An A4 Royal Talens, and an A5 from Moleskine. As in the previous month, I worked a lot with the Artgraf, a bit with...

printmaking press, creative burnout, boosting creativity, www.Fenne.be

How to reactivate your creative energy?

It happens to all of us creatives. Writers, illustrators, painters, and everyone who creates might find the well of inspiration and creative energy run dry occasionally. I used to be surprised...

Meer dan Muze, de kunstmeisjes. women in art, www.Fenne.be

Book inspiration/ currently reading

1. Meer dan Muze (2023), de kunstmeisjes, Meulenhoff A collection of essays/chapters that not only celebrate female artists but also provide context on how women have been/are treated in art and...

January treasures, artist pins from Ketterijs, www.Fenne.be

January treasures

1/ Knetterijs pins. Knetterijs is a group of freelance illustrators and I finally got some of their pins! it was hard to choose only a few, but they are so cute...

Winter sketchbook flip through, finished Moleskine sketchbook, www.Fenne.be

Winter sketchbook (flip through video)

A little over a month of drawing in about a minute of video. This sketchbook was started during the first holiday drawing session with Emma Carlisle and Sarah Dyer, but it...

Winter sketchbook, winter color palette, winter sports, Lapland, Snow landscape, www.Fenne.be

Swatch cards and winter color palettes

Acrylic paint is often my weapon of choice as I love the versatility. Even with only a few colors, you can mix, layer, and create texture. But I've been trying...

Dalarna Sweden, winter wonderland, visit Dalarna vinter, Nordic nature photography, www.Fenne.be

January, winter wonderland

It's been years since early winter was this cold and this beautiful. Postcard beautiful I'd say! There isn't much wind so the snowflakes have been balancing on the trees for weeks,...

Festive shop fronts sketchbook, Bloemen van Cornelis Antwerpen, www.Fenne.be

December ’23 sketchbook

This December, the holiday and festive spirit were the main focus of my sketchbook for several reasons. First of all, with all the sh*t going on in the world, combined with...

Winter solstice in Sweden, winter aesthetic, hygge, candles, www.Fenne.be

Winter Solstice

Home for the winter holidays, home on the shortest days, so let's hang pretty lights and light some candles! (Sunrise: 09:02, sunset 14:55) The last few months have been rather busy but...

November sketchbook pages, Patreon zoom sketching, European Belgian illustrator, www.Fenne.be

November Sketchbook

Sometimes November can feel like a very long and dark month, but not this time! December arrived so fast and now that I'm collecting all the sketches, I realize that...

Folktale week sketches 2023, moleskine sketchbook, www.Fenne.be

Folktale week 2023, the sketches

Some pages from the rough sketchbook where I doodle thumbnails and let lines search for the story that I used for Folketale week. These small boxes with lines that don't...

Art haul: luminance pencils, Derwent drawing pencils, caran d'ache neocolors, Talens gouache paint, www.fenne.be

New paint, pencils and neocolors

Finally, after almost a year, I could revisit some art stores! Up north, we have some hobby shops and home interior/building stores that sell a few things like paint or basic...

Folktale week 2023, De Zielen Der Verdronkenen, Oostende, Belgian folk tale, mixed media collage illustration, www.Fenne.be

Folktale week 2023

My first-ever folktale week is a fact! It's been hectic, fun, and somewhat stressful. Folk what? Folktale Week is a week-long art challenge in which a story comes to life, guided by 7...

3D illustrated mushrooms photograph with contrast colors, www.Fenne.be

More fungi fun

After a sketchbook session that was all about mushrooms, these fascinating fungi kept haunting me at night- but in the best way possible. While almost falling asleep, I suddenly had...

Sketchbook October, daily sketchbook practice, European sketchbook artist, mixed media art, illustration artist, drawing practice, www.Fenne.be

October sketches

Another month flew by. Blink once and it's autumn, blink twice and we've arrived in winter wonderland. October has been a busy month that started with tons of energy, but as the...

Halloween at the art studio, window drawing with Posca markers, Art studio Sweden, www.Fenne.be

Happy Halloween!

