Maastricht, Netherlands, view to the citycenter as seen from the “Hoeg Brok” (“high bridge” in our local dialect)

Maastricht, the Netherlands. Sketch made this week during my lunchbreak. The bare trees would have made the drawing too dark, so I just silhouetted them.

Burning Ghat. The image of the burning corpses in Varanasi, India, sticks to my mind. (see a few posts ago)

Amsterdam, social housing dating back from 1917, in the Spaarndammerbuurt. Architect was Michel de Klerk. They restored an apartment and a postoffice in the original state; now a museum called “het schip”. Worth a visit.

The “Burning Ghat” of Varanasi (Benares), on the Ganges. The place where the Indians cremate their dead.

We stood on a balcony in the billowing smoke, only 3 meters above the burning corpses. I did not draw or photograph this on location, I considered that to be disrespectful for the dead. Instead I memorized the scene and drew this later that night in the hotel. Not difficult, not only can I recall the scene in every detail even now, I dreamt about it for days.

More on my blog http://www.renefijten.blogspot.com

My son Mart gave me a copy of the new Linkin Park album “a thousand suns”. One song stands out: LP used parts of a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King from 1967 into one of their songs. After all these years the speech still makes a big impression.

Drawn in Varanasi (Benares) in India. Three forms of taxirides. The middle car is an Ambassador, based on a 50s British Austin Morris. It’s still in production, somehow they did better than the original British brands.
When I was drawing the curious taxidriver told me this one was 4 years old, had fuel injection, hydraulic brakes and power steering. I would never have guessed.

Varanasi, India, sketch over the huses on the Ganges. Also known as Benares. It’s where hindu people bath in the holy water.

Khajuraho, India, is famous for its erotic temples. It is a huge complex of 25 temples, built around the year 1000 and hidden in the jungle for centuries. The temples are incredible richly detailed, and among the thousands of statues there are a lot of depictions of sexual intercourse. People were not so prude thousand years ago.

India, waterbufallo, as drawn in a small village near Khajoraho.
More on http://www.renefijten.blogspot .com