Chilly entry into Amsterdam

by | Cartoons, Outside NZ, The Netherlands

At first, Amsterdam seemed not so postcard-like. It seemed like any old city and I was not very impressed. However, within a few days, I was extremely excited about Amsterdam. I begin to notice all the canals, the wonky buildings, and the buzz of the city.

We travel a lot every year, and there are not many places that Renuka likes enough to live in. Amsterdam, was an exception.

One of the first things that hits you when you get to Amsterdam are the bicycles. There are bicycles pretty much everywhere and zooming around at full speed. If only other cities were more like Amsterdam, we would have a lot less pollution and less obesity on the planet.

About this Cartoon:
I did a cartoon that Renuka liked instantly, but I didn’t like at all. Normally, I will not tear a page out from the diary, no matter how bad it turns out to be. However I do like my first pages to be to my liking. And so, with great regret, I did tear out the first page.

What you see here, is my “first page”. What I really had to focus on, was making sure that I didn’t overdo the brick lines on the bridge and the railings as well. Instead I made the lines as faded as possible and just gave an indication that they existed. I did make the railings a thickish black, but made sure I didn’t paint every single detail. It’s very important for the artist to let the viewer fill-in the detail with their own eyes.