Saturday March 10 2007

Meeting Aldo

There are not too many contemporary painters whose works I admire. Aldo Balding (b. 1960) is definitely one of them. I got familiar with his typical style of painting because he is one of the artists connected to my wife's art agency. The progression of his work that I witnessed for a couple of years now, proves he is on the right track.

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Saturday January 20 2007

Small Paintings

When I visited an art fair for figurative art lately I noticed that many gallerists tend to show very large canvasses that are often over two meters wide. I think they use it as a way to attract the attention of the public. If those paintings were well done, there is no problem of course, but often those huge paintings are weak and boring.

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Wednesday November 22 2006

Frame maker (2)

It is one week before the private view of my solo exhibition and I still had not heard anything from the frame maker, so I made a phone call to ask about the progress of their job. I could not believe my ears when I heard they were waiting for a delivery of profiles from Italy expected to arrive on the 29th, the day the private view is supposed to begin. I knew the invitations already went out, so there was no way the event could be postponed. I decided to go there right away to see if we could find some sort of solution. For instance to see if a temporary fixation could be made so the paintings could hang without any frames. Not a very nice prospect but better than nothing. While we were discussing these kind of things the boss came in to tell he had called Italy to have the frames send by some sort of express service and if this worked there was a chance to get everything ready on tuesday. This would leave the gallery only one night to hang the paintings and make the pricelists and everything. Knowing the people from the gallery are not going to like this, I thought it be wise to go there to explain the situation. So I did and I was glad they did not get completely mad. Of course I offered my assistence with the preparations in the gallery.
Now I am still too upset and worried and I can't sleep. What a mess!

Friday November 3 2006

Frame maker

After having photographed the whole bunch of recent paintings, a job that took two working days, I took them to frame maker Krützmann for choosing frames. I have worked with them for many years already and they know my fancy taste. Of course I could not resist the temptation of selecting several expensive hand colored frames. Often when I see exhibitions of colleague artists I envy them for having the courage to show their canvasses in cheap simple frames or even with no frames at all. I could never do so. Also my wooden panels simply need frames, otherwise they could not be hanged properly. All this leaves me with the problem paying the frame maker's bill from the exhibition revenues. And when I do not sell the painting then I get stuck with the problem of finding a place to store the painting safely with its expensive and vulnerable frame. These kind of worries often make me lay awake at night on the eve of a big solo exhibition.

Sunday October 22 2006

Painting The Nude

Yesterday Saskia and me returned from London where we attended the opening of the exhibition 'Painting the Nude' at The Chambers Gallery, a relatively small Gallery near Barbican station. As we arrived the Gallery was fairly crowded with people.

overview of the gallery

The curator, Mrs. Beatrice Howell, has managed to create an interesting show out of a large number of very divers art works that covered the walls up to the ceiling in the manner of the 19th century French Salons.

Me wearing my 'Rembrandt béret' standing in front of some of my paintings.

The next two days we spend sightseeing the city.

saskia in front of the Big Ben

We visited the National Gallery as well as the National Portrait Gallery. Besides admiring many masterpieces I was happy to discover some unfinished paintings. I love studying those since they provide an interesting insight in the way the old masters used to work.

unfinished portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence

Thursday June 15 2006

The portraits of Laurens and Anne were a big success. Their father, who was worried sometime ago about his children not looking happy enough, admitted that he was happy because I depicted them as I saw them.
The Open Studios brought huge crowds of people into my atelier. I got many compliments but nothing was sold.
I decided to repaint a canvas of Nieuwe Vaart that I made in 2004, because it lacked crispness and light. I scraped off the old paint and made a start with an overall retouch. The sky, the horizon and the trees are done now and it looks much better.
I stopped with painting because I need to make preparations for a trip to France.

Monday May 29 2006

For several days now I am working on the skin part of Eric's portrait. With half-transparant layers, working from dark to light, the head is getting its shape in tones and colors. It is amazing how much the colorful shirt reflects on the skin. Next time I will insist the sitter wears something simple. I try to avoid applying the highlights and strong accents too early. These have to be the final touches. It is also very important to keep in mind that every detail is part of a whole. If you don't, all kinds of unwanted deformations can occur and making corrections can be very boring.

Monday May 22 2006

I made a start with the portrait of Eric. The checkered shirt he is wearing won't make things very easy. Mrs. C is getting worried about her commissioned portrait and Mrs. vdB seems also impatient. This is really a problem. For most people it seems hard to understand that painting a portrait is a process that takes a considerable amount of time.
Last Friday I was at the frame maker to have seven paintings framed. I also went by Gallery Vieleers to see the new show.

Tuesday April 25 2006

I finished the portraits of Laurens and Anne. Both were very elaborate projects. I hope their father will be happy with the result.

Saturday April 15 2006l

Last week I created a nice small painting of Rembrandtplein square at night. The two portraits of the children vdH that I have been working on for such a long time are almost finished. I still don't understand why it took me so long.
Yesterday we have visited the Holland Art Fair in The Hague. None of my paintings had been sold yet. Leo told me that John Sillevis, the conservator of the Gemeentemuseum, made some nice remarks about them.

Thursday March 30 2006

Sometimes the proces of painting is full of fortunate accidents. Like the painting is creating itself. But the "Woman cycling along a canal" is a painting where I had to fight hard to conquer each square centimeter. Maybe it is because there is a lot of distraction caused by my involvement with the organisation of the annual Open Studio manifestation. It is too much and I made a decision to avoid this kind of distraction in the future.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with Mrs P, an American lady who runs an art agency that provides art on cruise ships.

