The Lessons from the Low Countries project came about due to my interest in Rembrandt and other Dutch masters; and my desire to study the historic pigments they used and introduce them into my work. Each work was inspired by the color palette of a select painting in the exhibit Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art, which traveled the United States in 2006-2007.

To make the pigments, I hand-ground them in linseed oil. Luscious colors with magical names like lapis lazuli, cinnabar, and azurite were used as the focus of each bountiful still life. There is no comparison to the handling qualities of the modern pigments. Everything about the handmade historic pigments is different from the modern: particle size, thickness, consistency, color, saturation, and on and on. The eleven paintings were shown at an exhibit in Portland, Oregon June, 2007, alongside reproductions of the Dutch inspiration paintings from Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art. [Read the Project Blog]

Gallery (click an image to see a larger size)