Merry ,  euhm happy Halloween! The seasons got a bit confused here up north. Instead of gloomy autumn days, we got the prettiest dance of gentle snowflakes slowly covering the earth. This...

Gouache paint in pans, mixing gouache paint, gouache sketchbook illustration, www.Fenne.be

Gouache in pans? An experiment

In last month's sketchbook overview, I mentioned my renewed interest in gouache paint, which I had not used since high school. My first choice has always been acrylic paint with...

Fenne Kustermans, Illustration artist, Sweden, Sketchbook September 2023, www.Fenne.be

September sketchbook(s)

The seasons are changing, and the earth gets ready to hibernate, but September was bursting with colorful sketchbook explorations, challenges, and new connections. I'm uploading the images, and I don't know...

Fenne Kustermans, Illustration artist, Sweden, Sketchbook September 2023, www.Fenne.be

Endangered! Sketchbook challenge week 3

it's the 3rd week of the Endangered Sketchbook challenge and we traveled to the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetan Rosefinch: Birds are hard! Yamdrok lake: Przewalski’s Horse: I think my last horse drawing was when I...

Endangered! Sketchbook challenge week 2, Patreon sketchbook challenge, mixed media sketchbook artist, acrylic nature painting, www.Fenne.be

Endangered! Sketchbook challenge week 2

It's week 2 of the #septembersketchendangered (you can check the hashtag on Insta to see more participants) with TJ Marston and this week we visited the most Northern and Southern...

Endangered sketchbook challenge with TJ Marston on Patreon, mixed media sketchbook artist, www.Fenne.be

Endangered! Sketchbook challenge week 1

This month, TJ Marston hosts a sketchbook challenge with 'Endangered' as the theme. I couldn't let that one slip! In the first week, we traveled across the Great Plains of North...

Illustrator's sketchbook, Moleskine and Royal Talens sketchbooks, mixed media sketches, www.Fenne.be

Inside my sketchbook (August 2023)

Wow, now that I have photographed all my sketchbooks (that I can show at least), I can clearly see that this month was very productive and I feel growth in...

Vansbro nattsim, Dalarna, swimming illustration, open water swimming, acrylic ink illustration, illustratör Dalarna, www.Fenne.be

The Vansbro nightswim was canceled

...So I let some inks and paint swim on my paper instead. I made a few different versions, exploring materials, and the translation of the sensation of swimming. Hopefully next year...

Patreon live video drawing session, Emma Carlisle and Trixie Divine, model drawing moleskine sketchbook, www.Fenne.be

Model drawing with Emma and Trixie

Up to a few weeks ago, I had zero experience with Patreon. I had heard vaguely about it and saw a few artists and photographers mention the platform, but I...

Inside my sketchbook (July 2023)

Another month has gone by and we're entering the last few weeks of the Nordic summer. Sketchbook-wise, July has been a bit quiet as I've been working hard to fix...

20 July, international Moon day and space exploration day, digital procreate illustration, www.Fenne.be

Moon day

20 July = International moon day + space exploration day, commemorating the first landing on the moon in 1969. What a moment it must have been to watch those moments...

Open water swimming illustration, digital swimming illustration, wild swimming, www.Fenne.be

Open water swimming

As the lakes started to melt after a long Nordic winter, I longed for refreshing dips in the lake on hot summer days. But then I thought,...

World asteroids day + meteor watching day, outdoor illustration www.Fenne.be

World Asteroid Day

Today it's both World Asteroids Day and Meteor Watching Day. Asteroid= a small rocky object that orbits the sun. Comet= a ball of ice and dust that orbits the sun. Meteoroid= space rock...

World oceans day, June 8th, jelly fish painting, Moleskine sketchbook, illustration artist, www.Fenne.be

World oceans day

"The ocean covers over 70% of the planet. It is our life source, supporting humanity’s sustenance and that of every other organism on earth. The ocean produces at least 50% of...

Fenne Kustermans sketchbook mixed media, April and May, www.Fenne.be

Inside my sketchbook (April/May)

April and May's sketches have been supercharged by all the vibrant sunlight, the excitement of traveling, and the creative fuel from joining some courses. The next 4 pages are from a...

