An evening of Figure Drawing at the International Art Club of Den Haag

The IAC is an art club started about 15 years ago by an expat, but membership gradually evolved into a group of native Dutch. The IAC began publishing the monthly newsletter in Dutch this month after 15 years of publishing in English, since there were no native English speakers left in the club. Perfect timing for entrance stage left, me. It is a great way for me to both make friends and be confused.

Everyone is about my art skill level or much better, so it is a good opportunity for learning and humiliation. These images were made April 22, and represent a night's work. You can see how some of the pictures are better (or more to the point, worse) than the others. But mostly, it is just fun and casual. Last night, we took a break for coffee and another break for pizza. The coffee kept me awake until 3 a.m., but on the plus side I had a great time laying awake thinking ideas for the art I want to do. And, for the first time in about 17 years, an opportunity to actually try 'em out.

A Saturday at the Haagse Markt.

Shiva does the Haag

This entry is for those who have never seen our cat, and doubt we really have one. We claim that not only is he real, but also that at least a small portion of his cat brain might possibly enjoy our company. The rest of his brain is devoted to fear of vacuum cleaners and strangers. Strangers, in Shiva's less than peanut-sized brain, are defined as anyone that hasn't been feeding him for 17 years every day.

11 times Whole Paycheck

Yesterday we went Saturday morning shopping. Which means going to cool little neighborhood shops - the baker, the butcher, a fish monger, the cheese shop, the wine shop, etc. We found a little chocolatier, and bought different flavors confectionary including cognac, ginger and marzipan, green tea. Tamara decided the overall experience was "Whole Paycheck times 11" (our pet name for Whole Foods is "Whole Paycheck," because that is what you give them when you visit) - the price, the quality of the food, the audacity of the excess. I think I'll like Holland.

We then took our bikes and rode out to the Haagse Markt, a huge open-air market near HobbemanPlein that calls itself the biggest in Europe. It was packed with people of all backgrounds, African, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Indonesian, Southeast Asian. There are hundreds of food stalls. The Turkish pizza and fried Lekkerbek (Haddock) were to die for, and worth the visit on their own merits. You can buy produce, meat, and all manner of household goods and clothing here inexpensively. It's where real people shop, as opposed to the expat yuppies that we are. We loaded up on produce and then rode our bikes to the beach (Scheveningen).

You can sit outdoors on the beach in glass sided booths open to the ocean and order coffee, beer, and snacks. It's a popular Saturday afternoon outing here. Even though you are mostly shielded form the gale, the North Sea wind blows cold, so everyone bundles up in the jackets, hats, scarves and sunglasses and shivers through a round or two of drinks and apple-tart. To take your mind off the cold, you can watch the kite-boarders. The surf is filled with them. They pound monster waves while attached to surfboards and giant kites. The good boarders will launch themselves off a wave and careen 15 feet up into the air, blown along by the kite. It looks like a great sport, but hard to get life insurance. They must be clad in inches of neoprene to stand the ice-cold water.

Speaking of bikes, we found our dream bikes. I bought them second-hand from a great bike shop, one of the best used-bike shop in Den Haag called "Technica" in Scheveningen. (I know, because I visited many shops.) Technica's owner stands behind the bikes he sells with a two month guarantee, and completely refurbishes the used bikes - new tires, everything works like new, not very expensive. I surprised Tamara with her bike, and she looked like a little kid at Christmas, riding her cute self and bike around the parking lot with a big smile on her face. It's the Dutch bike she's always wished she could ride on the hilly streets of Seattle. My bike is the touring bike I've wanted ever since I saw a Dutch couple touring the US on this kind of bike. This touring bike is built for long-distance riding, and rides like a Cadillac. It's got fenders, 18 gears, and pannier racks front and back. (Jan, you should buy your next commuter bike here in Holland, it is worth the trip.)

week 2

So, we just closed the 3 yr rental contract on a cool apartment in Den Haag. We are in the bottom floor of a mansion which was just renovated. This is a house with a neat history, commissioned by Wolter Broese van Groenou in 1908. He fought in Indonesia but became disillusioned with the war effort. He resigned his commission in 1881 to become a sugar baron thanks to a fortuitous marriage and a wealthy father in law. The house he built is magnificent, but he lost his fortune in the market crash of 1930. To make the mortgage, it was rented to a community of artists and musicians. The current owner, Edward Dupont, is thus happy to rent it to…a musician and an artist.

Today I took the train to Scheveningen, to do some sketching. My goal, to sketch the train turn-around for the second time. To get the right angle involved sitting in the frost covered grass, in 30 degrees F. But it was comfy once settled, and it was fun to draw. By 12:30 the drawing was done and the sun finally out without apology to a single cloud. For the first time, the temp in the Hague was greater than the that in DC. How nice to lie in the grass and catch some Vitamin D, warding off the let-down of week 2 moving doldrums.

I joined the International art club of the Hague and start a life drawing class in the morning. There, I have the great fortune to pay my dues and demonstrate my complete and total lack of drawing skill to a set of total strangers, all of whom are master degree graduates of fine art colleges. Should be fun. Then, for extra fun, I will eat raw herring. Maybe later I will douse myself in frite saus and dance in front of the Hague Central Station while singing the arias from the Magic Flute.

Shiva the cat is happy enough, we can’t believe how adaptable this 17 year old cat has been to the move. He is even willing to be my model for life drawing, in exchange for free meals, catnip, and the occasional chin scratch.

Tamara is feeling like she has a lot to learn and that she has nice, smart, dedicated people to work with. She is starting to make connections to the local chamber music scene and seems happy about that. She enjoys coming home and drinking the most recent acquisition from Henri Bloem’s, a joint in business since 1833 and our favorite wine store. They like to buy directly from local vintners in Europe – guess they’ve had the time to set it up. Check out our shared wine tasting notes at http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pyBgyLTCLtN4zYPCfAQu8Mw

First week in Holland

So, we gave up coffee and are drinking tea in an effort to embrace those things Dutch. That's not hard for me to do given that Tamara is Dutch. That's us drinking tea to the left. The wine, chocolate, dairy and processed meat are fantastic, as are the "frite" (french fries) with yup, mayonnaise.

Our first week here we stayed in the town of Schevinengen, which is about 20 minutes by tram from the Hague's town center. Scheveningen is on the beach by the North Sea. During WWII, the Dutch would ask suspected German spies to pronounce "Scheveningen" as a test to see whether he or she was a native Dutch speaker. If they failed to pronounce it correctly, they were immediately shot or forced to eat a raw herring on white bread with onions. Tamara once said that I came close to pronouncing "Scheveningen" correctly. She made me eat the herring.

The wind comes off of the North Sea most of the time, and is always very cold and usually very strong. The temperature here now ranges from just over freezing (most of the time) to a high on the very warmest day to about 53. There are some sunny days, but mostly it is overcast with low slung clouds and rain/mist. So we're cold but getting used to it.

Don't be fooled by sunny clear skies, because when you go more than two blocks from your hotel it will start to rain. There is a Dutch law requiring you to carry an umbrella at all times, among many many other laws. For example, if you own a dog, you must pay an annual dog tax of about 200 bucks, more money if you own more dogs. Anyway, when we leave the house we always bring enormous, heavy bags stuffed with umbrellas, sunglasses and about a thousand scarves, jackets and hats.

I have been sketching outside until my fingers get too cold to hold the pencil or pen, about an hour and a half. You can see pictures of us and images of the artwork here.

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