haystacks near Ruurlo
July is the month of hay. Last week the nearby farmer collected the dry hay on the large meadow next to our house. A big machine swallowed the long rows of dried grass and spitted it into big haywaggons pulled by a tractor driving beside the machine. It went very fast. In earlier times the process of haying was quite different. Haying was a labour intensive job involving many people. With their hands men and women were collecting hay to build rows of haystacks on the field or big haystacks near the farm. It was hard labour but it resulted in a nice view. Haystacks were a popular subject among 19th century and early 20th century landscape painters. The Dutch painter Jan Altink, one of the leading men of the painter group De Ploeg (the Plow) depicted prewar farmlife on many landscapes with haystacks. In the 19th century haystacks were common in Ruurlo. During his stay in Ruurlo in 1870 the Dutch painter Willem Roelofs painted several haystacks. I tried to relive that era. Not because of nostalgia but because I want to paint haystacks near a farm, just like Roelofs did. So I made some haystacks myself on the meadow behind my house. (see photo above). They are an enrichment for the landscape and our barn owls use them as an observation post when they are hunting for mice. After some wind and rain the haystacks have their definite shape.They have become individuals, but they remain part of a collective. They are guards in the landscape waiting to be painted. I finished the first sketch.