Soft pastel is one of the most exciting and versatile painting mediums I know. It has a long history of […]| Sophie Ploeg
One thing I have learned from working with pastel for so many years, is how to mix your colours on your support. These techniques I developed while using pastel on paper, and can apply to oil paint…| Sophie Ploeg
Summer 2024 Many of my readers will know me as an artist as I have been art blogging and writing for many years. Initially I wrote about my own art adventures, but over the years my blog has become less about me and my work, and more about the art world with exhibition and product […]| Sophie Ploeg
Verspronck was born in Haarlem around 1601-03, although his exact birth year is not known. He learned his painting skills from his father, Cornelis Engelsz., who was trained by Karel Van Mander and Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem. Verspronck lived and worked in Haarlem his whole life and portrayed the regent class of the city, from […]| Sophie Ploeg
Lace has long been associated with luxury and elegance, and it was a popular accessory in the fashion of the elite during the 16th and 17th centuries. In portraiture, lace was often used to convey status and convey the wealth and importance of the sitter. Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck was a master of painting […]| Sophie Ploeg
The lace used to decorate Elizabethan ruffs is either an early lace called cutwork and/or the slightly later reticella lace. Cutwork is a decorative technique where small areas of fabric are cut out and the edges secured and decorated with (buttonhole) stitches. Sometimes the holes are filled in with decorative stitches as well. Cutwork started […]| Sophie Ploeg
In the miniatures of Nicholas Hillard sitters wear similar lace ruffs to the one we can see in the Armada portrait, but then portrayed on a tiny scale. Hilliard painted the complex patterns of lace, embroidery, and jewellery (he was initially trained as a gold smith), in a highly detailed manner, recreating the splendour of […]| Sophie Ploeg
One of the most iconic images of the Tudor age is the Armada Portrait. It portrays Queen Elizabeth I and commemorates the failed Spanish invasion of 1588. Three versions of this portrait are known: one is in the Woburn Abbey collection, one is at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and one is at the […]| Sophie Ploeg
Did Rembrandt Paint Oopjen's Lace?IntroductionLace is one of the most beautiful, complex, refined, and expensive items depicted in many early seventeenth-century Dutch portraits. And yet it is often a little overlooked by art historians. When elaborate lace collars were the height of fashion in the early seventeenth century, sitters were keen to be portrayed with […]| Sophie Ploeg
Unison soft pastel are some of the most popular pastels in the world. But is Unison any good? How soft are they? Are they suitable for beginners? In this review I hope to answer some, if not all, of those questions by sharing my own experience with these handmade soft pastels.Handmade in EnglandUnison pastels are […]| Sophie Ploeg
We all make mistakes. Imagine what the world would look like if we didn’t. And it is no different in painting. I often explain my painting method as one big process of fixing mistakes. My fir…| Sophie Ploeg
What you Wear is Who you Are Dress in 16th and 17th century portraiture was loaded with meaning. Elizabeth I’ portraits, which functioned as one of the most important means of propaganda for her re…| Sophie Ploeg
If you look at early 17th century Dutch portraits, such as by Rembrand and Frans Hals you might be wondering what on earth these people are wearing. Those crazy ruffs are just the top of the iceber…| Sophie Ploeg
