Autumn Splendor finds The Hofvijver, The Hague #1 & #2

Autumn Splendor finds The Hofvijver #1

oil on canvas - 40 120 cm

painted on location -  Sun 16 Oct., Mon 21 Oct. and Tues 22 Oct. 2022

€ 1450

Probably the most picturesque corner of this city, especially now with the added explosion of colors due to the foliage of the trees. I have painted this view once before in 2018, thought it was time for yet another attempt at it. As a matter of fact I decided to make two paintings! The play of light helps in creating a balanced composition. I felt honored to make this painting, especially so with the fact that that Sun lite Palladio looking building on the right, nestled in between the buildings covered with shade happens to be The Mauritshuis, home of the Royal Families Art Collection.

Autumn Splendor finds The Hofvijver #2

oil on canvas - 40 x 80 cm

painted on location - Tues 22 Oct. 2022

€ 925

 Here I have painted over an already existing painting made at this very location, only it was winter 2020. So I decided to freshen up that painting with a colorful autumn scenery, instead of the cold winter scene.  I think now te chances of someone wanting to add this work to their collection have increased greatly.

 

Beach entrance #10, Westduinpark, The Hague (calm)

Strandslag 10, Westduinpark, DH (kalm)

oil on canvas - 30 x 120 cm

painted on location -  Thurs 13 Oct 2022

SOLD

When I started this on going project, Wet Paintings from The Lowlands, beach entrances here in The Hague was one of the subjects I frequently painted. It is always a pleasure for me to return to this theme, and make new paintings. Even though the subject is the same, every painting made is never the same! As is evident in these two versions presented on this and the previous posting.    

 

Beach entrance #10, Westduinpark, The Hague

 

Strandslag 10, Westduinpark, DH

oil on canvas - 40 x 100 cm

painted on location -  Thurs 6 Oct 2022

SOLD

Just a wonderful day to be on location. As you can see lovely clouds floating by, creating a amazing play of light and dark tones on the Earthy colored Sea water. The flora in the dunes is also rich with colors, again thanks to the Sunlight. I also picked and chose which of the many sign poles are at this location, basically I eliminated about half of them. 

Sailing on The North Sea

Zeilen op de Noordzee

oil on canvas - 18 x 115 cm

painted on location & in the studio - Sept 2022

€725

I decided to freshen up, in the studio, a painting I made on location in Aug 2018. Am much happier with the outcome of the changes. Hopefully now it will attract a potential buyer. 

The Minerva, Scheveningen

Het driemaster gaffelschoener "de Minerva,  Tweede Haven, Scheveningen
oil on linen - 50 x 70 cm 
painted on location - April 26 - May 2/3  2018  

Reworked in studio Sept 2022

€850

Here is an example of  a work I decide to repaint after giving considerable thought to the original composition. An artist has the freedom to do what he or she wishes, thus I exercised that freedom and came up with this imaginary scene. 

text from original posting;

Originally built in 1935 in Brake, Germany, over the years she has been fully restored and made seaworthy. This is the second time I paint this charming three master Tall ship, a true classic.  As a plein air painter she is a lovely subject to work from. The light was perfect, casting shadows here and there, allowing me to observe all those juicy details, like the reflections on the calm water.   

 

Catamaran Club House, The Hague

 

HKZV clubhouse, Zuiderstrand, DH

oil on canvas - 60 x 60 cm

painted on location - 31 Aug 2022 

€950

I'm so glad to have this object to paint at the beach. Love the color of the clubhouse, as it is complementary to the yellow of the sand. I wonder if they actually thought of that when they decided to make it that color? 

Summer fun for everyone

 

Zomerplezier voor iedereen, Zuiderstrand, DH

oil on canvas - 80 x 100 cm

painted on location - 9/10 Aug 2022

€ 1450

Yes, fun for everyone, including dogs! In this heat wave we are having, where better to be than on a breezy beach, with cool temperature water to dip into. Keeping the composition simple and harmonious is my task at hand.  

