Holland Landscape Painting

Travel photographs give me fodder for future paintings like my bike ride through villages in Holland. 

During our travels to Holland, I took lots of photographs while cycling along the pathways, There were the luscious green grasses, and intermittent sunlight spilling over the thick puffy clouds but when in Holland, one must take photographs of the traditional Dutch windmill landscape which I will paint once back home!

Holland Windmill Bike Ride (Pastel) by Minaz Jantz

The Dutch landscape painting I titled 'Holland, Windmill Bike Path' is painted with a soft pastel on UART sandpaper (size 12" x 18"). This painting’s original photo was taken while I was riding a bike, trailing behind Jim’s bike, with one hand holding my camera while trying to focus to take pictures… I call this style of picture taking… ‘Drive-by shootings!’

Our bike day trip started at our Bed and Breakfast in Delft, traveling from one quaint town to another, stopping for wonderful coffee and fresh organic pastry, while visiting the local duck in a little town called Schipluiden… just try to say that one!

Schipluiden Duck

Schipluiden, Best pastry & Coffee

Schipluiden, pastry shop, and village streets.

We got back on our bikes continuing our Dutch journey while completely losing track of time, our stomachs are growling and demanding refreshments, deciding to stop in a super cute town called Maasland, in a local pub ordering Dutch food and beer with a side dish of great Dutch hospitality. With our bellies full to the brim, we decide to start heading back on a long ride to Delft further burning our dinner and beer off while chugging along getting very tired, predicting a sound sleep to come! NO wonder the Dutch all look amazing with everyone bike riding everywhere they go!

Delft's history has two things it is famous for... The master painter Johannes Vermeer, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer is truly the most incredible oil painter who masters light, secondly is Delft dinnerware and pottery that all of us at one time or another have seen with the recognizable familiar blue and white patterns on the finest of white porcelain. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delftware

If you're interested in photographs of our trip and my personal journals filled with tips and links, you can go to tripnaround.blogspot.com to view them.

To view, more landscape paintings go here...

Go Dutch!... Minaz