Sketching Amsterdam from up high

One location. All day. Amazing views.

Every year there is one day during which towers all around the city of Amsterdam open their doors to the public. Spaces that are usually only open to the lucky few, made available so that everyone who feels like it can get a glimpse of the stunning views, from on high, out over the city. This year’s were extra special, because the city of Amsterdam is celebrating its 750th anniversary.

This year I was one of the lucky ones who had the opportunity to stay in one of these towers to sketch the view. There was so much to sketch and I feel like I barely scratched the surface. I could easily draw there for days and still discover bits of the scene that I haven’t inspected yet.

Throughout the day I managed to make two bigger drawings that felt like they took forever, and then at the end of the of the day I squeezed in a quick and dirty 12 minute sketch of the view on the Rijksmuseum which I really enjoyed doing.

For my first drawing of the day I prepped some pages of my sketchbook at home. To do that I used some leftover acrylic paint from another painting session in my studio. Then, there on location, I started with the tower right at the top and worked my way down, switching between line and colour whenever I felt like it.

Do you know what is the hardest thing about drawing such an immense view? Every time you look down at your paper you risk the chance of not finding that building you were just drawing. But face it, it is also kind of funny. And I fully take on the challenge of figuring out where my eyes were last.

On the one side of the floor we were on there was a circular window with the perfect view. The sketcher sitting to the right of it was just the thing my drawing needed to tell the story of the day.

And then there was the last, quick and dirty, sketch. This one brought me so much joy as another sketcher and I raced to capture the view in the 12 minutes before we had to meet up for the group photo and “throw down”¹.

It was a long day of sketching and I was pretty tired by the end. But a good kind of tired. And happy!

And as it happens, I got so caught up in the drawing that I completely forgot to take any photos or videos of the view. All I have is the short video that I made while drawing the first sketch.

And last but not least - the on location photos of the drawings, which I remembered to make right before I had to rush off to catch the tram back home.

Thank you for coming along on today’s ride up high. Have you ever attempted drawing a place from on high? What was the experience like?

Many happy drawings to you!

Nino

1. The “throw down” is where we all lay our drawings next to each other so that everyone can have a peak at what everyone else drew that day.