The best sketchbook, Fenne Kustermans, sketchbook animation,sketching supplies, drawing, www.Fenne.be

The best sketchbook?

I often get the question of which sketchbook I use or think is the best. And the most straightforward answer is this: the one you're ok with trashing. Let me explain. I have...

reading animated gif Procreate illustration. www.Fenne.be

Reading in May

1. De stem van de Noordzee, (2020) by Laura Burgers, Eva Meijer, Evanne Nowak. 2. Pressing Matters magazine. 3. In her studio magazine. 4. In Limbo, (2023), Deb JJ Lee. 5. Hoe de tijd...

Beachcombing fossils in Normandy France, Devil's toenail, www.Fenne.be

Beachcombing in Normandy

Perhaps you remember our trip to the Jurassic coast in England last year to go fossil hunting. This year we visited Normandy in France, and while the focus was mostly...

International tea day, May 21st, tea lover, tea illustration, tea fields illustration, doodle art, www.Fenne.be

International Tea Day

I am a tea lover, but only recently I started to learn more about the fascinating world of tea. My journey is deliberately slow, and while I'm far from any tea-wisdom, International...

World bee appreciation day, May 20th, Digital bee illustration, www.Fenne.be

World Bee Day

We all depend on the survival of bees   World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20. On this day Anton JanÅ¡a, the pioneer of beekeeping, was born in 1734. The purpose of...

May studio moments, art studio, illustrator, artist at work portrait, creative workspace, www.Fenne.be

May studio moments

Spring is the busiest moment of the year at the studio, and luckily it is fueled by the vigorous intensity of spring light and inspiration. And to add to that,...

Space diver, digital procreate illustration, www.Fenne.be

Forever space diver

This is a very personal piece that wasn't meant to be shared at first, but in an uncomfortable way, it should be here. There are these moments in life when all...

Art studio interior, art materials, artwork in process, paint, ink, printmaking tools, paper love, www.Fenne.be

Some enticing studio chaos :-)

We live in a rainbow of chaos. -Paul Cezanne   I love nothing more than the scent of printmaking lingering in my atelier. Perhaps mixed with some warm hints of leather craft. Paint...

Inside my sketchbook, moleskine sketchbook, illustration, illustrator, pencil drawings, daily sketching, www.Fenne.be

Inside my sketchbook

I've been drawing and doodling, line by line, mark by mark. Spots dripped and shapes found their place. And as you might see, all kinds of things happen as the...

Northen lights, noorderlicht, aurora borealis, February 2023, www.Fenne.be

Nature’s light show

It's been a while, but we've been incredibly lucky to have a clear sky and crisp air right when the northern lights were beautifully dancing in the sky. The light doesn't...

Silver clay baked in hot pot, www.Fenne.be

Silver clay experiments

It's been quite some years since I attended a silver clay workshop, but I never forgot how fun it was- and how I wished I could do this at...

Inside my sketchbook, moleskine sketchbook, illustration, illustrator, pencil drawings, daily sketching, www.Fenne.be

Inside my sketchbook

Welcome to the pages of unfinished thoughts, experiments, and visual notes :-D I started this year by adding an extra sketchbook because I wanted a spot for a daily thought- including...

Tiny house movement, millennials, pencil drawing, illustration, www.Fenne.be

Watching & reading in January ’23

1. Roderick Nieuwenhuis, Een simpel leven (2022) 2. N. Kamminga, Breinfitness (2022) 3. Wednesday (Netflix) 4. D. De Wachter, De kunst van het ongelukkig zijn (2019) 5. Theegeheimen (2022), Dille & Kamille 6. Marc Chagall...

2023, planning and core values

  First of all: Happy New Year!! Wishing you all a joyful and healthy 2023. Core Values as a foundation. Recently, a friend told me about an exercise she got from her coach; picking...

Small pleasures, Belgium edition

Sometimes when you've been longing for something, it becomes almost a myth in itself, something much bigger and better than reality. But that hasn't been the case with the desire...