Family fun at the beach

 

Familieplezier op het strand

oil on canvas - 50 x 60 cm

painted on location - sat 8 Aug 2022

€ 850

A fun subject to paint, kids enjoying themselves at the beach. I like the colors of all the different parasols, so i pick and choose my favorites thus building up the composition. Also with the people, It is really a lot busier than shown on this painting, but again I am more concerned with making a scene that the viewer can easily digest and view.

Beach life at beach club DeStaat, South beach, The Hague

Strandpaviljoen De Staat, Zuiderstrand, DH

oil on canvas - 40 x 100 cm

painted on location - Sun 7 Aug 2022

SOLD

Here is the location of where I usually head out to when I make my beach scene paintings. As the summer life at the beach is in full swing with nice warm temperatures, this popular beach cafe gets really busy. 

Waves and Children on a hot summers day

Child with mango ice cream

oil on canvas - 18 x 24 cm

painted on location - Sat 6 Aug 2022

SOLD

This little painting was made right after I finished the painting shown below. Had a full day painting at the beach with the help of my 3 Meter parasol which I usually use as a wind breaker. A total different vibe from the seascape below, however was tempted to show a fun scene of what goes on at the beach.

Waves on a hot summers day

oil on canvas - 30 x 120 cm

painted on location - Sat 6 Aug 2022

€1250.

Arriving at the beach a little later than I would like to, it became a challenge to find an interesting subject to paint. It has to do with the light, when the Sun climbs high later in the morning then the light becomes too sharp and just makes painting uninteresting. Thus I then decided to make this close up view of the wave action. Water and sky are the main characters, with a few details of sailboats seagulls and clouds.

 

 

Beach entrance #9, South beach, The Hague 1 & 2

Strandslag #9, Zuiderstrand, DH #1

oil on linnen - 40 x 100 cm

painted on location - Fri 22 July 2022

SOLD

private collection Madrid, Spain

In this painting I strived to bring the message of a not so tame North Sea view from the Westduinpark are of The Hague. Wind is emphasised, even though it is a lovely sunny scenery. I was asked to make this painting by a Spanish family that was moving back to Spain after having spent a few years in Holland. 

Strandslag #9, Zuiderstrand, DH #2

oil on linnen - 50 x 120 cm

painted on location - Fri 5 Aug 2022

SOLD

I enjoyed making the above painting so much that I decided to make yet another version of this scene. Thus I headed out about a week later and managed to knock off this painting in two settings. Although it is the same view you should be able to notice several differences, most notably the direction of the wind as indicated in the flag! 

 

Summer's in full swing

Let the summer begin

Painted on location - Wed 13 July 2022

oil on canvas - 50 x 100 cm

SOLD

Here I have re-worked a painting I made at this very location, however that was a winter scene, which I got fed up with, and decided to turn it into a fun summer scene. Painting from just beyond Kijkduin looking back towards Scheveningen.  

South Beach, The new look.

Zuiderstrand, de nieuwe look

oil on canvas - 40 x 120 cm

painted on location - Sat 4 June 2022

SOLD

An overall view of the so called quiet beach (stillestrand) from about the middle point between Scheveningen and Kijkduin. As obvious the sky is playing a major role in this composition. Not as easy as it looks, but getting those clouds to look convincing is a major task of most plein air painters. My advice, work quickly and don't lay in the paint too thick, remember what you are painting are vaporous gases lingering in the air, being swished around by the force of the wind. 

The gentle wave of the North Sea.

Het zachte golf van de Noord Zee,

oil on linen -  60 x 120 cm

painted on location - Sat. 14 May 2022

SOLD

Often when I get to the beach and don't get inspired immediately, for a subject to paint. I often just go to the waters edge and meditate on the waves and the  grandeur of the sea. Then if something strikes me about what I'm looking at, then the creative juices begin to flow. Such was the case with this painting. Things just pulled together, the clouds, the colors of the water, and most importantly, in this case the beauty of the gentle rolling waves.  

Two views from North Beach, Scheveningen

Noorderstrand met uitzicht op strandpaviljoen Naturel

oil on canvas - 30 x 118 cm

painted on location - 24 March 2022

€ 975

Noorderstrand met uitzicht op  de Pier 

oil on canvas - 35 x 100 cm

painted on location - 24 March 2022

€ 975

Still early in the season, thus not very populated as yet, this beach is were tourists visiting Scheveningen beach resort head or a little peace and quiet, away from the scene  happening on the other side of that Pier. I rather like painting misty views, as it creates a sense of mystery. These wide beaches almost make it compulsory to use these panoramic format canvases, thus allowing me to create the sense of depth and space.

