Ron Maliepaard

The Swainson’s Lorikeet (or Rainbow Lorikeet) (Trichoglossus moluccanus) is a beautiful bird with brightly colored feathers that lives in noisy groups. They are found in Australia and Tasmania. They are about 30 cm. Males and female looks the same. They live in rainforest areas, coastal scrubland and forest areas. They eat nectar and pollen from native plants and trees. But also fruit and seeds are on the menu. In the Netherlands, where I live, you can see (and especially hear)…

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This spring we had a nice view of the forest garden from our holiday home. A regular visitor was this red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). He just asked to be put on paper. So I took a number of photos and used one of them as the basis for this painting. The red squirrel is a species native to the Netherlands. He is very recognizable by the large bushy tail. The squirrel’s Latin name means ‘common shadow tail’. That is because…

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It is the most common grebe species in the Netherlands. Wherever you come to ditches, on lakes, canals, swamps and on the edge of a river, you can see this Common Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) swimming around. In the spring, the courtship dance is a magnificent spectacle. And after the courtship you see at a certain moment those funny grey/white striped chicks that hitch a ride on the mother’s back, nice and warm under the feathers. In winter/early spring the plumage…

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Lovely that beautiful song of Robins (Erithacus rubecula), you can hear them all year round, both males and females, in the breeding season, autumn, winter, in the evening and morning. But don’t think that that’s a sweet song. No, it’s purely territorial behavior. They sing to claim the territory. It’s probably a good thing you can’t translate that sound via google translate into speech, it probably wouldn’t sound so nice… Robins fanatically defend their kingdom, where they live solitary for…

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I haven’t been active in watercolor painting for very long. And although I am satisfied with what I create, I am sometimes a bit unsure about my abilities when I see all those beautiful works of others on instagram and facebook. But my first commmison already. Someone wanted me to paint their labardoodle after seeing my other dog paintings. I even received a handwritten thank you note afterwards. I secretly liked that a lot. It would be nice if I could…

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In contrast to the starling that we know in the Netherlands, the feathers of the Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) are almost completely spotless white, except for the black wing and tail tips. The eyes are embedded in a nice blue area behind the yellow bill. They are also somewhat larger than the well-known starling, up to about 25 cm. They are native to Bali in Indonesia in dry hill country forest. Unfortunately, this beautiful bird is in danger of extinction….

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Lovely that beautiful song of Robins (Erithacus rubecula), you can hear them all year round, both males and females, in the breeding season, autumn, winter, in the evening and morning. But don’t think that that’s a sweet song. No, it’s purely territorial behavior. They sing to claim the territory. It’s probably a good thing you can’t translate that sound via google translate into speech, it probably wouldn’t sound so nice… Robins fanatically defend their kingdom, where they live solitary for…

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Cotman watercolours tubes, Faber Castel Polychromos & Pastel potloden, Posca stift op Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satiné High White papier At first I had the idea to create a blue background, but with the birds did not stand out. I have therefore adjusted the background to green with a kind of bokeh effect that I also use within photos. The birds stand out well now, I’m satisfied with them now.Reference photo: own photo Blijdorp Zoo In contrast to the…

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Cotman watercolours tubes, Faber Castel Polychromos & Pastel pencils, Posca felt tip pen on Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satiné High White paper It looks like a typical antelope, but is the largest gazelle species. But it is also one of the most endangered gazelle. The Mhorr gazelle (Nanger dama mhorr) has been labeled as extinct in the wild since 1968. But because zoos have set up a breeding program, the Mhorr gazelle is now back in the wild. They…

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After the Siamese I painted earlier, my niece also wanted to see her cat portrayed. This cat, named Puck, is a striped cat. This type is often called tabby cat, but actually that is wrong. Tabby does not indicate a cat breed, but the coat that has a certain pattern of stripes, lines, dots or bent patterns. These patterns occur in various cat breeds. This cat has a Mackerel-type tabby coat, with narrow, sometimes slightly curved vertical stripes. These stripes…

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Cotman watercolors tubes, Faber Castell Polychromos & Pastel pencils, Posca marker on Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satin High White paper Who doesn’t know those usually cheerful and friendly black/brown and white dogs. It is a breed from the sheepdog group. Well known for herding sheep in England, but you can also see them in the Netherlands and other countries. With whistles and commands from the shepherd you see them flying back and forth around sheep to bring/keep them to…

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