Oosterbeek Again

On my walks I came across Estate ‘Oosterbeek’ again. I was in the mood to do another landscape after my last one of Buitengoed Leeuwenbergh. After all, Spring has arrived and South Holland is covered in sunlight. Let’s hope the sun will bring relief in this cursed pandemic. Anyway, I was struck by the abstract quality of the treeline set off against the grassy curves in the mid-section. It almost resembles a lush English garden kind of style. Albeit my preference for trees in leaf I also like them without. Then they show an almost transluscent contour delineation that seems to linger on endlessly.

Opaque versus Linear

These abstract forms reminded me to a previous graphite pencil drawing ‘De Hofvijver’. That one was all about bringing back forms to the essential geometrical shapes of the circle, rectangle and square. In this drawing my aim was to contrast opaque round forms with linear structures. There are some other apearances too I wanted to exploit. What I found attractive are the parts appearing to be darker where treescapes overlapped eachother. The sprouty branches directing outwards in a curve also caught my eye. Surely the golden ratio is to be spotted in every organic object by those whose eyes are opened.

Abstract and Realistic

All-in all the idea grew in me to combine abstract principles with a realistic regard. This way people look at a landscape more abstract than they can would expect. Reality is an illusion. It is the combined result of many abstract building blocks. So I ask you: is it real what looks real to you? I hope people with appreciate both reality and the implicate order behind it all some call ‘abstract’. The latter is real but can be spotted only by eyes wide open. I consider it to be my task to uncover those principles bit by bit for those who want to know.

Click here to read about the sale of this art work to an American collector through Saatchiart.

Graphite pencil drawing (Pentel 0.5 mm, 3B) on Canson Bristol paper (21 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm – A4 format)

Artist: Corné Akkers