Oil on linen – 30 x 40in / 76 x 101 cm
Commission for X Stables
This painting reflects the history of the Beemster, a former lake in the Netherlands, which was milled dry to create space for large estates for the rich VOC merchants in the 1600s.
A century later an economic crisis ended the Golden Ages and the estates were dismantled to make space for farmland and farm houses.
The area is a World Heritage site where the subject grew up. Her love for the Old Masters and their use of the colours Venetian Red and Scheveningen Rood resulted in me creating a painting in the style and colour scheme of the Old Masters with a little twist here and there that tells her story. The young lambs and the nesting swan symbolise her step into adulthood and creating a life for herself.