Winter solstice, 21 December, winter aesthetic, seasonal living, Sweden, www.Fenne.be

Winter solstice

The 21 of December marks a special day with the earth's axis tilted at the furthest point from the sun which results in super short days and long nights. This winter...

Winter bucket list, www.Fenne.be

Winter Bucket List

Winter a difficult time? The light might not be there but the colder months are perfect for trying out new hobbies, cherishing traditions, connecting with others, and enjoying the beauty...

Minimalistic leather camera strap, handmade, veg tan leather, www.Fenne.be

A minimalistic leather camera strap

Since I'm still learning anything and everything about leathercraft, I don't usually take orders, but when Kati asked me to make a simple (DSLR) camera strap, it sounded like a...

1924US knife, EDC Everyday carry, leather knife pocket, www.Fenne.be

Leather pocket (for my favorite knife)

This lovely knife, made by 1924US is my absolute favorite, and it's been wandering around my bags and catching some sand and dust along the way for quite some time...

Halloween dogs, Samhain at the art studio, Halloween decoration, pumpkin carving, www.Fenne.be

Happy Halloween!

While my neighbors were already installing their Christmas decorations, I've been drawing monsters and bats on my windows, carving pumpkins, and making pompons haha! -- And keeping it all sweet and...

Crochet practice, rusty autumn yarn, www.Fenne.be

Crochet practice

The unexpected crochet mood is a returning element when the temperatures drop and wild storms pull on the rusty-colored leaves. Around the same time last year, I learned how to...

Autumn bucket list, www.Fenne.be

An Autumn Bucket List

Autumn Bucket list * Picking apples * Making apple sauce * Picking mushrooms * Early morning walks * Looking for slag stones * Making plans for winter * Burning scented candles * Movie nights with my favorite tea...

Art studio porch makeover, Falu red paint, Swedish red house in the countryside, www.Fenne.be

Art studio porch makeover

This is the story of how a simple paint job turned into a slightly bigger renovation project- thanks to Joeri who had the energy and vision to make it happen. In...

Wednesday Wanderings, photo walk in Swedish nature, Nordic autumn in the woods, countryside life, www.Fenne.be

Wednesday Wanderings

Autumn settled under my skin as the chill mist slowly spread over the landscape. The greens turn into a wide variety of yellows, oranges, and browns, that even seem to...

Cabin illustration, dark and moody day, autumn illustration, www.Fenne.be

Cabin mood

“It is good to know that out there, in a forest in the world, there is a cabin where something is possible, something fairly close to the sheer happiness of...

Autumn, hot tea, diy jesmonite coaster, sketchbook. www.Fenne.be

Welcome Autumn

As the leaves turn yellow and red, and the air feels crisp while days get shorter, we're guided into a new phase, and these signs of the new season arriving,...

Art studio kitchen cupboard makeover, colorful interior, dopamine colors, www.Fenne.be

Kitchen cupboard makeover

[caption id="attachment_5875" align="alignnone" width="800"] -Before-[/caption] The convenient but worn-down cupboard in my studio's kitchen has been an ugly corner for a while but is now transformed. The outside of this cupboard...

Making handmade paper from cattail, DIY paper, nature craft, autumn craft, www.Fenne.be

Diy handmade paper from cattail

Can you even call yourself a paper lover if you've never tried making your own paper? I'm not sure, so I'm up for the challenge! Paper plays a crucial role in my...

Homemade apple sauce with cinnamon and honey, www.Fenne.be

Homemade apple sauce with cinnamon and honey.

It's apple season! After months of sunbathing, growing, and becoming sweet and juicy, the little apples from my garden are slowly getting ready! Despite some sweltering weeks and a healthy amount of...

Lars Lerin, Gallery Sandgrund Karlstad, art in Sweden, watercolor art, www.Fenne.be

Lars Lerin/ Gallery Sandgrund

Lars Lerin, a watercolor wizard, is so far and by far my favorite Swedish artist. For years I've been hoping/planning to visit his gallery 'Sandgrund' in Karlstad (about 3 hours...

