Valta's Blog | valta.nl

A challenge Using the Rule of Thirds when choosing a composition can play a significant role in painting.  A fellow artist recently made a wonderful painting based on the photograph she took of her grandson. I asked permission to use her photograph and to try changing the composition by placing the figure out of the middle point.  I also tried out the tip of Dianne Mize whose  channel  I follow on Youtube, to prepare the surface with a little amount of the poppyseed oil and gamsol mix to get the paint laying smoothly. Very happy with this tip.      So I made this small and quick study in alla prima. I used the cardboard and my limited palette of primary oil colours plus burnt umber and titanium white. View the finished painting in my  gallery .     in progress

Some flowers for my mother While visiting the well preserved  estate and the house of Verwolde  in the Achterhoek, among all those beautifully decorated eclectic interiors I somehow was touched by the view of a tiny room in the souterrain, probably a scullery. The day light gave the space lovely soft shadows and the setting was very natural in its simplicity. The nostalgic scene was thoroughly set by someone's artistic hands. It felt like the moment when the gardener had just left and their flower arrangements were just ready to be brought upstairs. So I took then some photographs and now I tried to paint this feeling in alla prima. I used the Mus panel and my limited palette of primary oil colours plus burnt umber and titanium white. I once made a  painting of an lovely old scullery in Leeuwarden , called Downstairs. So, I will call this one the Downstairs 2. View the finished painting in my  gallery . in progress

The summer art show proved to be successful Making a project low risk is always fun. No great expectations, no regrets when it's a failure. Safe. Still, there is always a tiny (or immense) hope of success. And this time success it was. I am very proud to involve the top artists  Erwin Pattipeilohy  and  Peter Kiewied . I am happy with and grateful to all the visitors and the art collectors (10 art works were sold, and we've got some commissions as well). I am enormously thankful to everyone who helped promote our project! My very special appreciation goes to our patrons and friends of arts Eva and Riekus for providing that unique and beautiful space in their historic house. And above all, huge thanks and all my love to Paul, for believing, constant support and encouragement! Perhaps, we will repeat the show next year. You still can view some of the exhibitied works on our  page . And check this video to get an impression.

Fragole & Aceto Balsamico I like my strawberries with a drop of balsamic vinegar, like this 12 year old one by Giuseppe Giusti. Last spring I painted  this still life  with strawberries. Now I wanted to paint it again but in a different setting, in oil and alla prima using my limited palette. This is how it became the Strawberries, oil, canvas, 24x30 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery . Have a nice summer everyone! in progress

Excited I am happy to work on this small but lovely project, organising a 3-day show with the art works of 3 artists living on our island. The location is a magnificent historic place, a perfectly preserved and restored former stable in the middle of the village of Hollum. My fellow artists  Erwin  and  Peter  will be showing their marvelous sculpture and superb design objects. We hope the visitors shall enjoy what they see. For those who can't be on Ameland these days, have a look at the art works on our  page . For the happy ones who are on the island on June 17-19, welcome and see you there! the show poster

Simplifying the light I am in love with our old house. I believe this is the fourth painting I am making of this very room (have a look at the  first , the  second  and the  third  one). The sunlight makes nice and strong contrasts when it falls through the west facing windows, making the historic interior and its colours quite vivid. So I wanted to paint that effect. It's a good exercise to simplify things, too, and I hope I haven't involved too much of unnecessary details. I painted this one alla prima on a Mus panel with oil colours. As usual I used the three primary colors plus burnt umber and titanium white. This is how it became the Amelander Interior, oil, panel, 24x30 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery . in progress

Light, books, etc. For a long time I wanted to paint a still life with books again. A few weeks ago, I was reading a book one evening, having a nice cup of coffee. The old bouillotte lamp was on, and it gave a nice soft light-dark effect to the stuff on the table and the books on the shelves behind. I took a few pictures of that setting, and I knew I wanted to paint it. Again, I used the three primary colors plus burnt umber and titanium white. This is how it became The Cup of Coffee, oil, panel, 24x30,5 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery . in progress

Still life again I love the spontaneous settings that are not set deliberately. While making breakfast on a sunny morning, I noticed the lovely shadow effect made by the sunlight falling through the window, covering a part of the table and creating a strong tonal light-dark contrast in the room. A kind of chiaroscuro effect. I immediately took some photographs and decided to paint this composition on canvas. I used my primary oil colours (cadmium red, cadmium yellow and ultramarine blue plus burned umber and titanium white) and the alla prima technique. You can find a very short video showing the painting progress in  my account  on Instagram. So this became "Breakfast", oil, canvas, 30 x 40 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery . in progress

Another commissioned work Last autumn Paul and I were invited to visit a beautiful garden with some marvelous views. The owners are passionate art collectors so I was asked if I could paint one of those views on canvas, so I took some photographs to use as a reference later on. I was happy to work on this painting, choosing the right composition and using my oil colours in the alla prima technique. And then I handmade a wooden frame for the painting. Now I am very proud the collectors liked the result. So today this painting has moved to their home. So this became "In de tuin bij Kerkpad (bij H en R)", oil, canvas, 24 x 30 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery . finished and framed

Historic village view Today I showed the finished painting to the commissioners and I was very happy to hear they liked it. So this painting has now moved to its new home. I liked working on it. A rather large canvas has been a challenge as well as the new alla prima techniques with the oil colours. The unusual composition with a broad perspective in combination with the winter sunlight and long shadows made it work. I must admit I was also much inspired by the beautiful old classic frame provided by the commissioner, which is now a part of the painting and quite a nice match. So this became "Burenlaan in winterzon", oil, canvas, 40 x 50 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery . finished and framed painting