Pictures at an Exhibition
Dear Doreen, It is a sunny day in February, so it seems a good moment to write to you about my solo-exhibitions of last year. These took quite a bit of preparatory work. Flyers, adverts, posters and last but not least, a lot of framing and then hanging them. Robert did all of that for […]
History of the Netherlands, AD 1652
The leather-bound book in this painting is “Historien der Nederlanden”, published in Amsterdam in the year 1652, having been written by Emanuel van Meteren in 1611. This is not just a history book, the book itself is history, and merely holding it is not only a physical exercise, but also a great delight. “History of […]
Craftsmanship
The shape and form of objects are important. An earthenware jug, for instance, is not merely a container made to hold liquid, it is also a particular form. An object has beauty when its shape has been made by a craftsperson who had the intention of making it beautiful in addition to making it functional.
Brushwork
Many of today’s still life painters (especially so in the Netherlands) have specialised in producing works of amazingly detailed realism. Although I admire many of them, for my own style of brushwork I have chosen to take inspiration from artists such as Fantin-Latour and Chardin, and so I aim to paint with a slightly more […]
Composition
Artists learn from each other but this does not mean that we copy each other. This is especially true with regards to composition. My own still life paintings are original compositions, but I admit, it is hard work to get it right. In other words, it’s easy to get it wrong.
Restoring a Monk
A couple of years ago I met an elderly lady who had made an interesting discovery, many years ago. When her family was allowed to return to their chateau, they found, among the stuff which occupying military personnel had left in the basement, this old painting of a monk. No-one knew where it had come […]
Osnabrücker Taufkrug
The town of Osnabrück is not usually associated with fine silverware. Nevertheless, it does have a heritage: in the 17th century there was one family of artisans that practised the craft of silversmith, producing articles that didn’t look out of place on the dining table of the bishop. The object on this painting – a […]
Vincent’s Letters
During his lifetime, Vincent van Gogh wrote a great many letters, mostly addressed to his brother Theo. Fortunately for us many of these letters were kept, and in 1914 Theo’s wife published them for the first time. This painting is of that three volume original publication. The year 2009 saw the publication of an impressive […]
Kitchen Utensils
Copper and bronze are always a challenge. The finest painter of copper, I think, was the Frenchman Chardin, whose paintings are really symphonies of atmosphere and detail. Here are some of my own, rather early works. The mortar and pestle is my first painting of an item in bronze; the painting of the four measures […]