Lies Bakker

Self-made lichen preparation. Like fungi, this organism is at the very beginning of our existence. Lichen is a collaborative effort between fungi and algae. And it's abundant in the Meijendel dune area! Photo with IPhone

Self-made preparation (coupe) of a yew root. A cross-section of it. It's fitting for my work "About Roots" to take an even deeper look. Photo with IPhone

Self-made microscopic preparation. Unborn beech leaf in bud. Several leaves are present in the leaf bud of a beech tree. Two main veins are visible. Foto met compact camera.

Gilded thorny branch of the eglantine

Portable wings The use of portable wings will stimulate your imagination. By flying high your creative and transforming powers can be unleashed - Lies Bakker - Dragonfly wings and text on paper.

Pen drawings of impressions of mycelium (fungi) and paintings with various botanical inks from Meijendel on Japanese kozo paper. You have to look closely to see them. In reality, they are sometimes difficult to see even with a microscope. They are a topic of conversation, like "The Wood Wide Web." Fungi are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem. They are the foundation of our natural world, our existence, of which we still know little about. Very valuable!

Pen drawings of impressions of mycelium (fungi) and a botanical ink painting of goldenrod from Meijendel, on Japanese kozo paper. Hidden underground, they contribute to life, our ecosystem. They are a topic of conversation as The Wood Wide Web. Approximately 100,000 species are known and described, which is an estimated 5% of the total number of species. Small and impressive!

I made soft pastels from some of the Lake pigments from Meijendel so that I could express the colour palette of the dune area on paper. Based on a recipe from Paint Mill de Kat in Zaandam, where I was born.

I made several pastel chalks from the Lake pigments I obtained from Meijendel for the project "The Colours of the Dunes." I used these chalks to create colour fields to showcase the subtle nuances.

I've been exploring a specific beech tree in Meijendel. Over the years, starting in 2022. Through photography, climbing it, staying in it, for extended periods. Inks and lake piments have been made from the leaves and beech cupules. I've prepared microscopic coupes (afb. 3) and made photographs. And now, an intimate portrait of its (?) skin, covered with lichens, in oilpaint. Together, it will become a 'portrait'.

"THE POETRY OF THINGS" is an ongoing project, launched in 2021. It's a library of small, sealed nature finds, various sections of which are framed here. As soon as you hold such a sealed treasure in your hands, wonder and inspiration strike. So beautiful! It is interwoven with my other art expressions and projects.Items from six different sections are framed here. The library itself contains over a thousand items.

The Poetry of Things, section, seaweed. Presentation for Pakje Kunst at the House of the Book Museum. "Seaweed, My Hero." An ode to the qualities of seaweed.

Impression of the underground collaboration and exchange between tree roots and fungi. Created with botanical inks from Meijendel

Ink drawing for an inspirational booklet, A6. Semi-scientific drawings of underground fungi, coloured with botanical inks from Meijendel. On Japanese Kozo paper.

Page from an A6 inspirational booklet. Semi-scientific drawings of underground fungi, coloured with botanical inks from Meijendel. On Japanese kozo paper.

Lake Pigments Recipe Book, page: Sea Buckthorn Leaf. Added are dried leaves, pigment powder (Lake pigment), and a piece of filter paper to serve as a color sample.

Filtering the prepared plant material, in this case Yellow Bedstraw, is part of the process of making Lake pigment. The residue in the filter is the pigment.

Part of making Lake Pigment is allowing the pigment to dry thoroughly after filtering. This can take several days. In this case, the pigment is from Yellow Bedstraw.

Presentation of lake pigment along with its plant. In this case, ragwort. A controversial plant because it is poisonous to livestock. The plant produces an intense yellow pigment. The sealed cards are from The Poetry of Things. I strengthen the coherence, the connections. If possible, I also make microscopic preparations and photographs of the plant parts, to get ever closer to the essence.

Presentation of the collection The Colours of the Dunes. Lake pigments - dry powder pigments - obtained from plant material in Meijendel, intended to capture the colours of the dunes. From oak leaves to lichen and more.

Selection from the Lake pigments collection, The Colours of the Dunes, originating from the Meijendel dune area.

Impression of the black fungal threads - rhizomorphs - of the honey fungus on tree bark. Painted with botanical inks, walnut and white poplar. And Chinese ink.

Collage of colour samples of botanical inks, collected in the Meijendel dune area.

Impression of Yellow Bedstraw, rendered in various botanical inks. Fragmented: taken apart and reassembled. The various inks are noted next to the colours

Impression of the Meijendel dune area in which the colours are fragmented with botanical inks obtained from the area. The names of the different inks are written next to the colours.

Impression of the intricate branch structure of the hawthorn. Created with various botanical inks, the names of which are included.

Impression of the Meijendel dune area with botanical inks from the area. The names of the different inks are written next to the colours.

Bare sea buckthorn with a root stump, dislodged during a storm. On Kozo paper with various botanical inks from Meijendel.

To further enhance my perception, I learned to make botanical inks from the dune landscape of the Meijendel.This way, observation increasingly became an experience of wonder. The photo shows a series of miniature bottles containing all the inks I made.

Description of all the inks I made from organic material, primarily from the Meijendel dune area. How I made them, the problems I encountered, the solutions, where the plant material was found, and when. Includes color samples and plant material. 21 x 21 cm, 144 pg.Outer cover made with Goldenrod ink.

Example of a page from my botanical ink recipe book. In this case, American bird cherry leaf. Different additions produce different results, as evidenced by the added test strips. The dried leaf was added as an identification aid.

Example of one off the many inks I made. Goldenrod botanical ink from Hertenkamp, ​​Meijendel, Wassenaar. Bottled and archived in 2022. This ink was used for the cover of the recipe book.

Botanical Ink Colour Sample Book - Page: Fern + Sea Buckthorn. I made test strips of all the inks to assess their colour. This resulted in a colour sample book. In it, I also experimented with adding a different botanical ink and observing how they interacted.

35 large, loose, colour samples of botanical inks, 11 x 11 cm, to play with. To express the landscape and the colours of the dunes. Beautiful combinations reveal themselves and unfold. Observation becomes wonder!

Four colour samples of botanical inks from Meijendel. The top two are from various lichens.

Poster with a number of color areas made with the botanical inks from Meijendel.

Large fields of colour created by pouring a single botanical ink onto watercolour paper. 2 out of a series of 40 different inks from Meijendel. Here Golden rot and a lichen.

Ink Splash. Play, experiment with different inks. Play with the chemical reactions between pigments, minerals, salts, and iron.

Stray Root from Meijendel. Herbarium Series. One out of nineteen different roots

Stray Roots from Meijendel. Herbarium Series. One out of nineteen different roots

Stray Root, Cyanotype . From a series of 15 different roots.

Stray Root, Cyanotype . From a series of 15 different roots.

A small, stray root, embedded in handmade paper, giving you the same feeling as when seeing one emerge from the sand in the dunes. One of a serie of 25 different little roots.

A small stray root, embedded in handmade paper, giving you the same feeling as when seeing one emerge from the sand in the dunes. One of a serie of 25 different little roots.

Watercolour from a series of fifteen different, small stray roots.

Watercolour from a series of fifteen different, small stray roots.

Watercolour from a series of fifteen different, small stray roots

Subtle botanical watercolour of the plantain. From a series of five plant portraits.

Subtle botanical watercolour of this faded plant. From a series of five plant portraits

Nest wall of the sand martin in the dunes. Oil on linnen.

You can influence the order of the transition point by the order in which you hang the canvases. The transition point itself occurs between the two canvases—and is therefore essentially unpainted!

Sunset op Het Stille Strand