|
View Work |
|
Niek Van der Plas
Anyone who grew up within a few hundred yards of the Dutch sea and dunes can not help but be fascinated by them. A fascination which is enhanced by impressions received while wandering about in the richness of the nearby bulb fields. The trinity of the sea, the dunes, and the bulb fields is an essential part of the work of the Katwifk artist Nicholaas (Niek) van der Plas.
The artist, born in Leiden in 1954, grew up amidst the beach, the sea, the dunes, and the bulb fields and has stayed true to Katwijk, still living within a few dozen yards of the sea. Van der Plas began to draw at a young age and his talent was quickly recognized. The Dutch artist Rienck Belder wrote in 1967 to his father, “I see in your son’s work a lot of imagination and a natural talent for working with various materials.”
Using his steadfast patience, Van der Plas worked exceedingly hard at his career. The pencil drawings became pen drawings; the pen made way for pastels, and then the evolution brought him into oil. His art grew from a colorist method of a light palette and gentle warm tints into a greater impressionistic way of working. Eventually he turned his talent to working in the fashion of well known Dutch painters Soonius, Akkeringa, Blommers, Tromp, and Van Noort.
The work of Van der Plas is now marked by both the immense influence of the Hague School as well as his own preference for the atmosphere and style of bygone eras, such as the 1920’s.
|
|