Monday March 20 2006

In Paris I had a very good time. Apart from the Bonnard exhibition, that was quite impressive, I was able to see an interesting exhibition about Ingres at the Louvre. The only disadvantage was that I got a cold which was no fun in the freezing temperature. I stayed at VP's and I took photographs of 4 paintings in her collection.

Sunday March 12 2006

Except for some final touches "Woman Cycling along a Canal" is finished. I feel insecure about the result and I wonder if it was worth all the work. It took me more than one month.
Today I will travel to Paris where I will spend some days with MLV. I want to visit the Bonnard exhibition.

Wednesday March 1 2006

The painting is near its final stage of applying the neccesary details. I never expected the subject to be as complex as it appears to be.
"River Amstel by Night" has been sold to an enthousiastic art lover from The Hague. To avoid too much pressure, I decided not to sell anymore paintings before the exhibition in October. I have to work hard to build a strong collection by that time. And of course I also need to finish a number of portrait commissions. Last sunday I made photos for the portrait of a boy. It was not easy to make him feel at ease.

Monday February 20 2006

Last few days I worked for a couple of hours on "Woman Cycling along a Canal". The painting is about patches of sunlight shattering a scene of everyday life in the city, about the atmosphere of a canal on a hot summer day. I try to avoid painstakingly precision as much as possible in favor of a lively treatment of the subject.
MLV suggested we could visit the Documenta 12 in Kassel next year. I am not too enthusiastic about these kind of sophisticated art shows. I don't expect to see anything there that really touches me.

Thursday February 16 2006

For many hours I worked on the new painting and it is beginning to look like something. The subject being very complex it is a hard job to get the balance right and keep enough freshness in the brushstrokes.

Wednesday February 15 2006

I had to replace a halogen lamp for the studio lights. I tried every possibility, but without success. The lamp has to be ordered. Very annoying because the photo session on Sunday probably has to be postponed.
I worked on the new painting. I am halfway with the first layers.
I received a message from a girl of 14 years old, who is an admirer of my paintings. It is nice to learn that the new generation recognizes a certain quality in my work.

Tuesday February 14 2006

Last week I did not make much progress with the new painting. Much distraction of various kinds. Friday I made some good photos in an old cafe. I am not sure if I am going to use them for a painting. Saturday we drove to The Hague to attend the farewell exhibition of Adolfo Ramón at LvH's. Last night I sorted out recent photos and made some corrections in Photoshop. It took me many hours so I woke up late. Today I searched my archive to look for diapositives I could use for the exhibition in Luanda. I found three that I brought to the photografer to have them scanned and transformed into digital files.

Tuesday February 7 2006

I have stretched a new medium size canvas intended for a painting of a woman on a bicycle and applied the first two layers of primer. In between I answered a couple of requests for prices. A certain Mr. H seems to be interested in "Café Brandon".

Monday February 6 2006

I send LvH photos and information on the paintings that are available for the art fair.

Saturday February 4 2006

Today I finished 'Eminönü Ferry Dock'. The painting is about the atmosphere of an Istanbul morning. It was not easy to get things right. I had to work till 2 at night and was tired but happy with the result: a charming "alla prima" painting.

Friday February 3 2006

LvH called about the HAF art fair at easter. I agreed on taking part with 3 paintings. I had to send him photos and information about the works that are available.
I recieved a message from MLV from Luanda. He came up with an idea of having an exhibition of my work there in cooperation with the Dutch embassy. I think it would be quite extraordinairy to have a show in Africa.

Thursday February 2 2006

Today I decided to pay my brother B a visit, because I received an alarming phone call. Fortunately he was in a good mood, but very disturbed though. He never stopped talking until I left. After a few hours of listening to his fantastic stories that were all weird mixtures of fantasy and reality, I was exhausted. I was not surprised to learn that his wife had left him. After she left he had grown a long beard and his hair reached his shoulders. The table was full of empty beer cans and he showed me his garden where had had made a primitive fire place to cook his food in the open air. In the hall and the bedroom were huge piles of dead wood he had gathered.

Wednesday February 1 2006

In fact it was an ideal weather condition for making photos at Herengracht for F's portrait. Nevertheless I decided not to. There were too many photos waiting for working up. At Foto Nivo I bought a handy reflection screen. The trees were all covered with hoar-frost, beautiful!

Tuesday January 31 2006

After a good breakfast I drove to Vierhavenstraat to say goodbye to J's old workshop. With one of his colleagues I went to the new working space at Elsertstraat. In the afternoon I delivered the two paintings at vdM in Berkel en Rodenrijs. He was very happy and content with the frame. He paid the amount in cash. I wonder why. The rest of the beautiful afternoon I spend with Paco in Kralingse Bos, where, although there was still ice on the water, I could feel the first glimpse of Spring in the air. J prepared Brussels sprouts with apple-sauce for diner. The drive back home was beautiful but tiring due to the fog.

Monday January 30 2006

I went by the frame maker to collect vdM's painting. Back in the studio I took it out of the frame and photographed it together with 6 other paintings With these photos I updated the website. In the evening I took Paco and drove to Rotterdam to visit my cousin J and stayed the night there.

Friday January 27 2006

I could make some progress with L's portrait. The eyes, nose and ear are all right. Hair and sweater still need some touches. I went by Foto Nivo for a new filter and a spare battery for the camera.

Thursday January 26 2006

I sorted out the photos and placed them on the web. This is always a time consuming job. The rest of the day I did some administration and answered mail.

Wednesday January 25 2006

Today I drove to Nijmegen to make photographs of a boy. There was a glazed frost, so the road was long and tiring. The session was pleasant. The boy N was cooperative but still somewhat nervous. After the session I took Paco for a stroll along the river Waal. I damaged the UV-filter of the lens, but the lens itself survived.