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Interview by Marleen Arkesteijn for the Dune Conservation Foundation.
In Dol op de Duinen we regularly put a volunteer or involved person of the Dune Conservation Foundation in the spotlight. They explain why the dunes have a special place in their hearts. This time a lover of the dune and wadden landscape will speak. With his beautiful paintings he shows why this nature is worth protecting.
Wadden painter Janhendrik Dolsma: ”You can smell the dunes, see the color and hear the birds”
Janhendrik Dolsma is an enthusiastic Wadden painter. His beautiful oil paintings of the Wadden landscape always show a beautiful sky with interesting light, often beautiful reflections in combination with the beach, the sea or the dunes. They always have a different atmosphere, which lures the viewer to look further.
Janhendrik Dolsma kwam al jong in aanraking met de duinen. Vanaf zijn vijfde ging hij met zijn ouders naar Vlieland op Janhendrik Dolsma came into contact with the dunes at an early age. From the age of five he went on holiday with his parents to Vlieland. There is an old photo from before the war on which his grandfather and grandmother are standing on a dune near Stortemelk on Vlieland. Even then, this island already attracted the family.
“I still love the landscape on Vlieland the most, but I can also enjoy the other islands: the beach, the dunes, the clouds and the mudflats. I don't paint people in my paintings. They divert attention from the room. When I go to an island, I feel a kind of lightness and sense of freedom ,the Wadden painter describes.
Janhendrik Dolsma kwam al jong in aanraking met de duinen. Vanaf zijn vijfde ging hij met zijn ouders naar Vlieland op Janhendrik Dolsma came into contact with the dunes at an early age. From the age of five he went on holiday with his parents to Vlieland. There is an old photo from before the war on which his grandfather and grandmother are standing on a dune near Stortemelk on Vlieland. Even then, this island already attracted the family.
“I still love the landscape on Vlieland the most, but I can also enjoy the other islands: the beach, the dunes, the clouds and the mudflats. I don't paint people in my paintings. They divert attention from the room. When I go to an island, I feel a kind of lightness and sense of freedom ,the Wadden painter describes.
From drawing teacher to painter
Dolsma trained as a drawing teacher at Academy Minerva in Groningen. Here he became interested in landscape painting. One of the paintings that struck him was the painting 'View of Haarlem with bleaching fields' by the seventeenth-century Dutch painter Jacob van Ruisdael. From the background he received from home, he developed himself into a mudflat and cloud painter.
Until 2004 he gave drawing lessons three days a week to ensure sufficient family income. In 2004 he made the decision to paint full time. In retrospect, he says: “I have not regretted it for a moment. It went wonderfully well. It has been one of my better decisions.”
Until 2004 he gave drawing lessons three days a week to ensure sufficient family income. In 2004 he made the decision to paint full time. In retrospect, he says: “I have not regretted it for a moment. It went wonderfully well. It has been one of my better decisions.”
Gripped by the landscape
As a painter, he finds the dune landscape very interesting because of the alternation of plains and dunes, dry areas and wet dune valleys. “You can smell the dunes, see the color and hear the birds. I know surprisingly little what it is. Of course I am not completely ignorant of the flora and fauna, but I am mainly concerned with the light and the sky and how they are constantly changing.”
He used to be more often in the dunes. Then he sat down and made a number of quick sketches of five minutes each. “By looking intensively and drawing quickly, I absorbed the landscape.” He supplements these impressions with photographs.
He makes photo collages from the photos of the landscapes and clouds. “It often starts with a beautiful cloud formation. I look for elements that match that light. That is the starting point of a painting. In retrospect, it often turns out differently. Paintings have their own will.”
In fact, he still works that way, only he goes to the Wadden Sea less often. “I now go to Vlieland once a year for a longer period of time, plus a few half-days to another island, such as Schiermonnikoog. I live in Groningen, so that's not far away.”
He used to be more often in the dunes. Then he sat down and made a number of quick sketches of five minutes each. “By looking intensively and drawing quickly, I absorbed the landscape.” He supplements these impressions with photographs.
He makes photo collages from the photos of the landscapes and clouds. “It often starts with a beautiful cloud formation. I look for elements that match that light. That is the starting point of a painting. In retrospect, it often turns out differently. Paintings have their own will.”
In fact, he still works that way, only he goes to the Wadden Sea less often. “I now go to Vlieland once a year for a longer period of time, plus a few half-days to another island, such as Schiermonnikoog. I live in Groningen, so that's not far away.”
Worth protecting
During his frequent visits to the Wadden Islands, he has seen nature change. “I know Vlieland best. There I saw nature improve. In the section between Vuurboetsduin and the Kikkerbult, for example, a dune valley has been soded off. Trees have been partially cut down. There is now a beautiful wet dune valley. Nature is more diverse than before. If you go there in the summer, you can hear a huge noise of frogs.” One of his paintings shows part of the beautiful, wet dune valley on Vlieland.
Because of his connection with nature in the Wadden Sea Region, he is a member of the Wadden Association, an association that is committed to preserving and protecting the Wadden Sea. “They are well aware of what is going on and have consultations with many different authorities to stand up for the interests of the area and really make a difference for the Wadden Sea.” It is one of the nature and environmental organizations with which the Dune Conservation Foundation regularly works together.
As an artist, in the late 1990s, as a member of the Wadden Art Circle, he actively defended the interests of the Wadden Sea, against gas drilling. “We held a traveling exhibition with Wadden Sea art. We started in Nieuwspoort. The exhibition then toured the various provinces along the coast, the Wadden Sea and part of Germany to draw attention to the danger of gas drilling.”
Dolsma: “I had my most intensive nature experiences on the beach and in the dunes of the Wadden Islands. I've sometimes called it a "mental shower." We have to be careful with that.”
Because of his connection with nature in the Wadden Sea Region, he is a member of the Wadden Association, an association that is committed to preserving and protecting the Wadden Sea. “They are well aware of what is going on and have consultations with many different authorities to stand up for the interests of the area and really make a difference for the Wadden Sea.” It is one of the nature and environmental organizations with which the Dune Conservation Foundation regularly works together.
As an artist, in the late 1990s, as a member of the Wadden Art Circle, he actively defended the interests of the Wadden Sea, against gas drilling. “We held a traveling exhibition with Wadden Sea art. We started in Nieuwspoort. The exhibition then toured the various provinces along the coast, the Wadden Sea and part of Germany to draw attention to the danger of gas drilling.”
Dolsma: “I had my most intensive nature experiences on the beach and in the dunes of the Wadden Islands. I've sometimes called it a "mental shower." We have to be careful with that.”
