pakjekunst
 

Pakjekunst

Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in PakjeKunst, a project where small artworks are sold via old cigarette vending machines across the Netherlands.

These machines, found in locations ranging from festivals to hospitals, dispense a tiny art piece for just two two-euro coins. I’ve created a series of miniature paintings, each 8.5x5.5 cm, inspired by various landscapes around Friesland. From the dramatic skies over Heerenveen to the rainy horizons at the Woudagemaal, these pieces capture the beauty of Dutch scenery, often focusing on unique lighting and atmospheric perspectives. This journey has also been a personal exploration, experimenting with color and form in a small format, offering me the chance to try new techniques without much risk.



 


 

Preparing

In this first video I checked out the Doas (art studios) to make sure my panels fit in the box and visited the studio of Reina Visser, the Pakjekunst representative in Leeuwarden. She showed me some small artworks.

In the second half of this video you see a booth at an market in Hattem, where Pakjekunst (Zwolle branch) participated as well.






 


 

Salut au Monde

A while ago, I bought a book from an antiquarian about an exhibition at the Fries Museum called 'Salut au Monde', which was about painters working in Friesland.

When I opened the book, I found a newspaper clipping with an article and a map inside. On the map, all the beautiful spots where the paintings from the exhibition were created were marked.

I thought it would be super fun to follow this route and make small paintings at those spots. That's the idea for a new series for PakjeKunst.






 


 

This piece was painted in a field near Heerenveen. 8.5x5.5cm oil on dibond






 


 

First stop on the route, a view over Tjeukemeer. This wasn't on the map, but the sky was so stunning! I had to stop at the first available parking spot to take a photo.






 


 

Lemmer: Painting with a palette knife, at home, from a photo. A camera always makes shadows dark. Dramatic skies.






 


 

At the Woudagemaal, it suddenly started hailing heavily. Rain might not be fun for tourists, but it sure makes for beautiful pictures.

I find the horizon especially beautiful when it's raining. It pushes everything far into the distance, enhancing the effect of atmospheric perspective: everything in the distance becomes gray, light, and faint.

Paintings by artists like Breitner show that some painters actually preferred working in the rain. In summer, when the sun is bright, colors can appear washed out. But in the rain, the colors really stand out.

I was lucky to have such stunning skies these past days, and I’ve made a few small paintings from the photos, focusing mainly on a study of clouds.






 


 

Behind the house of someone who lives with a lot of luck, I found a spot with a beautiful view over the sea because it's slightly elevated.

Everyone has heard of the beach at Lemmer, but the Oudemirdumer Klif? It's only an hour's drive for me, yet I had never been there before.

I read online: 'Along the IJsselmeer coast in Gaasterland, you'll find the only cliffs in the Netherlands. There are three: in Oudemirdum, in Mirns, and the Red Cliff at Warns' (Source: VVV Waterland van Friesland).






 


 

Not a location I can refer you to. I saw a field along the way and pulled over, because I thought and I thought it had the potential for a nice painting.





 


 

A small painting for PakjeKunst: I made two attempts to capture the motif and balance the colors. It was done at home from a photo taken somewhere along the road.





 


 

Laaxum: Painted in the strong wind at the fishing village of Laaksum, it's amazing how intense light can turn the sea such an ochre yellow against a super dark sky! (This is without any filter or post-processing) My favorite of the series.





 


 

Rijsterbos (Rysterbosk), described in the brochure as: 'The landscape here suddenly takes on a much more forested character'. For PakjeKunst. 8.5 x 5.5 cm color experiment. That’s the great thing about a series of tiny paintings: you can try new things without too much consequence.





 


 

Sluice Workum. Stopped by briefly, stepped out to quickly take a photo of a large flock of birds against a dark sky. I’ve tried painting the scene several times at home.





 


 

Allingawier, It’s marked between 2 and 3 on the map of the tour through Friesland. Is this the village that was supposedly for sale on Funda? In any case, it’s really cute, just check it out on Google Images.

The painting is an exercise in broken color, and since it was quite gray that day, I exaggerated it a lot. I think it turned out to be a fun little piece.





 


 

Viewing point Ijsselmeer. By the way, thanks to the two hikers I ran into here this evening. I asked, 'Would you mind holding my camera? Then I'll pretend to be working'.





 


 

Well, they needed to dry for a bit, and then I could hand them in. Everything's packed up now and in the machine. If I’m not mistaken, some of them have already sold






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