A hazy winter morning in a birch forest near the city of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It is cold, a pale sun tries to dissipate the cold of the early morning frost.
A hazy winter morning in a birch forest near the city of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It is cold, a pale sun tries to dissipate the cold of the early morning frost.
It is early in the morning, but it is already light when I wake up. The sunlight filtered through the curtains quickly dissipates the last images of my dream. Only vague shadows and colors…
Early on a beautiful summer morning, the medieval village of Corenno Plinio on Lake Como awakens. Sunlight plays across the roofs, strokes the high parts of the facades. Narrow streets, old worn stairs...
A gray, foggy autumn day. A day like so many, where you only see vague outlines of the path you are walking. The silence and lack of sight are oppressive at first...
Early in the morning after a rainy and windy autumn night. The first light of the rising sun lovingly embraces nature's awakening...
A beautiful autumn morning. I go outside to walk the dog. We see the horizon 'releasing' the sun, its warm light kisses the clouds above the fields.
Wandering between dreams and reality on a crisp winter morning...
Do you also sometimes dream about silent winter days?
With COP29 (the "29th UN Climate Change conference") approaching, we are being fed scientific publications that give us the latest updates. Although these are not happy reads, it is important reading for me. It inspires me to make new work. And motivate me to live the way I live. Above that, it inspires and motivates me to tell you about it.
And why this post, why am I telling you this? Why do I hope you will read the whole thing?
Because it's important that you know the condition of your home. It is your only home, our only home.
A weekend read...
Screaming sounds of power
saws numb your thoughts
Ears bleed, hearts tear
Forests cry
The sun colors the evening in
the hues of the choking smoke
that kills tree after tree
How high may become
the price the future
will have to pay?
Thick clouds of black
smoke darken the sun
Eyes tear,
trees cry
The sun colors the evening
in the hues of the flames that
scorch tree after tree
How high may become
the price the future
will have to pay?
September 14, 2024 — Comments are off for this post.
In the tranquil medieval village of Corenno Plinio, narrow streets and old stairs evoke a time long past, with few signs of modern tourism. The artwork 'Awakening (3)' from the 'Lost Cities' collection is a digitally altered photograph, aiming to capture a surrealistic atmosphere.
Everything in a swamp seems thinner, fragile almost, untouchable….
At the same time, it is not difficult to feel part of the landscape. The silence absorbs you, the mists make you feel like you are floating above the water.
So getting lost in the pale light is very easy when you stroll around for a few hours...
Duendes crossing my path on a sunny morning...
In some Latin American cultures, the Duendes are believed to be forest spirits, helpers of people who get lost in the forest so they could find their way home.
Symbiosis
Drowned forests
Nurturing seaweed
Symbiosis
Commissioned by a poet for the cover of her new book of poetry, I created two new versions of the work Symbiosis. Herewith the second: a shoal of fish swims through a kelp forest.
In addition, I added an insightful quote from Charles Darwin and a link to an article on kelp farming.
It is early morning on a beautiful, sunny but damp spring day. Sunlight warms the forest floor, patches of fog rise. The trees seem to be moving, appearing out of the mist, as if they are gathering for their morning meeting.
Reaching into the highest worlds,
drinking from the three wells
Yggdrasil, from Old Norse Yggdrasill, is an immense mythical tree that connects the nine worlds in Norse cosmology.
An immense ash tree that is center to the cosmos and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things.
A bright white light? Eternal darkness?
It is my conviction that after our death our spirit, our soul, or call it our energy, travels to its origin somewhere in the universe. Once arrived, our energy is reunited with the energy from which everything around us once originated.
July 3, 2024 — Comments are off for this post.
Silent forest
A tree hums
Dark sound
Forests often have an enchanting atmosphere. The murmur of leaves enhances the silence, the dim light hides a lot of details... At the same time, scarce light can give objects a different, mysterious form. And a creaking branch will make you look around to discover...
It's early in the morning. A beautiful iris opens its flower and turns toward the sun. The petals bathe themselves in light, seeming to dance in slow motion.
Iris is a flowering plant genus of more than 300 species with showy flowers.
Iris is not only the scientific name, but is also widely used as a general name for all Iris species.
Weeks later, the allium has finished blooming. Her exuberant colors fade to an earthy brown, seed pods form where the purple has sacrificed itself so the seeds can ripen.
And then the seed pods open, the seeds slowly becoming visible...
June 29, 2024 — Comments are off for this post.
In the rhythm of our wings...
Soulmates... Fellow travellers on our journey of life, helping to grow beyond the horizons of our individual selves.
