The tower of The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Our Lady’s Church) dominates the town of Tholen. It was built in 1375 while construction of the nave, aisles, the choir and the transept began in 1400. In 1578 it became a Protestant church and remains so today.
OF COURSEevery town in Holland has at least one major church building dating back centuries, but some towns have everal churches. Since Holland is relatively flat, the Church steeples always stand out in the skyline and (along with the windmills) help identify when you are approaching a town. In many cases the old church (Oudekerk) is the actual center or centrum of the city, with streets readiating out from there. The drawings here were done in the town of Tholen Netherlands where we lived for a week.
I decided to make a study of the ornate windows on the Oudekerk in Tholen and had barely begun when the rain started to fall as it does often in Holland. I ducked under a tree and continued sketching, but eventually couldn’t keep the water off the paper so I called a halt.
This is the new church located on the town market square. One morning while walking I stopped to relax on a bench in the square and this stately building beckoned me to sketch it. As I worked, a number of kids and adults on their way to work and school stopped to take a look.
View all Holland Travel Sketchbook Drawings by Roland Lee
