Amsterdam in Black & White

While in Amsterdam this past summer I went into a little shop that sold black and white sketches of the city. What with it being fleet week and all, I had no time to go about drawing everything I saw. Luckily, Hermen Jan Jansen does it for a living, so I got a 6 for 10euro deal on some postcards that, unlike my personal photos, have no hordes of tourists or sailors in them.

Every time I travel I am reminded about how small our world can be – Hermen had hitchhiked through Portland in his youth. Maybe someday he’ll come back and draw some of our landmarks. (Images from the artist’s site: www.hjdrawings.com)

The three X marks on the posts are Amsterdam's coat of arms.
The guard rails next to the canals are about 6" tall. Fine for locals, but more of a tripping hazard for tourists.

The beams at the top of each roof peak are for moving furniture into the house since everything is very narrow, including winding stairs.

We actually got to see the moving in process using the outside roof beams and pulleys being used by two moving workers. They moved some chairs, a dresser, and a couch in about 10 minutes.