“Blooming azaleas by a canal at Keukenhof”
Keukenhof (kitchen garden) is also known as “Garden of Europe”. It is one of the largest flower gardens in the world and covers around 79 acres. It is situated in Lisse, the Netherlands.
It features a variety of gardens and garden styles, from English garden to Japanese garden and nature garden. There is an enclosed historical garden which features many old bulbs.
Every year, more than 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the garden, to a new landscape design. The garden is only open for 3 months a year, usually from mid March to mid May, with a flower parade held in April. The dates are to a certain extent weather permitted and are confirmed each year.
We visited Keukenhof 3 or 4 times, from 2011, but my favourite year is still the first time (2011).
This week’s painting was inspired by a photo taken by me in 2011, by a canal, featuring blooming azaleas.
I painted it using some Michael Harding paints (kings blue light, cadmium orange, warm white, raw umber and Prussian blue), some Blue Ridge paints (cadmium yellow light and medium, naphtol red and cerulean blue) and some burnt sienna from Old Holland. The medium used was turpentine and De Mayerne medium diluted with turpentine.
For the sky I used a mixture of kings blue light, cerulean blue and white, in 3 layers, first diluted with turpentine and the following two with medium.
The greens are different mixtures of the three blues with two yellows in various proportions.
So here it is:
“Blooming azaleas at Keukenhof”
Oil on linen.
30 X 40cm (12” X 16”).
