Valta's Blog | valta.nl

  An island filled with art Happy to participate in this very special show again (for the 5th time) in the group exhibition by the Amelander Kunstenaars. Traditionally, the thirty days of November are dedicated to celebrating art on our island. Along with many artists from the Dutch mainland and abroad, a total of thirty fellow artists from my island are showcasing about 200 art pieces that can be found in one of the locations in Buren. This is always a special event, as the artists themselves guide the location, and we expect as usual thousands of art enthusiasts and collectors to attend.  Check the exhibition page at amelanderkunstenaars.nl/kunstmaand2023 for more information. I am proud to support the group with a website and social media marketing.  I am also excited to share that these two of my paintings are on display this year.

Still going strong Time rolls by and our little hero Chester is now a 12.5-year-old gentleman.  I had an antique oval frame that was broken and collecting dust in storage for about 15 years. I didn't know what painting would suit it until recently when I decided to restore it. At first, I considered a classical portrait, but then Paul took some photographs of me embracing Chester with my hands. I liked the setting and thought it would fit well with my Hand's Private Life series. So, I used the photographs to paint this piece. However, I have no idea how to define the dimensions of an oval-shaped painting yet.        This painting is another one in the Hands' Private Life series. Oil on acid-free cardboard approximately 38 x 49 cm, alla prima, limited palette.   View the finished painting in my  gallery .

  Curriculum Vitae Just added my complete artist CV to my website.  It was high time to do that, I suppose. You can check it here: valta.nl/cv    

  Inner wrestle This time it was a fantasy scene inspired by an uncredited photograph I came across somewhere on Tumblr. I tried and did my best but I could not trace the original or the name of the author. Yet somehow I irresistibly wanted to paint this scene, that final moment before the bout, the moment between peace and fight. The frozen tension combined with the calm concentration of this pose and gesture intrigued me for weeks. I was doubting for a long time if I had to paint after this photograph. The urge to try and paint finally won.     Well, hereby the difficult question I keep on asking myself (and my fellow artists). Besides all the crediting and copyrighting issues, is our art that is made on the base of someone else's work truly art at all? Or is that then simply a skill? Yes, I significantly altered the whole setting to fit my own vision, but still, the fundamental elements of the idea, composition, lighting, and thus the most important jobs in art, were actually al

  A new show in the Gallery Rob Rademaker I love being in the old historic downtown of Utrecht.  It's always nice to return to the place where I used to live for 13 happy years, until 7 years ago we moved to another beautiful but totally different place. Luckily the old city centre is not changing much or rapidly so I still recognise and enjoy the historic streets, grachten,   hofjes,  churches and houses I used to walk along.    Right in the middle of this beautiful downtown, behind the city hall, you can find the Gallery Rob Rademaker , located on the ground floor of a very old house with a rich history. This autumn, the gallery is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Now you can imagine how excited, happy and honoured I am to be exhibiting my paintings here.  From 9 September to the end of October, the works of three artists, Rob Jacobs, Henri Poppelaars and myself are on show in this gallery.  Well, if you happen to (re)visit Utrecht during these months,  take a leisurely stroll d

Red cupboard Back to the great house of the Verwolde estate. A tiny utility room with a large low sink served as a practical space where various household tasks were carried out, out of sight from the more formal areas of the house. Such rooms are designed to facilitate chores and activities that might be considered less glamorous but are essential to the functioning of the household. Utility rooms are often located in the less public areas of the house, such as the basement, in order to maintain the aesthetic and atmosphere of the more refined living spaces.  However, even this room can still look attractive in its simplicity and efficiency, especially when the light from the only small window creates soft shadows. That's what I aimed to capture in my painting. This painting is another one in the Downstairs series.  Oil on canvas 24 x 30 cm, alla prima, limited palette. Final varnish to be applied not before August 2024.        View the finished painting in my  gallery . 

