Locals
In April 2026 I gave a small presentation of my work for Kunst aan Tafel at Het Veem in Amsterdam. That’s where I met Robert, who volunteers at the Buurtkamer in the Bellamystraat, in Amsterdam-West. He asked if I’d like to exhibit there, and when I said yes, he invited me round for dinner on a Friday. That happened on the 19th of June 2026.It was very lively and fun around the table, with a lovely mix of people from the neighbourhood, all enjoying a really good meal for very little money. The conversation went off in all directions, never a dull moment, and I found myself looking at those warm, friendly faces…So when Robert asked, after dinner, what kind of paintings I was actually planning to put up there, I said, without really thinking: “You lot!”By then I’d already realised that was the only thing that would be fitting in that place. And also that there was nothing I’d rather paint.
That did mean I had to get a move on, though, as my exhibition slot began on the 29th of July. So the very next day I sent my fellow dinner guests a plan and invited them to come and sit for me at my studio in Diemen.In the end I made five portraits: the new series ‘Buurtgenoten’ (Locals). All were painted from life in a single sitting (one person came back for a second session).
They’ll be on show from Wednesday 29 July through to Saturday 5 September 2026.
The opening takes place on Sunday afternoon, 2 August 2026, at 3pm.
Bellamy Buurtmuseum and Buurtkamer, Bellamystraat 376-378, 1053 BS Amsterdam