It is nice to have a soulmate, a privilege. But not a given, nor conditional for a happy life.
My LinkedIn connection Ashok Subramanian posted a review on 4 poems, with my poem Lost In Moonlight among them:
I walked in the woods, on a path I walked
many times before, completely lost in thought,
not noticing that darkness was falling, that stars
...
And Then The Sun Stood Still - Summer.... - I love this time of the year, in which the whole cosmos seems to come to a standstill for a moment...
Thinking of nothing,
slowly I walk through silence
towards the light
Is that possible, thinking of nothing? The moment you are aware that you are thinking of nothing, you are thinking again....
Symbiosis
Drowned forests
Nurturing seaweed
Symbiosis
Commissioned by a poet for the cover of her new book of poetry, I created two new versions of the work Symbiosis. Herewith the first...
In addition, I added an interesting development on kelp farming.
Travelers
Dark sounds fill the void
A strong back breaks the waves
Travelers of the deep
But do humans never succeed in saving a species from extinction?
Of course they do, and the humpback whale is a good example.
Blooming Forest
Bright sunlight dances
Coral reefs breathe new colors
Old forests in bloom
Would coral reefs stand a chance in the future, protected by drowned temperate rain forests in warmed waters in now too cold areas?
Their condition has never been worse…
The Other World
You ask me why I live
alone in the mangrove forest,
at the edge of the infinite sea.
I smile, I am silent
until even my soul grows quiet:
it lives in the other world,
one that no one owns.
The trees bloom.
The waves keep coming.
Mangroves, just as seagrass beds and coral reefs, keep coastal zones healthy. Mangroves provide essential habitat for thousands of species. They also stabilize shorelines, preventing erosion and protecting the land — and the people who live there — from waves and storms.
Symbiosis
Drowned forests
Nurturing seaweed
Symbiosis
Kelp forests are dense areas of kelp growth that occur near coastal waters. Kelps are ‘primary producers’ that modify the environment to create suitable habitat for a great diversity of species. Therefore they are known as foundational species.
Bloom
Pulsating blue
float gently between the trees
forest in bloom
I show you how I see the earth from, let's say, a few centuries from now. An amalgamation of the forests and the oceans. With hopefully in the distant future a rich ecosystem that has managed to adapt to the new conditions.
Refuge
Sea turtles
finding refuge
among old-growth
In the new collection Drowned Earth I show you how I see the earth of, say, a few centuries from now in this collection of new artworks.
Swimming In Tears
While trees cry
fish shed their tears
in endless waves
When I imagine what the earth will look like in 100 years, the image that comes to mind most emphatically is one of an earth with sharply rising sea levels.
It was one of those typical windy Danish late summer days. Fierce rain showers passed over all day, alternating with brief moments of sunshine. On the beach, you could see the showers coming from afar, especially when they were shone upon by the setting sun.
Lost In Thought
I walked in the woods, on a path I walked
many times before, completely lost in thought
not noticing that darkness was falling, that stars
appeared in the sky, that moonlight
brightened my path. A sound brought me out of my musings...
'Suixtinction' is self-inflicted extinction, where species destroy vital conditions for life through overconsumption, pollution, and resource depletion. It's happening now, with dire consequences felt globally. This term and the related digital artwork mashup signify an urgent wakeup call to address these pressing environmental issues.
Wandering between dreams and reality on a crisp winter morning, the artwork 'Blooming Winter Dreams' captures a magical 3D effect, created by Karina Mosser painting on a photograph. Part of 'The Narrow Path' collection, both original and various print editions are up for grabs—drop a message to own one.
Jacob Berghoef's "Earth Cries" combines art and poetry, expressing grief over Earth Overshoot Day 2023. The work highlights the toxic, irreversible damage we've caused, living off the earth's credit without a way to repay. It's a wake-up call to consider our incessant consumption and its grave, lasting impacts on the planet.
June 1, 2023 — Comments are off for this post.
Marshes captivate with their mysterious allure and fragile beauty, influencing Jacob Berghoef's latest 'Flat Lands' and 'Digital Art' series. His transformative digital art, derived from photos taken at Overasseltse En Hatertse Vennen, manifests in limited edition prints that embody the ethereal marshland atmosphere through surreal editing. His works are available for sale, complete with authenticity guarantees.
May 18, 2023 — Comments are off for this post.