  Current exhibitions I am pleased to announce that five of my paintings are currently being exhibited in two museums on the island of Ameland. At the Museum Swartwoude in Buren, you can view three of my oil paintings from the Island Sheep series alongside stunning art by Trees Beijaard and Yulia Schutterop . Additionally, two of my older paintings are being displayed as part of the Zomer Vol Kunst exhibition of Amelander Kunstenaars at the new Museum Cultuurkerk in Nes. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase my artwork and would love for you to come to see it for yourself when you visit the island. View these and other paintings of mine in my gallery  

  Looking for solutions To make serious choices, sometimes we need to sit down and think. How do hands help a human in this case? Have you ever noticed that sometimes we hold our hands in a mirror-like fashion, with the fingertips of both hands pressed against each other? What is the reason behind this gesture? Does it have something to do with our inner energy circle, or is it just a way to connect the loose ends as precisely as possible? I have no idea. Yet we immediately recognise this pose and gesture as a sign of doubt, pressure, burden, tension, stress, and struggle. Even without seeing the person's entire body or face, we can tell that they're going through a difficult time trying to make the right decisions. May our decisions be wise. This painting is another one in the Hands' Private Life series.  Oil on panel 24 x 30 cm, alla prima, limited palette. Final varnish to be applied not before July 2024.        View the finished painting in my  gallery .

The Veluwe in Oil We love hiking through nature and we take every opportunity to do so. Chester enjoys those adventures a lot as he can do what nature means him to do. And we enjoy him.  I took a few pictures while walking in the heath fields near Wezep (Veluwe) last year (you can see one of the reference photos beneath). The heath was at the end of its heyday but still beautifully colourful. I actually really liked this scenery, so I painted it with pleasure.  This time I tried to work with a palette knife a bit more. Not sure about the effect yet. Well, I hope you will enjoy the atmosphere.    Alla prima, oil, panel 25x35 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery .

Amelander Kunstenaars in the Amelander Cultuurkerk Happy and proud to collaborate on this amazing art project. Twenty of my fellow island artists are to show their art the whole summer at a beautiful venue, the former old church in the historic centre of the village of Nes.  The church has recently been bought by Amelander Musea and the group of local artists was now honoured to exhibit their artworks in it. My two old paintings are among them.  We had a great opening yesterday with a lovely crowd. Wish us luck. The exhibition is mostly run by the artists themselves and is open every day between 1 pm and 5 pm until the end of October. Check the page of this art show Zomer Vol Kunst for more information.  

  Another landscape Putting Paul and Chester in an imaginative autumnal landscape. Trying to combine perspective, colours and light.     Alla prima, oil on panel 25x35 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery .

  Island sheep VI And yet another one in the Sheep Series. As two of my sheep paintings were sold at the show in the Stalhuus last week.    I recently found a nice photograph in my archive. I took the picture two winters back when we were having a couple of cold weeks with some snow. The sheep flocks had some rough times during the icy storms. When the sun shone they could destress and relax a bit, chewing their hay.  Not really content with the perspective I am still happy with this painting. Hope the viewer can feel the atmosphere of changing weather or of a passing snowstorm.  Alla prima, oil, panel 25x35 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery .

  Worth repeating, they said Our recent three-day exhibition was a great success once again! We were thrilled to welcome a few hundred visitors who came to admire the beautiful art on display. Many pieces were sold, and we received several commissions. Additionally, some significant agreements were reached during the exhibition.  I am particularly proud of the young artists, Sjors Kiewiet and Peter Kiewied, whose work garnered a lot of public interest. We were also delighted to have Lucienne Dorrestein join us and enhance the ambiance with her live music on the concert flute.  I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Eva, Riekus, Paul, Angelien, and all the others who worked hard to make this exhibition a reality! And it is worth repeating indeed. Save the date for next year: 14 - 16 June 2024. Missed the show? Some works and the artists' info are still to view at  valta.nl/expo

  3 days, 4 artists, 5 disciplines Last year, the three-day exhibition at that fantastic venue of the art patrons Eva and Riekus was a success . More than 200 visitors have seen about 30 of our works of art, many pieces were sold, and the artists received several commissions. So it went well enough to decide to repeat it. No sooner said than done. This year we are organizing another art show by professional island artists in the beautifully preserved historic Stalhuus in Hollum. With many new works: bronze and stone sculptures by Erwin Pattipeilohy , wooden design objects by Peter Kiewied , and my oil paintings. And I am immensely delighted to introduce super talented Sjors Kiewiet with his series of marvellous screen prints. Well, 3 days - 4 artists - 5 disciplines . A must-see. For the lucky ones who are on Ameland on June 16, 17 and 18, welcome and see you then! Not on Ameland those days? Don't worry! Follow my blog and our social media - there will certainly be some stories an

