Misty Beach Scene

oil on canvas
16" x 20" - 40 x 50cm
painted on location - Thurs 22 March 2012

donated to charity  (€450)

A little off my beat and track, but always a pleasure to paint at this location. Not yet fully operative, this beach house cafe has set op some windbreakers to accomodate the sunbathers. In the distance you can vaguely see the hotels on the boulevard at Noordwijk Aan Zee. BTW - those are not black pirate flags you see on those masts, but rather the colors and symbol of one of Hollands finest brews, Hertog Jan. A close up for your viewing pleasure.

Magic of Delft

oil on canvas
9.5" x 12" - 24 x 30 cm
painted on location - Sat 24 Sept 2011

$ 175

While paying a visit to a gallery owner that represents some of my work, (located next to that red building on the right). I couldn't resist making this little scene of the situation at hand. A very playful treatment of brush and paint on a canvas that already had a light burgundy reddish tint, thus you see that coming through, especially on the lower left and bottom of canvas.

Sailing in the Spring Mist

View of the Sea from South Beach, NL
oil on wood panel
4" x 6" - 10 x 15cm
painted on location - Sun 25 March 2012

SOLD

Sping is in the air, and one can literally see it in this little oil study made just the other day. The air warms up as the Sun showers us with heat, however the water still rather cold, thus mist forms, adding a mystical look to the whole scenario.

Beach Club House South, South Beach, DH

Zuidstrandpaviljon, Zuiderstrand, DH
oil on canvas
4" x 6" - (10 x 15 cm)
painted on location - April 2010
SOLD

A small study oil painting made of this most appeallingly colorfull beach house/cafe on this strech of beach, here in Holland. 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.

View of Cathedral tower, Delft, Holland

Autumn day Oosteinde, Delft
oil on canvas
16" x 12" - (40 x 30 cm
painted on location - Thursday 14 October 2010

$ 125

One of my favorite canal scenes in Delft. This time with an accent of autumn colors, makes this view a delight to paint. All those yellow/greenish hues work well with the warm colors of the houses and wall of the canal. Not too obvious is that mother and child walking in front of that pink house on the left, thus the detail below.

Vintage Drawbridge, Weesp, Holland

Vintage draw bridge, Weesp
oil on canvas
20" x 27.5" - (50 x 70cm)
painted on location _ Sat 11 Sept 2010 SOLD


In 1888, 122 years ago, the most well known Dutch person ever to walk this earth, Vincent Van Gogh, made at least 3 oil paintings of , The Langlois Bridge, in Arles, France.. Similar in design to the bridge I painted, but certainly less flashy. Let's face it ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to building bridges, you simply cannot beat the Dutch! I'm positive the Dutch Master was filled with nostalgia upon seeing that bridge, in the sunny light of the Midi. Me I found this draw bridge, here in this otherwise boring village, nestled just under Amsterdam, the most interesting subject to paint, on a one day plein-air painters festival. What struck me the most was the sunlight bouncing off the structure, and the situation of the boats anchored near the bridge.

Market Scene, Grote Markt , Nijmgen

Archway to St. Stevens Church
oil on wood panel
5" x 9"
painted on location - Mon 19 March 2012 SOLD


If those silly pilots in WWII, didn't bomb the hell out of Nijmegen, (by mistake), I'm sure it would have been right up there with Amsterdam, as far as aesthetic beauty is concerned! And I'm almost positive the Romans had something to do with that lovely layout of this city, set on a hillside, overlooking one of Holland's busiest rivers. I will be painting every now and then in this delightful city as my sweetheart lives in the area.

Sailboats, Harbor Scheveningin

Oil on canvas
7" x 5" (18 x 13cm)
painted on location SOLD


A view of one of Hollands most popular Inner Harbors.

Passage along the Adige, Verona, It.

watercolor on paper
5" x 6" - 12 x 15cm
created - 6 Dec 2012


SOLD

It was early on a Sunday morning, back in the Fall of 1985 when I set up my easel and made an oil painting of this scene. That painting is now somewhere in a private collection in Messina, Sicily. From a photo I was inspired to make a copy, but then in watercolor.

In love at Kijkduin, Holland

oil on canvas
20" x 59"
painted on location and in studio - Dec 2011 - March 2012

Private collection Amersfort, Netherlands

Here you have the final version of this commission piece. Was quiet the challenge working on it thru the winter and yet giving it this spring like atmosphere. They don't call us painters masters of illusions for nothing! This painting will be hanging in the home of that couple walking on the path. The play of light really helped in defining the space, and both the shoreline and the boulevard on the right lead the viewers eye to a distant location somewhere beyond the concrete jungle of Scheveningen.

