Finding Inspiration in Amsterdam

Sep 3

My first time solo trip to Amsterdam sparks a renewed appreciation for the old masters.

After my residency at SVA in 2018, I decided I wanted to visit Europe on my own. This would be my first solo trip outside of the U.S. and because, you know–fear, I did research on safe cities for women traveling alone in Europe. At first I was thinking Spain or Italy, but I was going in the middle of August and did not want to deal with the heat. So, I went north.

So much art. It was incredible. I spent a good amount of my time there in museums, walking all over the city and in *ehem* Coffeeshops. I enjoyed my time so much, I went again the following year with my best friend and fellow artist, Alex.

We all (barely) remember learning about the Dutch Masters in Art History class. And to be totally honest, I appreciated the incredible technique, but it didn’t hold my interest like more contemporary and expressive art that came centuries later.

My feelings towards the Dutch artists completely changed after being immersed – in person – in all the art from that period. Now, I have seen my share of art from that era in museums here in the U.S., but they seem to have kept the best stuff for themselves.

Excerpts from the Rijksmuseum

Not to say that Amsterdam is all Medieval paintings, right across Museumplein there is the contemporary Stedelijk Museum, Moco Museum and my favorite, the Van Gogh Museum. That one I made sure to visit as many times as i could, times since I couldn’t take any pictures. And, even if I could - there is so much texture and life to his paintings that no photo can capture it, that goes for most paintings. My only regret is that I couldn’t get all these artists’ names.

Studies & Sketches

Toy Store in Amsterdam, pencil in sketchbook 12x12 inches

Color pencil in XXL Moleskine sketchbook

I’d go back

There are a few other reasons, besides art, I enjoyed Amsterdam and went back a second time. The city had for me a certain familiarity to it. Much of the architecture I saw is clearly the origin for the architecture around New York City and some areas of New Jersey where I’ve spent my entire life. So, it kinda felt like I was walking around a much nicer, quieter Hoboken, with smaller cars and 900% more bicycles. Amsterdam itself is a pretty diverse city, and that helped me feel comfortable especially when traveling alone.

Also worth mentioning that, Amsterdam has incredible soft serve ice cream, croissants and clean public bathrooms. I would go back for the soft serve alone to be completely honest. 🎨