  Back to the Hands' Private Life For a long time, I was carrying the idea of combining a historic cityscape with some hand gestures or actions. Suddenly I came across an old selfie photograph I took years ago in the beautiful downtown of Dokkum. It was a cold, wet and foggy day before Christmas and the streets were almost empty. The picture seemed to have the perspective I had in mind. Then I thought the pair of hands opening an umbrella would be a suitable story. So I put my jacket on, grabbed the vintage umbrella that we found last summer in a second-hand store, and asked Paul to take some shots to use later for this painting.  Paul has become an essential co-creator when I need a photograph of my both hands at once. Because it's quite impossible to take a selfie of both hands, don't you think? Well, thank you, Paul!    So this became another one in my series Hands' Private Life. Painted alla prima with a limited palette of oil colours on acid-free cardboard  20 x 41

Back to interiors and still lifes Returning to the House of Verwolde and its nicely preserved interiors, I loved to paint a corner of this small room situated in the souterrain, probably a pantry, filled in with authentic storage stuff.  I have already painted two downstairs' rooms, a gardener room and a scullery , and I am quite in love with them. So I have some more ideas and plans. Will these become another series? Let's then call this one Downstairs 3.  Painted alla prima with a limited palette of oil colours on canvas 24 x 30 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery .

Something different Happy to help organize this unique exhibition. Unique, among other things, because almost all works come from different private collections, but especially because of the artist herself: an Ameland woman, mother of a large family, who only started painting in her 60s. And how! Her fine feeling for the perfect composition, choice of colour and tonality and excellent light accents make many of her paintings serene and realistic stories that are reminiscent of the great masters. The other works are perfect historical memories of "then" because of the small details. All of this strikes me as a fine example of natural innate talent. And that alone is quite unique. Glad she's "rediscovered" a bit now. More than 50 works by Janke de Jong (1920-1996) will be on display in the Sorgdrager Museum over the next two months.

  Island sheep V And yet another one in the Sheep Series.   Experimenting with a very light background can be surprisingly funny and tricky. I have put these three lovely ladies of the dyke in a dramatic twilight that one often can observe on our island. The time of the day with such a sky could be both dawn and dusk, I guess. But then I decided to put the sea on the right side of the painting, so now it could only be dawn on Ameland. Good morning!  Alla prima, oil, cardboard 40x32 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery .

Island sheep IV Another one in the Sheep Series.   There is a unique spot on our island where the last dunes meet the dyke showing a bit of the beach and the Wadden Sea, with a colourful natural swampy area in between. When it's not winter, the sheep are often here to maintain the dyke. They usually lie down on the grass when the wind blows hard. This was a blustery autumn day when I took a picture. Now I wanted to paint it.   Here it is, alla prima, oil, canvas 24x30 cm. View the finished painting in my  gallery .

  In touch with the void I made this painting mainly as an experiment. I wanted to see and feel how you paint on a completely transparent base. I used an unbleached linen canvas and covered it with several layers of clear gesso first. Then I painted the setting alla prima.      I am quite satisfied with the result even if I did not manage to erase the corrections of the first drawing made in burnt sienna properly. How do they do it? Perhaps one day I will find out.   I am also quite satisfied with the composition, lighting and values. As for the meaning of this painting, everyone can fill in that void for themselves. I thought it was about touching, feeling, holding and sensing. View the finished painting in  my gallery .

  A still life for a change Lifting up a friend recovering from surgery is a good opportunity to paint flowers.  Just finished this alla prima little painting with daffodils from the garden. Put in an old Mobach jar they looked lovely on a sunlit windowsill in our kitchen. That's how I got the idea of this little present.   I hope Annet likes the painting. I will give it to her and her husband Ben as soon as it is touch-dry.  View the finished painting in  my gallery .

