At6 - Blog Posts

Follow your consciousness, on a night time trip to Westerpark in Amsterdam

This drawing was made after a visit to Westerpark in Amsterdam. I made some sketches there at night and translated these into a pastel and pencil drawing the next morning. This is the older part of the park, that has a large pond or a small lake with an island in the middle and a large open field with trees and plant areas that in some cases have remains of human presence, like wall branches or nests made in trees and bushy areas. The park used to be known for being a gay cruising area, these days there is a small chance of making a friend, regardless of sex. The topic is not advised to use loosely in the case of making an adventurous exploration to this park, so thread these paths with care, find a bench of your choice or a patch of grass, and see if someone is nearby on Tinder or Grindr first, if you are lucky enough to have these applications still working for you.

In this drawing I tried to convey the special atmosphere in the landscape and in the air, the architecture around the park and in this old gas factory area's buildings, industrial heritage from the past; or around the hotel licated in the main building standing in the middle of the park. Airbrush is maybe the best way to describe this setting and with sfumati pastel chalk layes and impressionist techniques I have tried to visualise the mood of land, field, water and sky becoming a sort of blended space that offers new visions beyond the already known. Rhere are different dimensions visible here during some nights and these invite the viewer to take a hike and go further, walk or cycle or move in any of the directions that looks most alluring or approach the lonely stranger that acts the most seductive, even a good old trao can be persuaded, if you're lucky. The Westerpark and Westergasfabriek terrain can get somewhat spooky at night, but seeing the sun rise in the earliest hours of the morning again, and watch the park come alive again, with whatever its cast has in shore for the day, is worth a visit alone. Remember ro bring a hat, for it can get painfully cold here at nighr.