Amsterdam's Rijkmuseum

I have just spent the last couple of days in Amsterdam, helping a friend celebrate his birthday. However I did manage to drag myself away from the festivities for long enough to visit the Rijksmusuem.

They have a splendid web site which gives you plenty of access to the various pieces on display:

http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/

It is always revelatory to see images 'in the flesh' that you are only familiar with via reproduction, and this time was no exception. The ability to absorb the whole, then inspect the tiniest part of the image, and to just be in the same space with these paintings is fabulous.

I got a special kick out of seeing the Frans Hals. I was very excited by his ability to mix loose and tight marks to create focus whilst mantaining lot of energy. Plus they all have a certain playfulness to them.

When I stepped out I really felt fired up to get on with some more painting, and to push myself hard. Inspirational :)

Now I had best get on with packing my artwork in preparation for this weekend's GamesExpo.