Tuesday 20 October 2015

Race of The Classics, View off South Beach, The Hague

Race of The Classics, Gezicht vanaf Zuiderstrand, DH
oil on canvas, 30 x 150 cm
painted on location, Friday 16 October 2015
SOLD

 As if I was lead there by some unseen force, it was my destiny to be at the right place at the right time, to immortalise this very rare view, off the coast of Scheveningen, Holland.  I was not planning to be painting that morning, Actually I went to collect my parasol, at the beach, and low and behold, this happening was just getting started, they were still leaving the harbour.  I immediately ran back to my car, drove as quickly as possible to my studio, grabbed my gear and was back on location. I couldn't believe my eyes, there must have been what seemed like 30 or more of these babies, circling, manoeuvring in all directions.  Everybody on the beach was mesmerised, all making films on their mobiles. I'm pretty sure I was the only painter making a painting, and that my dear friends is what makes this work truly unique. Does anybody know someone who works for archival department, city of The Hague, am sure they would be interested!

Thursday 15 October 2015

View of Scheveningen from Wassenaarseslag

Gezicht op Scheveningen vanaf Wassenaarseslag,
oil on canvas - 20 x 50 cm
painted on location - Fri 7 Aug 2015
SOLD

For some reason I didn't post this work back in August. This is actually the study I did for a 80 x 200 cm commission. Characterised by high dunes and a wide beach this is one of the most natural sections of our coastline here in Holland. A stretch of beach and dunes that is frequently used by hikers and bicycle enthusiasts.

Thursday 1 October 2015

Indian Summer visits Zuiderstrand 3x


Mooi na zomers ochtend
oil on canvas - 30 x 150 cm
painted on location - Mon 21 Sept 2015
SOLD

The morning that this was painted it was actually quite cold, yet due to hardly any wind force, it was possible for me to set up and work.  For many it invites one to want to check out this beach, we have here in The Hague. In fact I feel I am doing the Gemeente Den Haag a great service. Surely I must be getting people excited about coming to the coast and going for a walk, or just chilling out on this stretch of Earth.



Zuiderstrand met wind en wolken
oil on canvas - 60 x 80 cm
painted on location - Mon 28 Sept. 2015
SOLD

Well, not too many days left for me to offer such breath taking scenery for the searcher of Beauty and Space. As in Holland "Space", has become a luxurious commodity, afforded to the wealthy, and in some cases, even the wealthy find it hard to come by. A small overcrowded country it is, our beloved flat land, with beautiful skies, and lovely flowers.  This country also has the capacity to breed genuine people, past and present. In fact featured in this painting is one of the present day "genuine"persons. His name is Theo Janssen, and you can clearly see him hunched over one of his so called, "strandbeesten", (literally translates to "beach beast").  His days are also numbered here on South Beach for this season, as his beach studio will be folding up and along with all the other buildings on the beach, will be closing down for the winter. 



Zuiderstrand, The Big Picture
oil on canvas - 60 x 120 cm
painted on location - Wed 30 Sept 2015
SOLD

This is the first time I made a painting from this vantage point. Before you is the stretch of beach were people like to let it all hang out, "the nude beach". In fact if you zoom in on that person laying next to the wind screen, you will see he is wearing nothing but a hat! It was not so crowded most people were hanging out at the beach cafe. The sky is what crabbed me the most, and inspired me to give my best shoot at this view. A rather windy day, as you can see by the beach surface and the clouds, and believe you me, by the end of this plein-air session I was exhausted!