Three friends enjoy a relaxing afternoon inside while the city outside is buzzing on such a beautiful day. They sit in the famous GreenHouse coffeeshop known for it's exotic interior and award winning strains of marijuana. These three have found their spot and their smoke, a study of their body language lets you know they are in no rush to change their situation. Amsterdam has its own way of keeping you on the go, so it is especially nice to settle into a well needed break. After any vacation there will be special moments to consider, for this trio it may well be "that afternoon at the GreenHouse".

(oil on canvas 25cm x 35cm)

Part of the Amsterdam experience is wandering around the neighborhoods and seeing what will be around the next corner. Coffeeshops here are as varied as the neighborhoods and the people which they serve. Many times it is a great surprise to find that a small neighborhood shop is just the ticket to a well spent afternoon of taking it easy. A customer chose to park his bike on this particularly bright hazy day and spend some time in his local coffeeshop, aptly named "Relax".

(oil on canvas 18 x 24 cm)

Get off the street - out of the rain - out of the night. The coloration of this painting is a warm invitation to come inside. The weather can get pretty dreary here in the Netherlands. Gray rainy days come in long stretches, it's nice to find an inviting interior, to enter and relax. Inside a customer will experience the vibes of the visitors and staff, the music and decor, and the effects of their chosen smoke. This particular Rokerij coffeeshop is located in the "Jordaan" area of Amsterdam.

(oil on canvas 18 x 24 cm)

Young couples set against a colorful wall mural smoke their joints and watch all types of people pass by. Here is the world famous Bulldog coffeeshop, now an institution in Amsterdam. Say what you will about large commercial coffeeshop enterprises, but keep in mind their notoriety has not been achieved easily. Efforts by early marijuana pioneers including those of the Bulldog paved the way for the coffeeshop scene as it exists today. This particular Bulldog coffeeshop is located in the heart of the "Red Light District" along a scenic canal, which affords its customers a view not only of the activities along the street but on the water as well.

Nothing is better than going out to have a great time in Amsterdam and where it happens after all may surprise you. -aw

(pastel with under painting 50 x 65 cm)

The sun lights up and casts into shadow the elements of this Amsterdam street scene. A lone customer sits smoking outside of the small walk down entrance of Coffeeshop Little. The visual predicament of the shop is a metaphor for the real changes affecting the soft drug scene in Amsterdam. Will there continue to be room for the social institutions called  "Coffeeshops" in Amsterdam's future?  

(pastel with under painting 50 x 65 cm)

An afternoon at the Hill St. Blues coffeeshop. A young group of friends begin to plan their day in the lounge area overlooking a canal. Sunlight and reflected sunlight hit the floor and the ceiling giving the smoky room a soft glow. An impression of the place continues through a journal entry.

...I just finished a long sketch at the Hill St. Blues, the place was big with a large downstairs room, couches casually strewn around , the walls painted black with graffiti and stickers, very CBGB looking. I spoke with a couple of French guys and an older Moroccan man who was talking with a friend. The old timer was on his way out when he dropped his hash on the floor "Meneer" I called after him and handed him the stiff little bag with the dark chunk in it. A smile as he said "Thank you".
Amongst the steady stream of folks a woman in a wheelchair caught my eye. I have seen quite a few disabled people on my recent jaunts to the shops, more than I think I have seen the past few years, also Medi-wiet is on more menus...aw

(pastel with under painting  50 x 65 cm)

Here is a pastel of two young travelers enjoying the lounge atmosphere and hookah at the "Lost in Amsterdam" lounge cafe. This is a 'smoking bar' meaning an establishment which has a full bar and also allows cannabis smokers to light up. This has become a popular formula since the introduction of regulations which resulted in the separation of alcohol sales and softdrug sales within the same premises.

(pastel with underpainting 15 x 20 cm)

Amidst the brilliantly colored backdrop of coffeeshop 36, a group of friends discuss their plans for the afternoon. Smiling and full of enthusiasm, they each mention a particular idea they have got to fulfill while in Amsterdam. In continuing to tell the story of the coffeeshops, this pastel represents the artwork as the story: the people, the surroundings, and even the objects on the table gives one a sense of what goes on here.

