Today is a special day holiday here in the Netherlands called “Koningsdag”, the Dutch word for “King’s Day”, It is an annual celebration of, as you guessed it, the birthday of King Willlem Alexander! 27 April is the official day but as it falls on a Sunday this year, festivities are today, Saturday, instead. And what do people do to celebrate it? Whilst the cities tend to be more lively and rowdy with the younger crowd, the atmosphere in smaller villages is much cozier with more a community spirit, involving families and the neighborhood Only thing we have in common though is that we dress up in orange since that is the color of the Royal family!
Apart from lively music, drinking, parades and street shows, it is also customary on Koningsdag to set up market stalls and have a garage sale. I have been selling a few items in the past, namely some old Hello Kitty items that “no longer spark joy” but this year, we were just not in the mood to get involved. It’s been a busy few months with work and tidying up and reorganizing our house that we were quite exhausted and hence not well prepared. So this year, just relax a bit, have a stroll around the market stalls and greet our neighbours. Had a little walk in the quieter part of our village too!
Despite not being so active this year, I was in the mood to get creative and make the special effort for Koningsdag. Any excuse to get my brushes out and paint away! How about a bit of kawaii whilst we are at it? And let’s also put some smiles on our faces and stay positive! So out came my Strathmore’s A4 Journal sketchbook and after a pencil sketch, I painted the background with some granulating watercolors. The face and hair were done with water-soluble oil pastels, the outfits and flags with gouache and the writing with paint pens. Glitter was then introduced as finishing touch.
And here we have it, a sweet happy painting of us on Koningsdag! And the art supplies used for this cute piece? First the granulating watercolors which are great for creating dreamy backgrounds, and I love paints by Holbein and Harmonia. Holbein also has excellent acrylic-based gouache and so does Turner. All three brands are Japanese as are my Uni Posca paint pens and Pentel glitter gel pens. For art journaling I typically use Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble oil pastels due to their “lightweight” finish. A variety of craft supplies were then used for glitter, including Ranger’s Stickles. Quite a variety of stuff to create this piece!
Despite this year’s King’s Day being a bit of a non-event, I did enjoy painting about this special occasion. Just experimenting and playing around with various mediums. Orange is also a color I hardly use and as such, it was a good change. And it indeeds suits Little One and her BF! Hopefully by next year, we will be better prepared and be less “too busy” so we can fully enjoy Koningsdag. Whatever happens, though, I will definitely have another painting done for this as I do every year!
My Kawaii Quarter 