  What could possibly happen? Something tragic, I assume. I am sure you can imagine dozens of situations where this setting could be possible. Regret, revelation, anger, shock, despair, compassion, support, consolation, reassurance, forgiveness, unbelief, doubt, fear... All of these might apply to the people in this painting. And all these are actually expressed with hands. And there will be nothing of these when you think those hands away, I'm afraid.   This is another small one in my series Hands' Private Life. I painted it all prima with my limited palette of Burnt sienna, Ultramarine blue, Yellow ochre, Cadmium red and Titanium white. As reference, I used the photographs Paul and myself took of me and my hands, in four different settings.    While thinking about how to name this piece, with my music on, the Legacy by PSB suddenly started to playback. The lyrics were so true, my mood was quite down, and the title was chosen. (And first I was thinking of calling it Cavalleria

  ... and proud What a good feeling it is to find a fresh copy of De Amelander in the mailbox on Sunday morning. Especially when there is a beautifully written article about you in it. I am really happy and appreciate this so much.

Breaking rules What could possibly be the story of this painting? There is nothing more than a pair of male hands buckling a monk straps shoe. Still, an attentive viewer familiar with etiquette and dress codes will notice that there are a few things that don't go by the rules. Considering this person is going out and not in the countryside, could you tell what this person is not doing quite right? A little clue: time  and  colour.   Anyway, I enjoyed painting this, playing with perspective, light and texture. I believe I was able to capture the beautiful effect of suede quite well. (And I love my monk straps!)  View the finished painting in  my gallery .

Every book has an end Sometimes they say human life is like a book. This reader has finished the journey of the book and has closed its cover for the final time. View the finished painting in  my gallery .

Void Our hands' expressions move on with time and progress. Some gestures we can easily recognise now didn't even exist a decade ago.  Take for instance this setup that you may often see on social media; taking a selfie in the mirror. (Who didn't do that, I do, too!) Depending on the size of the phone or camera, one uses one or both hands to take a picture and post it in their profile. What do you see there? Sometimes perhaps nothing but ego or vanity, or even emptiness sometimes. I often first see the hands, and sometimes those hands are the only things that remain there, especially if those are of nice esthetics. The rest is just void. It's like some sort of vanitas.  Fun! I've just tried ChatGPT for the first time and sent the above text to the almighty AI in the clouds. Here is their response:  " You make a valid point about the potential for selfies taken in the mirror to be seen as a display of ego or vanity. The act of taking a photograph of oneself and

Going on with (female) hands Thinking of autumn and the fun that nature on our island brings to those who can appreciate it, this time I tried to paint the hands that are busy with some pleasant labour.  I still believe hands are the most expressive part of the human body when it concerns a story to tell, an emotion, a feeling. I think it's hard to imagine the person in this painting is unhappy or sad, or angry. I rather could imagine she is smiling. Couldn't you? That's what intrigues me in human hands, that's why I like to paint them.  I tried to keep my brush strokes loose (still very uncertain about it and must learn a lot) to achieve that impressionistic touch. 

What Are You Reading Now? Another one in the Hands' Private Life series is almost finished, this time with a female figure on it. It seems that I also like to paint books (unconsciously). Nice that people keep reading real books even though it seems to be getting more and more old-fashioned. Let's call this painting so. Painting female hands is really challenging, but I did enjoy the process.  By the way, can you guess what language the book is written in? View the finished painting in  my gallery .  

  Narcissistically Yours The first painting in the new year is almost finished. I am now experimenting with combining a hand painting with a human face in the mirror. "Experimenting" seems to be a safe word when you don't quite know whether to love or hate the result.  This is also my first attempt at making a self-portrait. Naturally, I am not satisfied with it at all, but people around say they could find some resemblance. Plenty to learn yet, that's the good news. I hope I'll be making some more soon.  So, this was another painting for my little project Hands' Private Life. More to come.    View the finished painting in  my gallery .  

To speak is a sin Socialising in public places is what I am never going to learn properly. Often hoping for a nice contact, sometimes forcing myself into small talk and still missing opportunities, behaving eccentrically or too reserved and finally leaving, too late or too early. For a long time, I thought I was the only one, but am I?  "...Ordering drinks at the bar...", that old PSB tune keeps spinning in my head. "...And once in a while, a smile, if you dare". This was the last finished painting of mine this year. Can't say I am quite satisfied with it. But it's now time for a glass of whiskey.  Anyway, wishing you all a happy New Year! View the finished painting in  my gallery .  

