Dutch Windmill Paintings

My final landscape paintings in the Holland painting series (for now anyway) are painted with two entirely different moods. In the watercolor painting above I bathe the scene in the warm glow of sunset's evening light. In Holland the skies are big, because the country is wide and flat. When it is moist and rainy, distant views fade quickly into a gray haze, but after the rain skies are clear and the sunsets are grand. This painting is based loosely on the windmill at Sint Maartensdijk in Zeeland, although I took ample license with the elements in order to create the drama I was looking for. Click to learn more about this painting



This painting above called "Holland Reflections" includes typical Dutch symbols such as windmills, thatched roofs, flatbottomed boat, and water. the mood is different, as I seek to capture the bright colors and airy skies in the water reflections. The painting was inspired by a visit we made to the wonderful Openluchtmuseum in Arnhem. Click to learn more about this painting

Click to see all my paintings from the Netherlands

Click to see all my travel sketchbook drawings from Holland

Giethoorn Canal Boat Painting

These narrow canals connect the residents of Giethoorn Holland to the rest of the world. The only transportation they have is via their little canal boats. Instead of garages they have boat houses. Small footbridges crossing the canals are high enough for the boats to go under, but they have to take the mast down first!

More information about this painting of Canal in Giethoorn Netherlands

Click to see all my paintings from the Netherlands

Click to see all my travel sketchbook drawings of Holland.

Painting of Windmill in Edam Netherlands

After visiting the historic seaport town of Volendam north of Amsterdam, we continued on and stopped at Edam, where we fell in love with this little windmill alongside a canal. Most of the windmills in Holland are no longer functioning, and it appeared that this one had been turned into a home with bright red shutters and trim.

This close-up shows the painting procedure I use on most of my paintings. I begin with a light 2H pencil sketch on the watercolor paper, then use a combination of wet-into-wet and drybrush as I build up the values from light to dark. Notice how I leave the white of the paper where the highlights will be in the finished painting.

More information about this painting of Dutch windmill in Edam Holland

Click to see all my paintings from the Netherlands

Click to see all my travel sketchbook drawings from Holland

Sketchbook Drawings of Holland

Here are a few more sketchbook drawings from the travel sketchbook I kept in the Netherlands. These drawings are from the Overijssel province near the town of Holten.

We stayed a week at the Landal Twenhaarsveld family park near the little town of Holten in Overijssel Netherlands. The little cottages were very nice and the amenities were great. Some of the cottages even had the typical thatched roofs.

But what I liked best was hiking each morning out in the farms and along the country roads. Even in the country the homes are well-kept, with lovely gardens and thatched roofs.

The Eigenweg is a little lane that runs behind Landal near Holten. This is a sketch of one of the farmhouses with a typical high-pitched tile roof and Dutch gable. Most of the Dutch tile roofs are dark brown rather than red.

Click to see all my paintings from the Netherlands

Click to see all my travel sketchbook drawings from Holland