ina leyte singelbootjes aquarelle
The old city of Leyden is surrounded by four canals called "singels". They are linked and together they have the shape of a square. The system of canals was used to defend the city against its enemies. Nowadays the canals do no longer serve a military purpose and are occupied by pleasure boats. During the holidays and weekends a fleet of pleasure boats circles around the city. If you live near one of the canals and are lucky you can moor your boat in front of your house. The aquarelle above shows two moored boats in one of Leyden's canals. It is not difficult for me to determine the exact location of the boats. The canal is the Zoeterwoudsesingel located South East on the map (upper left). The boats are moored exacty in the point of the arrow on the South East corner of the map. I admit I am biassed, but I think it is one of the most beautiful places of Leyden. I made several paintings of it. In 2008 I made the painting "het plantsoen". (see left) It shows the canal with a park with large trees in autumn. In the left corner of the painting two boats are moored in the canal. This is about the location of the "singelbootjes" painted by Ina Leyte. Ina Leyte is a female artist living in Leyden. She is a specialist in water painting. Her colorful aquarelle "singelbootjes" strikingly catches the stilled atmosphere of a sunny afternoon at the Zoeterwoudsesingel. With bold and accurate strokes she has painted the resting boats on the foreground. The sun-lit white of the boats contrasts sharply with the dark shadows on the water. One can imagine the slight rolling of the two boats caused by the stirs of the boat passing by at the right. The water reflects the diffuse warm colours of the trees in the park at the other side of the canal. The bold yellowish-green of the grass on the foreground compensates the more diffuse colors of the water and gives the painting its strong impact. Besides being a specialist in water painting, Ina Leyte is also a specialist in stimulating other people to enter the art of painting. Some years ago with kind perseverance she induced me to take up the art of painting again. I complied to her soft guidance and I have no regrets.