(pastel with under painting 40 x 50 cm)

This picture illustrates the hand rubbing of the flowering cannabis tops. A worker is shown rubbing the tops of the living plants in the Manali region of India. The resultant hashish is a strong product. A personal journal entry recalls running into some of this product at a coffeeshop in the Southern Dutch city of Maastricht.

...Next we asked for another hash with a good reputation. He mentioned "Charas" a hand rubbed resin from India " it is the best we carry right now." We inspected the small dark chunk, it was pliable, it seemed fresh with a strong odor. "OK" we said "how about two grams". He weighed out a sizeable chunk for us and reminded us not to eat any, as it is a raw product from India. Seems the hashish workers head out into their fields and rub the flowering tops of the plants, the resin builds up on their hands and is scraped off to make Charas. We left, excited at the prospect of smoking this Indian hashish ...AW

(pen and ink - digital color  18 x 24 cm)

On site sketching puts you on location and in front of the story. In this case, as the Rokerij filled with an amazing assortment of characters the scene became too complex to capture in one go. The ink sketch above is the result of many quick studies. These studies were then used to finish the scene as nearly as I could capture it back in the studio. Let your mind wander through the scene and enjoy this glimpse into the exotic surroundings of the Rokerij coffeeshop and the activities of the people within.

(ink-graphite-chalk  35 x 45 cm)

Here are a few examples of brush pen and water pen pictures which were done on-site. There is an undeniable aspect to artwork which is done on location. There becomes a familiarity with the subject which is transmitted to the viewer. As you work you are also part of the subject, the strictly visual gives way to deeper understanding of the surroundings. By capturing what is actually happening at a given place during an afternoon or as part of a busy Saturday night, the viewer is drawn into the scene. For many friends in the states these pictures are as close as they will come to entering a coffeeshop, for a few others they become the inspiration to finally make the trip.

(ink washes on colored paper 35 x 45 cm)

There are all manners of accessories, paraphernalia, and peripherals one sees when frequenting the coffeeshops. As a method of explaining and showing some examples, I have chosen pencil drawings to lend a visual aid to some of their descriptions. Many shops offer smoking gear for their customers to use, pictured here is a typical blown glass pipe. Below that is a container of medical marijuana which certain customers will have sitting in front of them as they roll their joints. Such a formal recognition of marijuana as medicine is still a unique sight for many people who reside outside of the Netherlands.

(pencil 18 x 24)

A couple sits outside of the Wild Style cafe/ coffeeshop rolling a joint with a fresh beer waiting on the table. Although relatively recent, this picture speaks of the dramatic changes happening in Amsterdam and throughout the coffeeshop scene. The Wild Style is no longer, or I should say has had to change in line with the regulations prohibiting alcohol and soft drugs sales on the same premises. It is now Rick's coffeeshop (at the Wild Style) and has become strictly a coffeeshop (no beer). Rick's cafe/coffeeshop has in turn given up its coffeeshop aspect and functions as a smoking bar. Allowing its customers to smoke joints both inside and out on their terrace while maintaining a liquor license. There is an unintended nostalgia in this piece which is a reminder that the scene is undergoing rapid changes.

(ink wash 20 x 27 cm) 

The preceding pairs of pictures show the technique of underpainting used in the production of my pastel work. A drawing is first worked up on the pastel board. This becomes the basis for a detailed underpainting of the tones throughout the picture. Once finished the underpainting will be the guide for the final coloration. As the tones and subject matter become more complex in a given picture, it is this layering of drawing, followed by the finished underpainting which facilitates the completion of the Pastel.
This method is a variation on the basic techniques used by classical oil painters. Having worked in oils for many years I became interested in bringing this technique into my pastel work. The use of these methods have resulted in a very detailed pastel style with a rich "painted" quality to them.