Live Painting Sessions at Museum

 
Interior of the Cultuurmuseum in Nes

I will be reposting here the updates from the Auction Page of the Amelander Kunstenaars:

Hello! I am Valta, a painter from Hollum, and for ten years, I have proudly been a member of the wonderful group of Ameland Artists. This year, we are celebrating our 15th anniversary. In collaboration with the Ameland Museums Foundation, we are organising a Jubilee Exhibition at the Ameland Cultural Museum in Nes. This exhibition will be on display from June through mid-October.

As a unique addition this year, we will be hosting live painting demonstrations. Every Thursday afternoon, you can find me at the Cultuurmuseum, where I will be working on a painting in real-time. On this page, as well as on our Instagram and Facebook channels, you will find weekly updates with photos, videos, and insights into the progress of my work.

The painting will be auctioned for charity. You can place your bid here from June 4 to August 1, 2026, with the current total being tracked live on this page. The starting bid is €300. The proceeds will go to Dierenambulance Ameland, which is available 24/7 to assist animals in need on our island. You can also support their valuable work outside of this auction: RTZ & Dierenambulance Ameland.

The highest bidder will receive the painting on November 1, 2026, during the opening of the new November exhibition by Amelander Kunstenaars at Ritskemoei in Buren.

UPDATES:

July 16

I am pleased with how things are progressing so far and am confident I will meet the July 31 deadline. Unlike last week, today was pleasantly busy at the museum. I had some nice conversations and received excellent feedback from visitors. I appreciate the helpful tips from fellow artist Lia Vrij. Together, we discussed ways to enhance the tonality and depth of my painting.
In the final two sessions, I plan to add the finishing details, including the beautiful historic chandelier and the stylised console, while also emphasising the highlights.

See you next week!

July 9

The lovely summer weather on Ameland continues to be delightful. This afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and the terraces quickly filled up with visitors. As a result, the museum was fairly quiet, which is a nice change of pace. We did have a few very interested visitors, including an enthusiastic artist and two young art lovers, with whom I enjoyed pleasant conversations.

I also received constructive feedback from fellow artist Ruud Kugel today. I truly appreciate this, as I love learning and improving from such insights.

This afternoon, I worked on the beautiful wooden floor in a historic colour (possibly oxblood red), as well as the old original bench along the wall. These elements are now nearly finished. I have since started working on the windows and lighting, which I will elaborate on next time.

Additionally, last week while painting, I spoke with professional photographer Ricardo Scholtens. He was on the island primarily for the fantastic Madnes Festival, but he also enjoyed visiting our museums. Ricardo took a few atmospheric photos that I have permission to share here and on my socials. Ameland truly attracts talent, but we already knew that!

See you next week!

July 2

There was a wonderful, lively buzz at the Ameland Cultural Museum this afternoon! It is always such a great feeling to connect with people who are genuinely curious about the creative process—I always learn so much from these conversations. I was so glad that most visitors immediately recognized the subject of my painting, and loved hearing that they agree with me about how beautiful, intimate, and atmospheric the museum's interior is.

It’s always fascinating to see how drastically changing light alters the colors around you. Today was mostly cloudy, a complete shift from last week's session. It took some adjusting, and I had to mix my palette a bit differently to blend smoothly with what was already on the canvas. I think I managed quite well and got lost in the zone for a few hours.

See you next week!

June 25

Despite the hot weather, it is actually quite comfortable in the historic building of the Cultuurmuseum. That is why I stayed here longer than usual today. It’s nice to see that museum visitors appreciate the atmosphere and climate of the museum as much as I do. I find the spontaneous conversations that arise during my painting sessions to be both inspiring and stimulating; I also learn a lot from them.

Today, I focused on capturing the countless shades of blue in the nave of the former church. In reality, only two shades of blue have been applied to the ceiling, but just look at how many different hues are created by the various light sources, reflections, and shadows. Blue that appears yellow—what do you think of that? I find it so special and fascinating.

See you next week!

June 18

Today I corrected the errors in the drawing. I discovered some errors this week, together with the participants of the Art Afternoon at Museum Sorgdrager, when we were discussing linear perspective and its significance in realistic art."

After this correction, I was satisfied with the composition again and could start on the next layer: selecting the colours for the midtones.

By the way, last week we also had a nice visit at the museum from two groups of enthusiastic people from the IMF and the Province of Fryslân. We received a nice gift and much appreciation for our volunteers! 

See you next week!

June 11

It actually turns out to be really fun – and not scary at all anymore – to strike up a conversation with the enthusiastic and interested museum visitors while I am painting. Definitely a wonderful and educational experience!

Today, the drawing was largely finished, and I further developed the underpainting. I did this with a thin, almost dry layer of burnt sienna, raw umber, and ultramarine. By the way, I paint with oil on a 50 x 40 cm canvas. Now it is time to capture the darkest shadows, so that I can render the contrasts and colour balance more realistically later.    

See you next week!

June 4

I have wanted to paint the beautiful, intimate interior of the Ameland Cultuurmuseum for a very long time. There are so many small details that emphasise its modest beauty. Thanks to the idea of ​​the live painting sessions during the Jubilee Exhibition, countless possibilities suddenly presented themselves. I love learning, and this project offers me the perfect practice space: I am gaining experience painting in public and trying out a new technique. Normally, I paint alla prima, but now I have to restrain myself and break the work down into weekly sessions, spread over several weeks. I am very curious about the final result!

I started today. The canvas had already been prepared with multiple layers of gesso, and the imprimatura was already in place; I had pre-covered the white of the canvas with a transparent layer of burnt sienna. After a few test sketches on paper to determine the composition, today it was time for the monochrome base drawing on the canvas...

See you next week!