Beach Scene # 5, Texel, Holland

Strand gezicht #5, Texel, NL
oil on canvas
50 x 100 cm
painted on location - Sat 10 April 2010

As one can clearly see in this view, the sand is actually raising higher at the horizon line. This is not to common on beach paintings, but as I said on one of the postings from this series, the sand of the beachs here are being sculpted by an invisible hand, due to high swirling winds from the North. The heavy volumonous clouds over the horizon line are just beginning there journey to cover this beach and much of the island, in fact those are the cumulus clouds that I featured on that small painting of the previous posting.

Beach Scenes # 3 & # 4, Texel, Holland

Strand gezicht #3, Texel, NL
oil on canvas 15 x 30 cm
painted on location, - Sat 10 April 2010

This little canvas although rather small in dimension, still manages to afford the viewer an emmense view of a solitary beach. Nature dominates in Il pittores vision, thus I choose to keep the crowds at bay. Those savoury cumulus clouds where casting shadows that literally swept by at a speed comparable to a gutsy BMW travelling on a German autobaan.



Strand gezicht #4, Texel, NL
oil on canvas
60 x 80 cm
painted on location - Friday 9 April 2010

private collection, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Almost the same view as beach scene #2, this was made on a sunny yet very windy day. Cloud formations were mind boggeling, to say the least. What can I say, that hasn't been said already? Texel is a cool place, if you love nature, then it is really worth a visit. Nice people also, Island folk, somewhat less hurried than us urban dwellers.

View of the beach #2, Texel, Holland

Strand gezicht #2 Texel, NL
oil on canvas
60 x 80 cm (thus a fair size)
painted on location - Monday 12 April 2010

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Texel is known for its vast beaches, which most people here value dearly, as space is a much cherished comoditiy here in this somewhat overcrowded little country of The Lowlands. What I've done here on this canvas, is give ample room for the sky to dominate the composition, thus creating a sense of grandeous space. The clouds were also fun to paint, as they formed into shapes unique to this area.

The colors of the detail shown here below are truer to the original canvas.

Lighthouse, Texel, Holland

Vuurtoren met s'avonds licht, Texel,NL
oil on canvas
40 x 50 cm
painted on location - Friday 9 April 2010

Just behind me and above my left shoulder the Sun was beginning its descent. Thus the colors in the sky and land are bathed in warm hues. The lighthouse absorbs the light in a rather fashionable manner, casting off a remarkable hue of Cadmium red. These Islands are renowned for their lighthouses, I'm sure that the American artist, Edward Hopper (1882-1967), would have delighted in painting them. Just to give you an idea of the size of this building structure, I painted two figures walking up the dune.

Beach scene # 1, Texel, Holland

Strand gezicht#1 Texel, NL
oil on canvas
30 x 60 cm
painted on location - Friday 9 April 2010(early morning)

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The saying goes, "The early bird gets the worm". And beleive you me, there is much truth in that! This light situation only takes place for roughly 3/4 of an hour, after which the contrasts fade away, and a most welcomed blinding light dominate the situation at hand. Texel is the first of a series of islands known for their spectacular Natural habitat, both on and off the land. The cloudy skies are a painters paradise, hardly ever a dull moment, as thanks to the breezy Northernly wind, they are usually on the move. This results in extended hours of direct sunlight, which us less fortunate citizens of The Lowlands, can't get enough of!

Piazza Navona, Roma

Piazza Navona, Rome
oil on canvas
24 x 30 cm
painted on location - Saturday 20 March 2010

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It's early in the morning, I'm approaching what is probably the most extravagant and controversial Baroque fountain in the world. With all my gear at hand, ready to paint it,...... what do I find before my eyes? It's under renovation, Oh my God! So what to do next? I take a walk to the north end of the square, and looking back at the fountain behind the barricade, I think to myself, "The hell with it, I'm just gonna paint, the situation at hand". The statues of the fountain are so enormous, the top half are visible anyway. As luck would have it, half way into the painting, the Sun burst through the thick layer of clouds, the whole scene gets transformed into a fascinating display of lights and shadows. Good thing I got there early, by the time I finished the painting, hundreds of passers by were between me and the subject.

Piazza del Popolo, Roma, by day and by night

Piazza del Popolo (v/d volk), ochtend vroeg
oil on canvas
50 x 40 cm
painted on location - Tuesday 23 March 2010

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Symmetrically elegant, spacious and vast, the whole area was built as, and still remains-a showpiece. This is the Northern entrance to the Eternal City. For centuries piazza del Popolo was the first glimpse most travellers got of Rome. The obelisk was brought from Egypt by the Emperor Augustus. In 1589 it was moved from Circo Massimo to this location. The piazza was first laid out in the early 16th century, then went through a major facelift in the 19th century by Rome's leading neo-classical architect, Giuseppe Valadier.


Here you have a picture of the same view of the piazza, only taken from a higher point than were I was set up.




Gezicht vanaf Piazza del Popolo, 's avonds
oil on canvas board
30 x 24 cm
painted on location - Sat 20 March 2010

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Here you have a evening glimpse from the piazza. The painting begins with one of the four lioness fountains featured at the base of the enormous obelisk. The eye is then ushered to the starting point of one of Rome's most elegant shopping streets, Via del Babuino. The terrace of the fancy Cafe Canova, is shown on the left.



A picture of Peter Altena sketching and myself working on the evening painting in Piazza del Popolo.