Colorful interior, yellow paint, interior makeover, art studio, www.Fenne.be

A pop of yellow at the studio

At my studio, I've collected a pile of paint swatches to find the right color to freshen up the scratched doors, but none is a match. And I have had...

Leathercraft, leather basket, art studio, www.Fenne.be

Back to leathercrafting

Finally, back to leather! I've missed learning and experimenting, and all the frustration that comes with new skills :-D The past few months have been busy with a lot of work for...

Dopamine dressing, colorful collage illustration, fashion trend, www.Fenne.be

Dopamine dressing

You can't imagine how thrilled I was to come across 'Dopamine Dressing' after some seasons of dog poo and cat vomit colors. Sure some soft neutrals can be nice, but...

Sup & sunset, camping with the Volkswagen California in Sweden, paddling the lake, www.Fenne.be

Sup & sunrise

I wanted to see the sunrise at the lake where we often go swimming and the best way to make sure you're in time: sleeping right next to the water!  ...

Morgondopp, early morning lake swimming in Sweden, the ultimate feeling of freedom, www.Fenne.be

Morgondopp

I'd say this is the ultimate feeling of freedom. Early morning, rising sun. Slowly it's getting warmer. Then you step into the fresh blue mirror, making ripples, taking a moment to prepare...

Traveling and camping with dogs, Kolarbyn eco lodge Sweden, primitive cabins, Border Collie, nature photography, eco tourism , www.Fenne.be

A night at Kolarbyn eco-lodge

Thanks to our friend from Amazing Nature Scandinavia, Mogwai and I got the unexpected opportunity to try out the Kolarbyn eco-lodge. Kolarbyn means something like ‘the coal village’ and it’s also...

Johnny Depp, Ralp Steadman, For no good reason documentary, www.Fenne.be

Watching: For no good reason

Johnny Depp visits Ralph Steadman, the renowned artist and the last of the original Gonzo visionaries who worked alongside Hunter S. Thompson. It's a curious sight, this Hollywood movie star alongside...

Window drawing atelier, slow life, reading blogs, bloglovin, www.Fenne.be

Is Bloglovin dead?

Yeah, I'm old school and I still love reading blogs. The app/website that I've been using for years though seems to be down for quite a while now- and I'm...

Rock tumbling slag stone and beach pebbles, Loretone tumbler, www.Fenne.be

Rock tumbling

Between spring and autumn, the rock tumbler works almost non-stop to smoothen and polish the rocks I've been collecting during winter and early spring. The slag stones are local finds from...

Summer snacks from the garden, gardening, fruit and vegetables, Swedish garden, www.Fenne.be

Summer snacks from the garden

It takes a while before a Nordic garden produces some edibles, but it's worth the wait. At my studio, the first raspberries are delicious and sweet despite the many rainy...

Fenne Kustermans, open atelier, art studio Sweden, paintings, etches, drawings, printmaking, creative workspace, www.Fenne.be

Open atelier July 2022

In early July, I joined 'Konst Runt Barken', a local arts & crafts event where creatives and makers from our area (Barken is a lake) show their work in art...

Swedish summer garden, www.Fenne.be

Summer garden

It's absolutely incredible how my garden transforms after a long and cold winter. Until early May, it can feel as if everything is dead and dry forever. But then suddenly,...

Welcome summer, summer solstice 2022, sup dog, paddling dog, nordic nature Sweden, outdoors with dogs, www.DOGvision.eu

Welcome summer!

Today is the longest day of the year and the official start of supseason summer! Soon the lakes will get warmer, the mosquitoes less hungry, and fruit will start to ripe....

Bulb flowers tulips, spring gardening. www.Fenne.be

Spring destruction

I've been curiously waiting all winter to see the flowers that I planted come out. In September, we started our Valborg-garden-project, transforming a weed-covered corner of our garden into a...

Rock tumbling and treasure hunting England and Sweden, www.Fenne.be

Tumbling and treasure hunting into summer

Summer is (almost) here and since that means that liquid will remain liquid, I've started the rock tumbler again! Rocks tumbling around in a barrel obviously make some noise. It's probably...

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