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

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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

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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

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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.

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Click to see all my travel sketchbook drawings from Holland

How a Dutch Windmill Works

8" x 12" Watercolor painting of Dutch Windmill by Roland Lee. This big Stellingmolen at the Open Lucht Museum in Arnhem Netherlands has its sails trimmed and operating. I had a chance to study this molen up close and see them demonstrate putting the canvas sails on and taking them off.

Click here for more information about this painting of Stellingmolen in Holland

HOW DOES A WINDMILL WORK?

Admittedly, this is from someone who isn't really qualified to speak on the subject, but in general this is how the windmill (molen) works. The four-bladed Sails (sometimes called wings by the locals) are angled so they catch the wind, operating a gear mechanism inside the cap which turns a vertical shaft. This shaft is harnessed to huge grinding stones for milling grain. The windmills were also often used in Holland to operate an Archimedes Screw for pumping water. Although used since the 12th century, today most windmills in Holland are static and kept only for historical purposes.

We were fortunate to have a private tour of De Volharding windmill in Zeddam Holland, owned by Remco Harmsen and Mara Waszkiewicz. It is fascinating to see the inner workings with the huge mechanisms and multi-ton millstones. Remco took me up a narrow ladder into the cap to see huge wooden-tooth gears. I was surprised that it only took a slight wind to turn them and they were so smooth and quiet--No creaking or groaning as I expected. One day Remco hopes to have the windmill completely restored and operating on a regular basis. We were lucky to happen on this one while it was in motion, as most are not.


The wooden lattice structures you see on the sails in paintings and photos are actually just the supports. In order to actually catch the wind, the miller must stretch canvas over the latticework and "trim" up the sails to best capture the wind power. This is done by braking the sails and rigging them up (or down) one sail at a time. It's fun to watch the process, and see the big wings in motion.

Click to see all my paintings from the Netherlands

Click to see all my travel sketchbook drawings from Holland

Paintings of Dutch Windmills

I've spent the last two weeks working on some new paintings of Windmills in Holland. I started with small watercolor studies of some of my favorite windmills we visited in the Netherlands and I'm now working on a couple of big watercolor landscape paintings of Holland.

This painting is of a windmill in Sint Maartensdijk on the island of Tholen in Zeeland. I visited this windmill a couple of times to get some photos and sketchbook reference. All the windmills were bigger than I expected and the big wings are really something to see when they start turning. The lattice work that you see on most photos of windmills actually supports the canvas sails which are stretched out across them to catch the wind. Without the sails the wings won't turn.

click here for more information on painting of St. Maartensdijk Dutch Windmill

Traditional Dutch Clothing and Dutch Girl Hats

Jodi and Zach dress up Dutch right down to the traditional wooden shoes.

While we were in the Netherlands Nellie and her sisters collected a few Dutch girl caps, aprons, and other Dutch regalia in preparation for a planned "Dutch Girl Camp" for all the cousins and granddaughters. So on Saturday our home was inundated with blond-headed girls in full Dutch costumes including authentic wooden shoes. They made traditional Dutch goodies, Dutch crafts, and ended up with a photo shoot. By the way, Nellie painted the wooden Dutch Windmill in the photos to match the Molen in Tholen Zeeland Netherlands where many of her ancestors lived.

Jennie, Ellie, Emma, and Josh all decked out in Dutch regalia.

Jolynn, Alyssa, and Hannah standing by an authentic replica of the "Tholen" Windmill in Zeeland.

Barb and Kelsey look grand in their Dutch girl clothing.

Typical Facades and Gables in Dutch Architecture

This building near the center of Tholen features a typical, yet elaborate gable front. Most of the buildings are very narrow, with two or three stories above. The street levels can either be homes or storefronts even in the same part of town. Always the windows are dressed with lace curtains and potted flowers inside the home. Every home without exception is immaculate and "home show perfect."

This style of store front facade was very typical of almost all Dutch cities. The date of original construction is proudly posted on the top of many of them dating back many hundreds of years. It is fun to walk down any city street in the Netherlands and just look at the building architectural features, noting the dates.

As I noted before, brick is extensively used in all construction in the Netherlands. Many fronts had little wings that jutted out where the face met the roofline. Often, the bricks were set at an angle along the diagonal rooflines as well. The brick masons were certainly skilled in their work and must have been competing for awards in design uniqueness.

Studies for Paintings of Churches in Holland

The tower of The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Our Lady's Church) dominates the town of Tholen. It was built in 1375 while construction of the nave, aisles, the choir and the transept began in 1400. In 1578 it became a Protestant church and remains so today.

OF COURSEevery town in Holland has at least one major church building dating back centuries, but some towns have everal churches. Since Holland is relatively flat, the Church steeples always stand out in the skyline and (along with the windmills) help identify when you are approaching a town. In many cases the old church (Oudekerk) is the actual center or centrum of the city, with streets readiating out from there. The drawings here were done in the town of Tholen Netherlands where we lived for a week.

I decided to make a study of the ornate windows on the Oudekerk in Tholen and had barely begun when the rain started to fall as it does often in Holland. I ducked under a tree and continued sketching, but eventually couldn't keep the water off the paper so I called a halt.
This is the new church located on the town market square. One morning while walking I stopped to relax on a bench in the square and this stately building beckoned me to sketch it. As I worked, a number of kids and adults on their way to work and school stopped to take a look.

View all Holland Travel Sketchbook Drawings by Roland Lee

Sailboats in Volendam Holland

A few more pictures of my sketchbook drawings from Volendam Holland. These three drawings were done around the little bay in Volendam, north of Amsterdam Holland. Take a look at all my travel sketchbook drawings from holland on my Roland Lee Art Gallery website.

A variety of boats steadily came in and out of the little harbor at Volendam. From across the bay a string of store facades formed a nice backdrop to the scene. I sketched this scene from a small jetty that separated the little harbor from the bigger sea of Markemeer.

When we arrived at the bay in Volendam this big typical Holland sailboat was moving slowly out of the harbor. The mist was still on the water and the effect was almost ethereal.


What impressed me most was how the sailors could maneuver their boats into any available spot at the docks. Holland is famous for their seamanship skills and I got to see evidence of their skills firsthand all over Holland. these people love their boats.