The Yellow Bridge

Yellow bridge, Valkenburg, Holland
oil on wooden panel
4" x 6" (10 x 15cm)
painted on location - Sun 11 March 2012

Donated

A most picturesque village in Limburg located just minutes away from Maastricht. For those of you who are familiar with the geography of Limburg, you know why that bridge is yellow. For the rest of us, including me, found out that that colored stone has been mined out of the ground in and around the village of Valkenburg since the a very long time ago.

St. John's Cathedral, Cefalu, Sicily

with afternoon ligh effect
Oil on canvas
12" x 16"
painted on location during my Sicilian painting trip.

$ 250

Cefalu is reknowned for its monuments, and this is probably the most famous example. Built by The Normans(1016 - 1194), one of the most ancient Cathedrals of this period, it still retains its natural beauty, mainly due to the fascinating color of the yellow ochre stones, which are found in abundace on this Island. As I started to paint this scene, the light was so intense on the facade of the structure, I was at once troubled with the thought of, "how the hell am I going to get that vibrancy on my canvas?"..., it eventually got softer and for certain moments, the stones seemed to glitter a most unusual golden light, wonderfully magical, to say the least. One does not even need to enter this place of worship, in order to have a spiritual transcendent experience, at least not in my case. The Statue of St. John(appropriately a Norman Saint) is the one featured on the far right.

Il Duomo di Catania, Sicily

St. Agatha's, The Cathedral of Catania, Sicily
oil on canvas board
9.5" x 12" - 24 x 30 cm
painted on location - Thurs 8 Oct 2009

$ 125

On Sicily’s east coast, Catania has been the prize of a stream of empires over the centuries, from Greeks to Romans to Arabs to Normans to Spaniards, to name just a few. But more devastating than invaders has been the city’s geography: It lies at the foot of Mount Etna, Europe’s largest and most active volcano, which completely destroyed the city with earthquakes and lava flows in 1693. Afterward, it was rebuilt in the baroque style (with creative use of lava) for which it’s today famous. It is also known as, "the black city". This is due to the fact that the streets/sidewalks and many of the monumental buildings were made of the readily available lava stone, which of course is black. The Piazza Del Duomo is a World Hertiage Monument, thus it is protected. But of course Mount Etna has its own rules, and when she decides, nobody can stop her! Thus because of this city, Horace, the Greek Philosoper was inspired to write the saying, Carpe Diem . Which translates to, seize the day , (trusting as little as possible in the future.)

Rialto Bridge, Venice

A bridge with a view
oil on canvas mounted on board
7" x 9.5" - (18 x 24 cm)
painted in 2007, cropped and re-worked in studio March 2012

$75

A delightful city to paint in indeed. This painting was originally larger, however after re examining it, I decided to crop it down and adjust some color tones. A friendly price for a happy painting.

Bay scene, Cefalu, Sicily

Charming ancient houses along the Bay, Cefalu
oil on canvas
9.5" x 7" - 24 x 18cm
painted on location - Monday 5 Oct 2009

$ 125

The Sunlight is just starting to make its access on the slowly awaking village. Il pittore is out there, capturing that soft golden light in time to render its magical affect on the scene at hand. As the English painter, John Constable once said, "Light governs everything." He couldn't be more right, especially on this Island. A slight reflection on the turquoise/greenish salty water, harmonizes carefully with the yellow/greenish forests being lit up on the gentle mountain slopes, behind the village.

Olive pickers, Abruzzo, Italy

Olive pickers, San Vincenzo Vecchio, Abruzzo,
oil on canvas
8" x 8" - 20 x 20cm
painted on location - Fri 18 Nov 2011
SOLD

One of four paintings made on my recent sojourn to visit family, paint in this lush natural environment and help out with the olive harvest. Here you have featured three workers, two on the tree, and the third on the ground with only his legs visible. A traditional method of raking(yellow objects held in hand) the olives off the branches is employed, this results in no damage to the olive, thus a better quality olive oil! The olives fall onto the emarld green net which is spread generously under the tree. They are then gathered, by hand, and placed into heavy linen sacks, which are then taken for further sortation. The rest of the trees in the valley are in full autumn colors, thus the hints of warm hues in the background.