When I say Holland....

[mvansand76]

And the Netherlands is still producing many very talented artists. I just saw some wonderful artwork last night painted by a very talented Dutchman. I thought the paintings were incredibly beautiful! 

Edit: And now I am told the paintings aren't even finished yet!  He's still working on them! 

Verbazingwekkend!! Hoe is het mogelijk!  

Talk about talent! Wow!!

<Blushing cowboy smiley>

Are you talking about somebody I know? 

[mvansand76]

Every time I come back to this picture I am amazed anew...

Gosh, thanks for posting that, makes me so proud to be Dutch, it is difficult to feel proud to be Dutch lately, because there are so many wrong things going on here... but then I look at paintings from Vermeer, Rembrandt and van Gogh and I get this warm feeling inside...

[mvansand76]

What a wonderful idea for a thread Melissa! Thank you!

Nederland. The Netherlands. Holland. What do I think of when I hear that word? Hmmm....

  Ik Hou Van Nederland! 

Thanks for that wonderful post David! Ik hou ook van Nederland! Maar ik zou er nog meer van houden als er dingen zouden veranderen!   

[David In Indy]

Ik hou ook van Nederland! Maar ik zou er nog meer van houden als er dingen zouden veranderen!  

Ja. Ik ook mijn vriendin.

<Blushing cowboy smiley>

Are you talking about somebody I know? 

Melissa -

Of course I am!!

[David In Indy]

David, can you share this artist's name? Is he currently resident in the States (and Indiana specifically)?

A little bit of trivia: Those who have seen the film A Clockwork Orange will recall the phallic sculpture with which Alex kills the Catlady. That sculpture was a pre-existing work that director Stanley Kubrick had seen exhibited in London, and rented for use in the film. The work's title is "Rocking Machine", and the artist who created it is a man from the Netherlands named Herman Makkink, who was living and working in Britain at that time. In more recent years, he has created replicas of his famous sculpture and sells them online.

Scott M.

Scott...

No, this artist is a very loooooooong way from Indiana. He lives in the Netherlands, near Amsterdam. He is a close friend of a friend of mine. 

[Amber]

Sadly the first thought that pops into my mind is Holland, Michigan *lol*  and then I think clogs, tulips, windmills and "The Girl in Hyacinth Blue" (a book by an author of the last name of Vreeland) and Vermeer (a painting of which is discussed in the book). 

Simplistic I know, but I've never been over seas : (  Almost everything I know about Holland comes from my best friend who is half dutch.

[David In Indy]

Sadly the first thought that pops into my mind is Holland, Michigan *lol*  and then I think clogs, tulips, windmills and "The Girl in Hyacinth Blue" (a book by an author of the last name of Vreeland) and Vermeer (a painting of which is discussed in the book). 

Simplistic I know, but I've never been over seas : (  Almost everything I know about Holland comes from my best friend who is half dutch.

Amber -

I have been to Holland, Michigan. I was happy to see a small part of the United States was so Dutch!

Do you remember the windmill? If I remember correctly, this windmill actually came from the Netherlands. They dismantled it in Holland, shipped it over to Michigan and rebuilt it! Pretty cool, huh? I think they nicknamed it "De Zwaan" which means swan in Dutch. It's a good name too!

While Holland, Michigan is not quite the Netherlands, it is very Dutch.

Yes, it is a tourist trap. But these tourists can, at  the very least get a glimpse of the Netherlands without ever crossing the Atlantic.

Did you notice the nearby towns around Holland Michigan also have Dutch names... names like Zeeland, Graafschap, Vriesland and Overisel? Did you open up their local telephone book and notice all the Dutch names listed in it? Nearly everyone who lives there is Dutch! 

Holland, Michigan may be a far cry from the Netherlands but don't sell yourself short Amber. At least you had a chance to taste thi wonderful Dutch culture. And that's not too bad considering this little slice of Holland is located smack dab in the American Midwest!

[mvansand76]

How do I insert an image?

[Front-Ranger]

THere are two ways that I know of. You can sign up for a free account on photobucket, upload your photos to their site, and then just copy the URL of the photo you want to use into your message. That has worked best for me. But if you want to insert a photo directly, click on additional options in the lower left corner near the posting box and browse your computer to find the image you want. This doesn't work for me often because the image is too large. I think the limit is somewhere around 500 Kb.

[belbbmfan]

Buildings that are larger at the top than at the bottom. Windmills, Tulips, Drugs, Theo Van Gogh, Anne Frank and The Flemish.

The Flemish? They're over here in Belgium... but we do speak the same language (well sort of I guess). We also do the 'gezellig' thing quite well

David, thank you for those wonderful childhood memories. I love Sinterklaas! thank god, he's still coming round every year for my two daughters. (means I get to eat a lot of chocolate)