It's Saturday night at Steemfest in Amsterdam. While many steemians celebrate with reckless abandon, some of us are calling it an early night. For me, this whole packing up and taking off the day after an unprecedented "win" of our next president has taken its toll in severe exhaustion and the need to hibernate in the first cold weather I have felt in years.

I belong in this exuberant city. Maybe it is my family heritage, but I always feel very at home here. Every time I hear church bells I get goosebumps. I think of the history and all the lives that have played out here over the centuries and how they leave these indelible marks everywhere you look in the city.

Centuries. It's mind-boggling. I live next to a city that was incorporated in 1973.

The culture of art runs deep in Amsterdam - the magnetic lure for artists is difficult to explain. Nothing compares to the 17th century Golden Age of Dutch painting collections at Rijksmusem. The genre paintings of Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch, and Jan Steen have all found their ways into my own illustration work.

It was a real treat to see the paintings in person.

My favorite things are the tiny insect and butterfly paintings by some of the most accomplished artists of their time in watercolor and gouache on vellum. The details of objects fascinate me and compel me to deconstruct almost everything I draw in order to understand them better. And the glorious Dutch still life paintings brimming with blooms- namely tulips in all their glory.

-which leads me to the main point of this post:

A reminder to those here in Amsterdam for steemfest; Please join me tomorrow as I do a detailed drawing demonstration of the tulip in the same style as my favorite paintings I saw yesterday.

I will be at Art at Steemfest on the first floor of the Quartier Putain cafe on Sunday, tomorrow from 13:30 - 18:00. Stop by to say hello! I look forward to meeting you.

I will also have the steemit commemorative print available during this time, signed and numbered. Don't miss your chance to own artwork by steemit's very own @fairytalelife.

Cheers to Roeland @roelandp and the Amsterdam crew for pulling off this feat. And in a splendid tulip suit to boot!

If you are an artist and want to have some fun with supplies, check out http://www.vliegerpapier.nl Amstel 34, 1017 AB Amsterdam. I know there are so many more, but with limited time I was lucky to see one. And when I travel, I always make a point to check out the art supply stores for unusual gadgets or brushes I can't find at home in the States. Some of them find their way home, but never as many as I think I would like to try someday.

hrottie