  Ameland Art XL Proud to work on this project for the Amelander Musea.  There are now art shows in four museums in three villages on our island.  25 professional and non-professional artists from Ameland are exhibiting their works until the 8th of January.  One painting of mine is on show, too! As a part of the Amelander Kunstenaars exhibition.  Come to see and enjoy!

  Cosy dark nights So happy we've got some Christmas trees in our garden . This year we used some branches of the old fir to decorate the house for the festive season. And if you know what scent the fir branches have... Our house is now full of that wonderful scent of my childhood. I was so happy, that I even suddenly felt the need to paint a small interior with the garland made of those branches, arranged on the mantelpiece.  Well, here it is, the Christmas Time, oil on canvas board 25 x 25 cm.   View the finished painting in my gallery .  And have yourself a merry little Christmas, everyone!

Most lovely sitter Time to involve Chester again!  ...The moment when a human tries to greet an (unknown) dog is often quite exciting for both. Will it be an unconditional friendship or will you remain suspicious? Animals often feel and know instinctively and they are always sincere. And I was once taught that the best way to dispel mistrust by a dog is to simply offer your open hand and let it be explored calmly. Don't pet the animal over the head, because they won't do it to you either. That was a lecture about greeting dogs. ☝😁 But back to the painting, I love painting my best friend Chester very much. I think I need to paint him more often. It's the fifth in the series of my Hands' Private Life project. So, let's call this one Friend or Foe?. Oil, canvas board 24 x 30 cm.   View the finished painting in my gallery

Going on with the Hands project Thinking of the great and timeless influencers, I tried to combine my favourite still-life techniques with a hand portrait. It was quite a challenge, but I really enjoyed making this painting. No idea what meaning one can draw from this picture if any. I am going to call it Counterproposal. My usual limited palette of oil colours, alla prima on a 25 x 35 cm panel. View the finished painting in my gallery

Kunstmaand Ameland 2022 Happy to exhibit with Amelander Kunstenaars during the annual Kunstmaand show on our island. Proud that more than 5.200 visitors have now seen my paintings. Lots of artworks have been sold, including two paintings of mine. These two are getting their new home in Drenthe and in Friesland. Also happy to be now the owner of an artwork by a very successful fellow artist living on our island, Wybe Jansma. His unique ceramics with beautiful colours and shapes and the special North Sea design were totally sold out, so I am a happy owner indeed! And I am still happy to support this amazing group of island artists by providing them with online services. This is an ongoing voluntary project which I am quite proud of and which is still growing. Only during this year, almost 5.000 people worldwide visited our website. That all together makes it something to celebrate! Proost!🍷 🔴 sold 🔴  sold 😇 bought

Y ou should be dancing I am going further with painting hands. This time it could perhaps be a tale of some feelings. Yearning, doubt, excitement, waiting, desire, impatience, temptation, rest, seclusion, yes and no, - possibly all "you can eat" on a dance floor. My usual limited palette of oil colours on 24 x 30 canvas, alla prima. View the finished painting in my gallery .

A very special commission indeed When I posted  this story in March   I still did not quite believe this project could ever be realised. Today I am  proud to tell and to show that the project was successfully completed and that I was honoured to play a small part in it.  But first things first. The most northern historical windmill in the Netherlands, called De Phenix, has been thoroughly restored and repurposed as a unique working both flour and oil mill with a large underground visiting area. Dozens of professionals and volunteers have been working hard for four years to make this happen. It became one of eight  Amelander Musea . Being a volunteer, I  was invited in February by the museum working group to collaborate in the design of the underground space of the mill. Besides the whole construction, I was particularly impressed by the very long concrete wall which I thought should stay just clear and unfurnished bearing only some decoration on it, possibly depicting a scenery traditi

Hands' private life I have always been fascinated by human hands. I believe we often can understand not only the ideas or meanings but also the emotions expressed by hand gestures only, without involving any other body parts. Some of my first drawings I made some decennia ago were human hands. One of them even became my logo as you can see on my webpage and on my business cards. Speaking of business, from the 1st of November I am officially an artist by the Dutch law (this means actually no more than being registered at the Chamber of Commerce). Let's see what new opportunities it can bring. As always, I am open to suggestions, offers, commissions, etc. Back to the hands, I am thinking of a new project portraying this special part of the human body. I had done some studies before and I am now working on a sort of self-portrait, trying to catch and bring over a certain emotion or a meaning. View the finished painting in my gallery .

