I'm dreaming of A White Christmas

Kerstsfeer in Den Haag,

oil on canvas - 50 x 40 cm

painted on location -  Dec 2010, re worked in studio 22 Dec 2014

SOLD

It was on a postcard perfect winters afternoon, characterised by sounds of  children' s laughter and screams of joy. The crackling of  pure white snow, was to be heard,... yeah, as the young and old  alike moved slowly along, replacing the usual disturbing noise of automobile traffic.  Mothers pulling on sleighs, adults carefully manoeuvring their bicycles on this square, which has been dedicated to one of Hollands most beloved Queens.  Konigin Emma. That my dear readers was what inspired and moved me to find myself on location at the Regentesseplein in The Hague. I have since re-worked the scene on three occasions, finally choosing to remove  the tree featured to the left of the odalisque (as shown below) and replaced it with a not so dominate slanted street sign. It is amazing how this alone has opened up the view.  Also more figures have been added, and the details have been emphasised somewhat. I took the freedom of using my imagination to render this delightful moment in the tradition of  the much loved 19th century Dutch classical painter, Anton Pieck.

The tempestuous winds of the north sea, a cometh

de stormachtige winden van de noordzee, komt
oil on canvas - 30 x 80 cm
painted on location - Tuesday 9 Dec 2014
SOLD

This was the beginning of what we are presently experiencing here on the coast of The Lowlands. Wind gusts are well over Force 8. Even when one is prepared for these hard gales,  in a ship weighting tons of steel, stretching the length of 2 or 3 city blocks, be ready for the wrath of God! The Sea is both creative and destructive.  Just as it ushers Life in to this world, depending on it's mood,  it can usher Life out of this world. This scene depicts the arrival of the storm. Today it would be utterly impossible for me to sit up at the same location, with a canvas this size.  

A Symphony of Color finds Scheveningen # 1

Een symfonie van kleur vindt Scheveningen # 1
oil on canvas - 40 x 120 cm
painted on location - 25 - 11 - 2014 t/m  02 - 12 - 2014
SOLD

When the Dutch landscape is seen through Italian eyes, this is a probable outcome. Seen through my eyes, this is the outcome!  I was reluctant to undertake this project, as that harbour is just a blazing with detail. However once into it, allowing for the brush to do what it does, and for the palette, a generous amount of freedom of expression, I rather enjoyed what was developing. For some i might have gone too far with the details, but ultimately it is my signature that goes on the painting. Thus a balance of what is actually visible, combined with fantasy, makes this view, in my opinion, visually digestible,