Invitation to fun and adventure 3 x

Path to the Sea, showing beach clubhouse Soomers

North Beach, Scheveningen

oil on canvas - 40 x 50 cm

painted on location - 16 March 2022

€ 525

Path to the Sea, showing beach clubhouse Oase,

North Beach, Scheveningen

oil on canvas - 40 x 50 cm

painted on location - 22 March 2022

€ 485

Path to the Sea, Westduinpark, DH

oil on canvas - 40 x 50 cm

painted on location - 30 March 2022

€ 525

On these warm early spring days I was inspired to paint this theme, Invitation to fu and adventure. I think especially the little kids and pet dogs of persons love to head down these paths to the beach and man do they have a ball. I myself included in this fun, but for me it is a serious kind of fun, because after all it is my work. Symbolically this theme is important to me, as it leads the viewer into the image in a very straight forward and simplistic manner.   

Path to The North Sea, Westduinpark, The Hague

Pad naar Zee, Westduinpark, DH (De Savorin Lohmanpad)

oil on linen - 90 x 120 cm

painted in the studio - March/April 2022

€ 2850.

As most of you know, I'd rather be on location, in the open air, making paintings. However every now and then, especially in the winter months I do spend more time painting in the studio. In this case I made a larger version of a painting made on Jan 2010. That work was considerably smaller, 30 x 40 cm. and made on the spot.  

Really what motivated me to make the above painting was to bring back a moment in time when these dunes where covered in lush vegetation, very green and with large shrubs and all kinds of trees which had all these lovely warm tones. Also the paths themselves were rougher looking,  they fitted in with the surrounding Nature in a wonderful harmonious way. What happened was a few years ago the municipality of The Hague decided to crop almost everything in this park, in the vain of bringing the area back to its original sandy dunelike layout.  After much protest from the locals, that project was curbed considerably, but just the same some areas of the dunes here looked more like a desert in Africa, than a park on the North Sea. Slowly but surely, as Nature would have it, the area is starting to look healthy once more. And my job is getting to be more fun, once again.

As you can see on this painting I made the path look scruffy, broken up in places, just the way I remembered it. BTW,  to pay homage to Nature,  I especially painted in that little tree in blossom. Besides it helps with the composition.      

 

A Winter's Seascape #5

Scheveningen op Winters dag met mist

oil on canvas - 25 x 100cm  

painted on location -  Wed 02 Feb 2022

€1250.

What a unique situation to paint. In all my years working on location, I have never seen such a thick mist covering almost the entirety of that massive Pier, and as you can see the Northly part of the Boulevard. Waves were still crashing on the shore from the aftermath of days of heavy winds and rain. What made it advantages for me to paint, was the wind factor was pretty well non-existent.  As you can see a favorite location for surfers. A passerby generously shared this picture she made of me while working, I felt it had captured the situation I just described so here you can have a look for yourself.

A Winter's Seascape #4

Winters Zeegezicht #4

oil on canvas - 50 x 120 cm

painted on location - Tues  18 Jan 2022

€2750.

I love painting on these misty days, when the fog is so thick, visibility is reduced just to your immediate surroundings. The atmosphere becomes at once mysterious and still, in a positive way, mind you. That I believe is due to the light. Often one gets in a peaceful mood, experiencing a deep sense of tranquility.  Luckily for me on this day there was hardly no wind to speak about, thus I took advantage of that, and after I finished Seascape #3, I dashed back to my auto, to get this 50x120cm canvas. Thus creating two paintings in one paint out session.   

A Winter's Seascape #3

 

Winters Zeegezicht #3

oil on canvas - 25 x 100 cm

painted on location - Tues  18 Jan 2022

€1250.

On this cold misty morning, I was inspired by a scene so full of tranquility that just by looking at it, I felt a calmness, whilst listening to the whispering gentle waves rolling in, I was transfixed and summoned to paint it. What you see above is how I represented it in oils on canvas. While mixing the colors on my palette, the odd cry of seagulls wisping by would catch my attention.  What lies beyond all that visible mist is an immensity so vast and grand, I leave it to your imagination to fill.

