Niek van der Plas

“Figures on the Beach”

Circa 1980

Niek van der Plas was born in Katwijk aan Zee, Netherlands in 1954. He was the oldest son in a family of four children. Growing up surrounded by historic areas from his hometown, he was inspired by many places which seemed to stay with him into his early adulthood. The old, white church, Holland’s beaches, and dunes, bulb fields, city scenes in Amsterdam and Maastricht, and other typically Dutch vistas such as harbors of old Dutch towns. We can admire these characteristics in much of his works throughout his career. Niek began painting from a very young age with signs, promoted and encouraged by his father. In 1966 he was proposed as a student to the Famous Artist School in the United States where he was awarded for his talents. Between 1973 and 1978 he studied at the School of Art in Frankfurt, and he has taken part in collective exhibitions, mainly in Germany and Belgium. The drawings he showed at Appel & Fertsch in 1985 were rapidly executed sketches, with a very spare but supple line, sometimes indefinite, but in general, representing a manifestation of movement. A man apparently straying, a blurred structure, a strange small boat - signs of vague recognition that are ultimately less important than the way they take shape and the creative impulse they convey. What started in the early seventies with a romantic style of painting, developed through naturalism to a more impressionistic way of working; a style of painting that came to the surface clearly in the early 1980s. Van Der Plas has become an artist of international renown and uses a wide variety of subjects as his palette. His paintings are still influenced by his love of water and the richness of the Dutch landscapes which one sees over and over in his work. His use of warm soft colors makes his paintings easy on the eye and delightful to behold. He is a colorist, exhibiting lush rich textures inspired by many post-impressionistic painters from France. Preferably he works with warm colors as he uses dashes of bold brushwork, which enhance the emotion of his composition. He strives to create pieces that have a French feel-like environment. As well, as surrounding himself with the French Riviera, Cafes in the bustling city, and of course the majestic scenes in the Parc de Belleville. Niek continues to enchant the viewer with the use of subtle brushwork and a balanced palette in keeping with the best of impressionist tradition. His works have been exhibited in major museums around the world, and his works of art are to be found in some of the most prestigious public and private collections worldwide. His works hang in two museums in the Netherlands and several books about him are available. He is one of the few contemporary artists listed in Benezit Dictionary of Artists.