Kunstmaand 2022 Another autumn, another art show. The big " Kunstmaand Ameland " event is coming again, bringing our island an artistic atmosphere for 30 days. About 100 international artists plus 30 local island artists will be showing their works at more than 40 locations across the island. I am proud to be a part of it again. Within the group of Amelander Kunstenaars , I will show this year four of my paintings. Fingers crossed... I am excited to see the art of other participants. What I already saw online was very promising. Are you coming, too?

Back to flowers A couple of years ago while visiting the Voerman Museum in Hattem, I bought a nice handmade replica of the ginger jar used by the master in his famous still lifes. I do not often paint flowers, yet I like them a lot. So this time I made a couple of settings with nasturtiums from our garden and tried to paint them in the classical style of Voerman. Quite satisfied with the result. Let's call it "Ginger Jar from Hattem". Painted with primary oil colours plus titanium white and burnt umber. Alla prima. The panel is 19 x 26,5 cm. View the finished painting in my gallery .

Island sheep III This one is the third and the last (for the time being) of the current sheep series. Perhaps one day I'll paint some more of these animals. Three primary oil colours plus titanium white and burnt umber. The canvas board is 30 x 24 cm, and it is painted alla prima (or wet on wet). View the finished painting in my gallery .

Island sheep II After finishing the first sheep painting , I almost immediately started with another one. This little group was grazing on the sea side of the dyke, only having a bike road between them and the tidal Wadden Sea. It's great to learn about these lovely animals' behaviour while painting them. So, there is always one "on watch" checking you or the area, while the rest does their grazing or chewing duty. I now tried to catch such a scene in this painting. Three primary oil colours plus titanium white and burnt umber again. The canvas board is 22 x 15 cm, and it is painted alla prima (or wet on wet). View the finished painting in my gallery .

Island sheep on a dyke You meet sheep everywhere on the island of Ameland, except the beaches. Some are grazing on the sea dykes, naturally maintaining the dykes, keeping them whole and solid. The special Texel breed is strong and can easily stand the North Sea climate. They are perfect suppliers of knitting wool. I pass multiple flocks while walking with my dog around our village. Recently I took many photographs of these little grazing beauties. So now it is time to paint them. I am thinking of a small series with sheep. Let's see where it brings us. Again, I only used three primary oil colours plus titanium white and burnt umber. The canvas board is 24 x 30 cm, and it is painted alla prima (or wet on wet). View the finished painting in my gallery .

Arguably What can be more relaxing after a busy day than sitting down and enjoying a glass of your favourite drink? In my case, it's a glass of malt. Perhaps in your case, it is something totally else.  I loved to paint this light and shadow play. Loved painting those textures of the skin, glass and fabrics.  So now relax yourself and enjoy with me. And view the finished painting in  my gallery .

Miniatures As I have some unused small, a kind of kitschy souvenir frames, I decided to make some tiny studies which would pass into those frames. The first one was a detail of my previous painting with strawberries. The second was a tribute to the master I admire , combining a master copy of his works with some details of my old still life which is now with a collector in the United States. The third one was based on my photograph (which I am going to use for larger paintings soon); this was my first attempt to paint a human hand in oil. I was quite excited while doing it, and I am quite satisfied with this result. More exercises with human hands will follow as I am not scared of trying anymore. I painted them alla prima on acid-free cardboard only using the limited palette of primary oil colours plus burnt umber and titanium white. I learned as well what "a painting a day" is. View the finished paintings in my gallery .

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 .

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 daylight 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 a lovely old scullery in Leeuwarden , called Downstairs. So, I will call this one the Downstairs 2. View the finished painting in my gallery .

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 artworks 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 exhibited 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!

Excited I am happy to work on this small but lovely project, organising a 3-day show with the artworks 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 marvellous sculptures 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 artworks on our page . For the happy ones who are on the island on June 17-19, welcome and see you there!