A Winter's Seascape #2

 Winters Zeegezicht #2

oil on canvas - 25 x 100 cm

painted on location - Thur  06 Jan 2022

SOLD

Have decided to make a series of this theme. Here is the 2nd, made in the first week of the New Year. Painted on location, however I made some alterations in the studio, this is the final version.   

Winters Seascapes

Winters Zeegezicht 1

oil on canvas - 25 x 100 cm

painted on location - Tues 21 Dec. 2021

SOLD

Having been absent from on location painting for just over two months I finally decided to pack my gear and force myself to head out of the studio, to do some on location painting.  Went to my favorite destination,  Zuiderstrand, the beach of the city I live in.  A nice comfortable half hour walk through the dunes of the nature reserve Westduinpark, brings me to the beach.  Fortunately for me the weather, even though it was extremely cold,  was to my favor, sunny and most importantly no wind to speak about.  The light this time of the year remains pleasant for us plein air painters for the most of the day as the Sun doesn't reach it's high zenith as it would in the summer.  From on high in the dunes I observed that the gentle waves where rhythmically  caressing the shoreline.  But what really got my attention was the intensity of warm white tones of the rolling waves, as the angle of the sunlight on them was perfect.   A point I would like to make, that you might find interesting, is that I was faced with the problem, how am I going to paint the color intensity of the water and waves on my canvas. Thus the first thing I did was cover the whole surface of the canvas with the darkest color I could create, a mixture of Indigo Blue and dark red did the job. After approximately 2.5 hrs. what you see above was the result of my creative efforts. 

                                                                                

             

Winters Zeegezicht 2

oil on canvas - 23 x 100 cm

painted on location -  26 Nov. 2019

reworked in the studio -  15 Dec. 2021

€ 745 

Here you have an example of a painting I make retouches to in the studio. at the bottom of this commentary you can see the original version made on location just over two years ago. What I loved most about this view of the Sea was the color of the water which was influenced by the mist in the atmosphere. Here you are looking in a Northly direction from Zuiderstrand, The Hague, to the better known beach resort, Scheveningen, (you can barely make out the tower and ferris wheel of the Pier on the right side of the horizon). The greatest alteration I made was to get rid of 95% of the shoreline, by painting in more of that soft turquoise salty water. Have a look for yourself to see more changes.

Hot fun in the Summertime

 

Kinderen met ouders dagje op strand #5

oil on board - 30 x 40 cm

painted on location -  Wed 8 Sept 2021

€ 285

Kinderen met ouders dagje op strand #4

oil on board - 20 x 30 cm

painted on location -  Tues 7 Sept 2021

€ 235

Kinderen met ouders dagje op strand #3

oil on board - 20 x 30 cm

painted on location -  Tues 7 Sept 2021

SOLD

Kinderen met ouders dagje op strand #2

oil on board - 18 x 24 cm

painted on location -  Sun 5 Sept 2021

€ 185

Kinderen met ouders dagje op strand #1

oil on board - 18 x 24 cm

painted on location -  Sun 5 Sept 2021

€ 185

Here you have the whole series of Children with parents, at day at the beach.  Made on our last heat wave here in Holland. Am glad I was able to get out on location in theses days. Always a pleasure for me to be among all this fun and exciting energy. 

The Hague Sailing Club

HKZV, Den Haag

oil on canvas - 60 x 90 cm

painted on location - Thurs 29 July 2021

€ 1275

A portrait of this sailing clubhouse for me is always fun to do. I love that color, Ultramarine (blue), especially when the Sun is hitting it, shadows get cast from the roof and open spaces. Then in combination with the surrounding colors, the yellow of the beach club house behind it, the various colors of the 'cats', just in general a colorful scenery, wouldn't you agree.

Surfs Up at South Beach

Zuiderstrand DH

oil on canvas - 40 x 120 cm

painted on location - Tues 31 Aug. 2021

SOLD

Again decided to paint a view of the whole of Zuiderstrand, the real beach of The Hague. On the horizon you can see a smoke stak from one of the many oil refineries located at the harbor entrance to Rotterdam. Wild clouds, strong waves, and lots of Sun make this scenery enjoyable to digest, at least that's my thought.

