The Third Slenk on Schiermonikoog

oil on canvas 70*100 cm

"Slenk"is a Dutch word for which I don't know a good translation. A slenk is like a stream in a salty wetland, where tidal water flows in and out. These slenks are located on an island called Schiermonikoog along the Dutch coast. Its probably the most wild and natural part of my otherwise manmade country. I spent some weeks on my knees in the mud there when I was about 21 and training to become a biologist. I was'nt very good at it, I had a hard time distinguishing species of plants, I did'nt like the long hours of hard work in the rain. I guess that's where I decided I was'nt going to become a real biologist after all. From this moment on I was more interested in saving the planet with windmills and recycling and such. Now I look down on the spot with Google Earth and remember the beauty and wildness. I will have to go back there sometime in the near future.
By the way, the scale of my GE paintings can be quite different. "Eye-level" here is 1.25 km. In the Angry Tundra painting the eye level is about 10 km. You can jump across these slenks in most places!