Five minutes after checking in to the hotel in Copenhagen, I was snapping this pic of the Nyhavn – a 17th-century waterfront and an iconic part of the city. The northern side of Nyhavn is lined by brightly colored townhouses built with wood, bricks, and plaster. The oldest house dates from 1681 which instantly blew my mind.
My Grandfather immigrated to America from the Netherlands in the 1920s. He passed away before I was born so I never had the chance to meet him but always wanted to see his home town. I heard it was a beautiful city full of kind people, amazing art, and delicious food – it did not disappoint. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to paint the streets he walked on, explore the neighborhoods he enjoyed, breathe the same air, and return home with the ultimate memento.
I laid out all of the supplies, dusted it off with a towel, and started to think about colors. I looked down the path towards the street and took notice of the buildings just outside the park. There was a cafe on the corner of tan brick, maroon stone trim, and a teal sign with gold lettering – the palette was right in front of me!
Barcelona is full of beautiful antique and ornate pieces of street iron – actually, there is art all over the place. Besides architecture, murals, and sculptures I only dreamed of seeing before that, the city is famous for the floor tiles laid into sidewalks, streets, and alleys. I love the concept and of course, appreciate …
With under a week left to create a Grand Rapids print for ArtPrize, I sketched up a thumbnail and we made a plan. Over the next five days, I painted, printed, and preserved eight pieces of historic utility covers creating one large layered print from seven different covers. This is the first design I saw …