 

Family outing at the beach

                                                                                                                                                                       

Familie-uitje op het strand

oil on canvas - 50 x 150 cm

painted on location - Wed 21 July 2021

SOLD

Another fantastic day at the beach! Early afternoon and the crowds are still at bay, It's the middle of the week, thus won't really get that busy, but still by the time I put the signature on this baby, there were many more people than depicted on the painting. When one looks closely he will see that much is going on in this scene. Personally I like the father holding a bottle of water and the child runn8ng towards it. 

Saturday morning at the beach

 

Zaterdag ochtend op het strand

oil on canvas - 30 x 150 cm

painted on location - Saturday 17 July 2021

SOLD

The fun and excitement is about to begin for many young kids and their families. Fun for everyone, even the pet dog has a blast. Water is a little choppy, so the parents are keeping a close eye on them. Parasols are being used to block the wind rather than the Sun. Plenty of space at this beach, because the average Dutch person thinks the beach of The Hague is Scheveningen and not this more natural beach. It's a well keep secert and we citizens of The Hague like it that way!  

Children with parents, North Beach, Scheveningen

Ouders met Kinderen, Noorderstrand, Scheveningen

oil on canvas - 50 x 175 cm

painted on location and in the studio - June/July 2021

SOLD 

Commission / Opdracht

I was very happy to get this commission as I love getting out to the beach and working on this subject. Always a challenge to paint on such a large format on location at the beach, however it was possible and what was not possible I made up for it in the studio. Paying customer was happy, person getting the painting as a special gift was happy, and I was happy. What more can a working artist ask for?

 

Scheveningen Beach and Boulevard summer 2021

Scheveningen Strand / Boulevard zomer 2021,

Oil on linen - 30 x 200 cm

painted on location - 10 occasions 30 May t/m 10 June 2021 

SOLD (this is the original)

DIGITAL COPIES OF THIS PAINTING ARE AVAILABLE  ON CANVAS, 375€ EACH) 

Here you have the latest painting of this subject which i have been tackling for years now. Believe me it is a struggle to get in all those details, on such a massive size canvas and especially that I make it on location! Thus the elements of the outdoors are either for me or against me. Usually I choose to be on location when they are working for me, (I have no choice really). I'm standing on a wide open space, a pier made of huge cement elements topped with a road wide enough, for emergency vehicles to travel on.   

I enjoyed every minute of the making of this painting. Meeting all kinds of friendly nice people, who made several enquiries as to the technique and equipment I use.  I was getting a lot of compliments, thus I knew then that I was on to something good.  For your viewing pleasure 3 close ups.

 

Baby, the fog must lift...

Schat, de mist moet optrekken,

oil on canvas - 30 x 120 cm

painted on location - Thurs 10 June 2021

€ 1250

On one of my latest painting excursions to South beach, The Hague, wasn't much happening, just usual  sunlight, was contemplating packing up, but something, a feeling said to me, just wait. Close your eyes meditate a bit and wait. Well that voice served me well! In came this thick fog, rolling up from the sea and totally filled the atmosphere with mystery  and intrigue. Now that was worth painting. Quickly as possible set my gear up and within minutes was laying the paint on to create this scene. I imagine the sailors ready to sail out in their cats, possibly one of them was on his mobile talking to his wife, saying "Schat, de mist moet eerst optrekken".. 

Schevening Beach Scene & Zuiderstrand beach scene

 

Noorderstrand, Schevening 

oil on canvas - 30 x 120 cm

painted on location - Sat 29 May 2021

SOLD

Here a typical view of Schevening from just past the ZwartePad beach entrance.  An area frequented by nudist sun bathers, as this is far away from the huge crowds in Schevening.

Cats ready, Zuiderstrand DH,

oil on board - 16 x 24 cm

painted on location - Sun 30 May 2021

SOLD

Just a quick oil study of a typical scene on Zuiderstrand, The beach of The Hague. On the horizon you can see elements of Schevening beach.