A beautiful day at Wijk Aan Zee, NH

Mooie daag bij Wijk Aan Zee, NH
oil on canvas
40 x 100 cm
painted on location - Thurs 20 may 2010


No this is not a copy of the posting made on Wed. 26th of May. In fact this work was made almost a week before that painting. The same beach, yes, but have a close look, you will notice that the prespective is different. On this painting I'm postioned somewhere about the middle of the beach, on the other one I was very close to the shoreline. The atmospheric conditions on this one are less dramatic, sea vapour is clearing up, promising azure sky on the way. This was painted on a week day, thus the beach is less populated, the other one was made on a national holiday. There are times when being on location working in such ideal conditions, is such a privilidge, man am I ever gratefull, my expereince at Wijk Aan Zee has been great fun. Hope you are enjoying these images.

Sea Vapour on South Beach #2, The Hague

Zuiderstrand met zee damp #2, DH
oil on canvas
20 x 140 cm
painted on location - Sat 22 May 2010  -  SOLD

Made directly after I painted 'Sea vapour on S. beach, posted a couple of days ago. This work takes on a whole different aspect, thanks to its format. Giving one a glimpse of the beach that one is confronted with when actually there physically. It is so difficult for me to get a decent picture of this size canvas, thus the two details, serve in this case an important function.

Invitation to fun and adventure, Wijk Aan Zee

Dagje uit op strand, Wijk Aan Zee
oil on canvas, 60 x 90 cm
painted on location - Monday 24 May 2010
SOLD

It is just past 8am, on a lovely morning this Holiday Monday here in Europe . Slowly people who slept in their beach houses are getting up, a mother takes a walk along the beach with her daughter, once in a while a jogger passes by. I just woke up 45 minutes prior, in a beach house attached to that beachcafe on the left. In the distance a cargo ship, probably making its way to Rotterdam, chatches the morning sunlight on its stern. The flags are being gently caressed by the sea breeze. Everything about this scene is an invitation to the seeker of fun and adventure on this stretch of ground, sea and air along the coastline, here in The Lowlands.

Sunny beach scene, North Holland.

"There is nothing ugly; I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, – light, shade, and perpective will always make it beautiful." *

Zonnig strandgezicht,Wijk Aan Zee, NH
oil on canvas
40 x 100 cm
painted on location - Monday 24 May 2010
SOLD



This scene you are viewing can certainly testify to that quote from the famous 19th century English landscape painter. 24 hours of ideal sunny weather is slowly coming to a close. In the distance, a darkening sky filled with warm grey vapourous hues, the ceiling covered by scattering patches of clouds, swiftly making there way inland. Yet that ever welcomed celestial blue sky affords this strech of beach with a warm comforting light. Il pittore, as usuall on location, as clearly demonstrated in the snapshot below, synchronously captures the situation at hand. Just two hours later, the whole beach, sea and sky was completely covered in sea vapour, visibility limited to 35 meters. Characterized by high dunes and beach houses, Wijk Aan Zee, is cherished by Amsterdam city dwellers.


"The sky is the source of light in Nature and it governs everything."
*John Constable

Sea Vapour on South Beach, The Hague

Zuiderstrand met zee damp
oil on canvas
40 x 50 cm
painted on location - Sat 22 May 2010
SOLD

Here I am back on south beach. Went with the intention of working on a large commission piece, but low and behold, the Sun decided to sleep in until about 4pm that afternoon. Thus as the saying goes, "If they throw lemons at you, make lemon juice", hence, I decided to set up my easel anyway. Am glad I did, cause this and another painting were created on that desolate, yet typical beach scene, here in The Lowlands.

detail of the jogger,

Two views of Beach house South, The Hague

Zuidstrandpaviljon, Zuiderstrand, DH
oil on canvas
10 x 15 cm
painted on location - April 2010
SOLD

Two small studies made in preparation for a large commission of this most appeallingly colorfull beach house/cafe on this strech of beach. As you can see, depending on how the light falls on the structure, it takes on varied qualites. It is still early in the season, and thus not too crowded.

"The moving brilliance of the silvery wave"

"De bewegende schittering van de zilveren golf"
oil on canvas
20 x 140 cm
painted on location - Sunday 25 April 2010

SOLD



Back to a theme which inspires me very much these days, The Sea. I'm going to use a quote that speaks most poetically on this subject, by the great French painter, Odilon Redon (1840 - 1916), written July 3rd 1875 (some of you may remember that I already quoted this text back in July 2009);

"You hear it nearby and it attracts you. The sea is here, magnificent, imposing and superb with its obstinate clamor. Imperious and terrible clamor, it makes strange remarks. The voices of the infinite are before you. Nothing of human life.... Here, the immense beach, undefined, of which the edges are mingling with the sea itself, with the day and the light, with the moving brilliance of the silvery wave. Painters, go look at the sea. There you will see the marvels of color and light, the sparkling sky. You will feel the poetry of the sands, the charms of the air, of the imperceptible hue. You will return from there stronger and full of great accents. Poets, go and see this beach. You will have to sing the mystery of infinity. On these shores you will discover intense solitude. Musicians go listen to its harmony. All of you, finally, who are tired of wordly life, all of you who are oppressed by the weight of days, all of you who work unceasingly in the womb of our miseries, all you men of the fields and humble people-go and breathe in the strength and faith of fertile nature, our mother and friend."

Don't know about you, but I get goose bumps on my skin when I read that! And let me tell you, don't I know about those "imperceptible hues" ! The North Sea is loaded with them. Sometimes colors beyond my wildest imagination, confront me and demand of me to formulate hues on my palette that are not even registered in most accepted color charts. Does this challenge me, you bet. But that is precisely why this theme excites the artist in me. And in turn, my only desire is that I may faithfully capture for you, the connoisseur of the fine art of painting, a moment of magic and beauty that takes place on the humble shoreline of the North Sea, here in The Lowlands.

Path in the dunes, Westduinpark, evening sunlight #2

Pad en de duinen, S'avonds licht #2
oil on canvas board
18 x 24 cm
painted on location - Thurs 22 April 2010



Well, thought it would be appropriate to lead you back to South Beach, The Hague, with this all natural path, which is actually an unofficial passage, enjoyed mostly by dogs and their caretakers. Regognized paths are equipped with uninviting barrbed wire fencing, totally unattractive and dangerous, but functional I suppose. Beyond the blazing wild grasses is the entrance to the harbors at Scheveningen, featuring the renowned lighthouses, and the mast of a returning sailing vessel.