Oil on cardboard – 7 x 9,5 inch – Unique work

Schreierstoren Café, built in the 15th century, was originally a part of medieval Amsterdam. It owes its name to its Tower which was the spot where sailors’ wives said goodbye to their husbands before leaving for sea.

I went there with my daughter on Saturday June 15, 2024 on the occasion of the opening at IJpassage at Amsterdam Central Station of one of my paintings (A green mill in a field of tulips, an oil painting 20×24 inches) among other artworks on a giant digital screen for 7 days. In a few figures: 299 artists from 38 different countries to show 377 artworks. After the opening of this unique event, we had a meeting in the Schreierstoren café with the organizer and the artists who wanted to join the party.

We made friends with a Belgian couple and stayed in their company the whole time during the party. We drank well and ate very well too. But we had to part ways, finally leave the café, more precisely. I didn’t want to go straight back to the houseboat we had rented. I wanted to wander the streets of the capital again and again. So we said goodbye to our one-night stands.

We are lucky, the rain has stopped falling. We walk quietly while debriefing our end of the day. We agree that it’s still incredible to be here and now, after all this journey. And at the same time, the crowd are not my thing.

We wandered the streets and almost lost our goal of the walk: finding the American bookstore. We weren’t far away though. We decide on our schedule for the next day, Sunday. The luck we have is that 90% of the stores we want to see are open. One last little walk to completely sober up and head for the metro, then the bus to return “home”. So obviously, it’s not the same bus as earlier, nor the same path on foot afterwards. No problem, we improvise.

It’s chilly but we still go to the pier, right in front of our window, by the water. It’s very very nice, very very cold too! We quickly return to the warm room.