Radio Kootwijk


		*The world around me Sabbatical 2006 by Leonè Tonkinson**


	Panoramic view of our street

The aim of this page is to give you, the viewer, an idea of the little town in which I live Radio Kootwijk.

.... This is also a journey into a creative mind. A mind that is always busy analyzing and reanalyzing, the physical, the emotional, the mental . . . .


	Creativity does not wait for me to find a studio.


	SPRING in Radio Kootwijk

Once again a reminder of where we are situated, in the heart of the Netherlands. For the google-earth fans, you will find us at, 52 deg 10’34.91”North and 5 deg.50’ 00,90” East.

Spring is in the air as the residence of Radio Kootwijk, their family and their friends emerge from the forest after a crisp walk. An ancient tradition of the Netherlanders, called Dauwtrappen. The walk was breath taking.


	A home made bowl of warm asparagus soup is waiting for all who make it to the half way mark. At the end of the mornings walk, everyone is invited to celebrate the occasion over a hearty and home warming breakfast at the village creativity center

		The wildlife life here in the forest is abundant and active throughout the year. Most evenings just before nightfall we can hear and often do see wild boars emerge from the forest. They do not bother us much, but we still have to keep our wits about us. The only danger is an aggressive mother who suspects that we could be a possible threat to her piglets. On the left here we have the Merel and below, the Boomklever. This, in itself, is wonderful inspiration, especially before the Spring rains arrive. The birds break out into a frenzy of activity just before the rain arrives. It amazes me how easy it is to guestimate the weather by the activities of the animals in the forest The little fluffy brown bird is a Mus. The fluffy teddy bear below is called a Tree Marten. I have spotted one nearby our home, on several occasions. Out of curiosity I searched for more info on the internet, only to discover that they are endangered . Needless to say, I reported my sighting to the Department of Forestry. The tree Marten is believed to be the fastest animal through the trees and the sole enemy of our little squirrels, here. The foxes are neither fast, nor clever enough to catch the squirrels. Besides, the foxes have enough wild hares to eat. It is also quite a common site to see Deer grazing along the roadside. There are two kinds of deer, namely Red deer “Edelhert” and Fallow deer “Damhert”. On occasion they have been known to eat all the bulbs and young spring sprouts of resident gardens.




		Gerritsfles A nearby village also stands proud in the richness of Dutch culture




		Gebouw F and Gebouw H ( Hotel ) Sadly Radio Kootwijk has lost some of it’s grand heritage to fires. Many tourists travel through this little town and it is believed that the cause could have been vandalism.


					War Memorial The town of Radio Kootwijk played a very important role in the second world war. The main building here, referred to as gebouw A, was the transmitting station especially built to maintain communication between the Netherlands, Indonesia and their colonies. Many Dutch men and woman were rounded up and taken away . They, amongst other in the Netherlands , were forced to work in the German factories. The Transmitter building took a heavy blow as the German soldiers retreated. Some of the engineers also lost their lives during the war.




							SUMMER in Radio Kootwijk

Here are some of my paintings inspired by the people and this small town of 53 houses.

We could say ..the artists view of the hidden secrets of this little town.

A tree house and an old barn complete with tractor and tools. To most people this would not call for a second glance, but to me, these are the things that give this little town, substance and character.


	AUTUMN in Radio Kootwijk


	It is little treasures like these that capture my imagination as they not only tell a story of their own, but also about the past and about the future of this little town, Radio Kootwijk.

		They tell us about the families and authorities who protect and serve the Veluwe, Forest Reserve and the animals with in it.


		Autumn: A lovely quiet spot in the forest. It is tranquil places like these, where you will come face to face with a dear or wild boar.

	Autumn show her hair of warm Colours as she adorns the houses for Halloween.


	All too often the sound of hooves catches my attention in the late afternoon. This is the scene I am met with when I open my front door.

Many of the residents here in Radio Kootwijk still chop their own fire wood for traditional wood burners.

Houthakker Radio Kootwijk

A very spontaneous pieces. The light was almost pink that day and somehow there were more colours in this little piece of daily life, that drew me to snatch my camera .

Even as I painted it a year later, I could smell and taste the colours that were so vibrant that day.

WINTER in Radio Kootwijk

In Winter the temperature sometimes falls below to -10 degrees.. The cooling ponds around the Monuments start freezing. The ice on this cooling pond was 8 mm thick and we were tempted to walk on it.

Winter is experienced so different all over the world. Here is a monochromatic painting of twin brothers collecting water from the forest bed for their play time adventure.

My first experience with snow was breath taking.

This year we only experienced 3 days of snow. It was fantastic, and I felt honored as I was gently nudged into the experiences of four distinct seasons.

Eidelhert

One misty evening while driving home from a visit to the nearby city, we were surprised by a very arrogant Red deer, less than one meter from our car.


	*< Sabbatical this is page 7 of 8 < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > Sabbatical Gebouw A >**

School of art techniques

T o n k i n s o nArtm a s t e r s


	This web page is the home page of Leone Tonkinson and was created by the Artist who is the sole, worldwide copyright holder and web master of all her creative works. All of her images in this and other web sites can only exist through the express permission of Tonkinson ART masters.


	e-mail: info@tonkinson-art.com


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