“I think I was expecting Utrecht to be somewhat of a smaller version of Amsterdam. That turned out to be somewhat true, although Utrecht is much less of a party town, it’s more mellow and tranquil. I think it was a good place for me to work and draw because it was very beautiful and peaceful. Overall I was very impressed by the quality of Dutch design everywhere, especially in places where you don’t necessarily expect to see good design. Public signage, auto repair shops and things like that, also the contrast of very old things with clean and modern design in Utrecht is inspiring. The colors used in the landscape of Utrecht are really strong and actually very similar to colors I like to use in my art. Very dark shades of green and blue, vivid red complimented with neutral shades of warm grey and green and beige.

Part of what I found inspiring about Utrecht were the patterns of designs in public spaces. Stripes and lines painted on roads and walls that were somehow done with a profound precision and a Dutch sensibility. I tried to incorporate that into my design and play those elements up as abstractions in the print design. I contrasted that with two very typical scenes in Utrecht, showing the canals and old, cobblestone streets with people riding bikes and bikes parked everywhere. I like the contrast of the old brick construction and cobblestone with the graphic, simple forms. As an American, the age of things in Europe is always impressive. It’s impressive to walk down a street that has buildings from the 1300′s.”

Travel diary

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Before heading down to Utrecht yesterday I was out on a small boat on the canals in Amsterdam. I was really getting into all the strong abstract shapes, colors and type on the boats along the way.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Brick streets in Utrecht

Bikes of Utrecht, more than standard black

Tuesday, October 5, 2015

A quick line drawing by the canal

The Dutch have such a great sense of color that just the streets and buildings are great pieces of design.

Rietveld Schroderhuis, designed in 1924 by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld

Sketching windmills north of Utrecht, Netherlands.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

A visit to the Dick Bruna permanent exhibit at the Utrecht Central Museum today. Bruna has always been an influence so it was nice to see examples of his work up close. I’ve often used his designs for color inspiration.

I had a great visit today at the studio of fellow artist and printmaker Joris Diks who will be printing my editions for the Jaunt.

Sketching complex architecture in the rain while drinking beer.  Not my best, but not too bad considering the obstacles