Tagged: interior

Part of the Impressionist World Map, showing Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and parts of the Americas

5. April 2024

An Impressionistic Worldmap

Create a fresh and innovative artwork for the “impressionism” collection! That call/suggestion/recommendation I received at the beginning of March in an email from Art Heroes, the platform my webshop is connected to. I like that kind of challenge. And with my collection of world maps in mind, an impressionistic world map was a natural choice. But it wasn’t that easy, creating a map in the style of nineteenth-century French painters. New techniques First of all: what exactly is impressionism? The movement emerged around 1860, when young artists like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro began to experiment… Read More

Detail of a masonry relief with a world map, on which a part of Africa and adjacent oceans is visible

Cartography

7. February 2024

A World Map Made of Bricks

I have used many different materials to create world maps: from rusty steel to toilet paper and from stained glass to coffee beans. But a typical Dutch material was missing until now: brick. Time to fill that gap with a masonry relief. History The use of brick is not a recent phenomenon. The Mesopotamians used it five thousand years ago, as did the Romans a few millennia later. In the Netherlands, brick has been used as a building material since the thirteenth century. It’s not surprising that we have such a tradition of brick in this country. Apart from the… Read More

Wall with 35 ceramic tiles with kaleidoscopic patterns in spring colors

Digital art

1. July 2018

Springtime in Kaleidoscopia: Mandalas and Milky Ways

Half a year ago I wrote about my first visit to Kaleidoscopia. That magic kingdom where ordinary photographs are transformed into colorful abstract patterns. Where leaves, flowers and other natural phenomena turn into geometric artworks. A few weeks ago I returned to Kaleidoscopia. But while I first used photos of fallen leaves and other autumn scenes, I now submitted pictures of blossom, young leaves and similar springtime scenes to my kaleidoscopic Photoshop actions. The result: 35 new kaleidoscopies, collected below on a tiled wall. And if you think it’s a quilt: be my guest. The question is of course: do… Read More

49 multicolored kaleidoscopic patterns like tiles on a wall

Digital art

11. January 2018

Mining beauty in Kaleidoscopia

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a tutorial about creating kaleidoscopic patterns on Digital Photography School. On that same day there was a lecture about symmetry by Robbert Dijkgraaf, director of Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies, on Dutch TV (it’s in Dutch, but very visual, so you may enjoy it even if you don’t understand a word) Can that be a coincidence? Yes, I guess it can. But it sure is remarkable Photoshop To briefly summarize the tutorial: by copying, mirroring and rotating images in Photoshop and by using the Lighten blending mode you can fabricate wonderful symmetrical kaleidoscopic… Read More

Stained glass windows in the front facade of Steiger Church in Rotterdam during Open Monuments Day

Photography

12. September 2017

Open Monuments Day 2017 in Rotterdam: Churches, Shelters and Other Heritage

On 9 and 10 September, doors opened that usually stay closed. It was Nationale Heritage Day, or as we call it in the Netherlands: Open Monuments Day. Although the name is still singular, the event now covers the entire second weekend of September. Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of Rotterdam heritage during those days. But fortunately, the program offers new surprises every year. And sometimes it’s fun to revisit a monument as well. Schielandshuis I had been in the Schielandshuis, the only 17th century building in the city center , when it was still Museum Rotterdam. These days,… Read More

View from outside to a condo, a compact urban luxury appartment for two people and a cat

Design

19. May 2017

Rumah Kecil: a Tiny House Extra Large

Some time ago I took part in a design competition organized by the Sint Trudo housing corporation in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The assignment was to design a condo, a compact apartment in an urban context. To be precise: in Strijp-S, the former Philips area, which is being developed into a vibrant city district. My submission did not win a prize, but I nevertheless want to show it on my blog. The name of my design: Ruma Kecil, which is Indonesian for Tiny House. Luxury The word condo, I suppose, is derived from condominium. It’s frequently used in the United States… Read More

Composition with shards of a red and a gold colored Christmas bauble, sien from a low angle

Photography

5. March 2017

Broken Christmas Baubles: Red, Gold and Silver

Beauty can be found in unexpected places. Even in broken Christmas baubles, left by a sloppy neighbour. Sometimes it just takes a little effort to really see that beauty. Shards It started with a somewhat peculiar action of a fellow inhabitant of my apartment complex (which I recently started referring to as the 3Develop Tower). A few weeks ago this person had used the emergency stairwell to get rid of his or her Christmas tree. A little bit late, indeed; February was well on its way. Dragging Christmas trees around is usually a good way to create a mess. As a… Read More

Interior picture of the basement of the Orange Bridge after adaptation to a hotel suite, with double bed and ship stairs.

Design / Visualisation

30. April 2016

Sleeping in a Bridge Keeper’s Cabin in Schiedam

In Schiedam, at a stone’s throw from my place of birth, is the Orange Bridge. This structure from the thirties spans the New Harbour. Since early this year, the bridge keeper’s cabin is managed by fellow photographer, local resident, architecture lover and Schiedam promoter Jan Sluijter, who uses it to organize exhibitions and other events. Here’s a pre-announcement: on 2 and 3 June there’s an exhibition about the architecture of Dudok, including my Bijenkorf triptych. A suite in the basement Under the bridge keeper’s room is a basement, which is accessible via a ladder in one of the towers of… Read More

Artist impression of a fictional Icelandic cafe, warm and cosy inside, with paintified landscape photo's on the wall, beer on the bar and the Icelandic flag on the tables, and with a snowy landscape outside

Digital art / Visualisation

27. November 2015

Virtual Iceland – Cafe with a View

Iceland, the land of ice and fire, of volcanoes and glaciers, fjords and lakes, hot baths and boiling mud pools. The land of four seasons in one day, where the sun, the wind and the clouds continuously provide a spectacular light show. The land where nature is the boss and where you are sometimes get stuck for a day because a ford is not so fordable for a while. The land on the edge of the world; and perhaps the most beautiful place on the entire planet. I was in Iceland in the summers of 2005 and 2008, the winters… Read More

Artist impression of St.Mary's church in Watford, looking from the west entrance towards the main church hall and the chancel area

Design / Visualisation

28. March 2015

The Refurbishment of St. Mary’s Church in Watford

St Mary’s Church is a beautiful eight hundred year old Anglican church building in Watford, England. The church is built with the characteristic flintstone that you see so often in this region. In early 2015, I spent two weeks in Watford to provide my services in the design of the remodeling of the church hall. Welcome The church is also very beautiful on the inside, but at the same time a bit impractical and not very flexible in use. For years there have been plans to make the church more open, more accessible, more “welcoming”. At the same time, there… Read More