In "Spring Morning At The Pond," an artwork from the collection "Secret Places," I expressed the serene beauty of spring using digital techniques. Using impressionism and surrealism as the foundation, I transform photographs through color and effects to evoke a surreal atmosphere. Limited and open editions are available for purchase, with the limited edition including a signature and certificate of authenticity.
In the morning of my dream
Only shadows will remain
Echoing the light of my thoughts
'Echo Of My Thoughts' is a new digital artwork, made by transforming one of my own impressionistic photographs through extensive editing to achieve a surreal effect.
My work encourages reflection on nature's beauty and the consequences of human destructiveness.
Lying on our backs in the woods, we observe nature's symphony flying above, and the gentle dance of light amid the trees—a phenomenon known as Shinrin-Yoku, or "forest bathing," celebrated in Japan. It refreshes the body and mind, enhancing health and well-being. Anuscka's original blog post inspired a digital artwork, capturing this therapeutic essence.
January 1, 2023 — Comments are off for this post.
In the tranquil medieval village of Corenno Plinio, narrow streets and old stairs evoke a time long past, with few signs of modern tourism. The artwork 'Awakening (2)' from the 'Lost Cities' collection is a digitally altered photograph, aiming to capture a surrealistic atmosphere.
December 31, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
The first light
Slowly awakening trees,
for a brief moment
woven in liquid gold
'The First Light (2)' is a new artwork in my collection 'Wavy Fields’.
This is a digital artwork, printed with high-quality ink on museum-quality cotton paper (Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308gsm). The work comes in a limited edition of 10, signed and with a certificate of authenticity.
For these artworks, I start with one or more photographs made by myself. I edit it in multiple process runs and in several layers by color manipulation and adding and editing multiple digital photographic effects. I do that until a surrealistic atmosphere is created that touches me and tells the story I want to tell.
The photograph(s) I begin with has/have an impressionistic, surrealistic or abstract realist style, which is the basis for all my work.
Prints are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available in my Saatchi Art portfolio at the artwork page
December 31, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
Morning glow
The sun kisses the clouds
Blinded by the eye
A beautiful autumn morning. The sun appears on the horizon, its warm light kisses the clouds above the fields in Kobberø, Thy region, North Jutland, Denmark.
'Kissing The Clouds' is a new artwork in my collection 'Wavy Fields’.
The artwork 'Kissing The Clouds' is a digital transformation of a photograph, and will be printed with high-quality ink on museum-quality, acid-free cotton/rag paper (Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308gsm). The work comes in a limited edition of 10, signed and with a certificate of authenticity. But of course, it is also available as Open Edition print, without signature and not numbered. Available in any size you desire !
Maximum size is 225Wx150H cm / 90Wx60H inches. The work can be printed in any size up to that maximum, so please let me know the size you would prefer.
I start with one or more photographs made by myself to create these artworks. Then I use digital painting, color adjusting and adding and transforming multiple artistic effects, until a surrealistic atmosphere is created that touches me and tells the story I want to tell.
Prints are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available in my Saatchi Art portfolio at the artwork page. But of course available in any size you desire !
Through my artworks I ask you to reflect for a moment on the nature around you, on the beautiful feeling that nature can evoke. Thus to think about your actions to support the wellbeing of the earth and everything that lives on it. And on what humanity loses when many of us continue on the destructive path of ever more greed and consuming. And please, reflect on how you can survive in this rapidly changing world…
So do you want to know your ecological footprint?
Then visit this website: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
And do you want to reduce your ecological footprint?
Then ask me, I will help you. For free. Or simply visit my website and choose in the menu for Your Footprint.
And if you appreciate my writings and art and want to support me, you can buy me a piece of fruit here: https://ko-fi.com/jacobberghoef, thank you 🍏 !
Interested in more? Then read what I wrote about System Change, Man's impact on the earth, Organic Change, Regenerative Agriculture, Regeneration
December 27, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
Thick clouds of black
smoke darken the sun
Eyes tear,
trees cry
The sun colors the evening
in the hues of the flames that
eat tree after tree
How high may become
the price the future
will have to pay?
I feel it as my mission to make people aware of the beauty, power and simultaneously fragility of nature. Yet at the same time, this sometimes feels like hypocrisy because I am part of the society that is causing the destruction of the habitability of the earth. Even though I do my best to live simply and keep my carbon footprint considerably smaller than "the use" of 1 earth.
At times when I feel that, I also feel an urge to create a work with a poignant message....
Trees Cry (1) is a digital artwork, printed with high-quality ink on museum-quality cotton paper (Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308gsm). The work comes in a limited edition of 10, signed and with a certificate of authenticity.
For these artworks, I start with one or more photographs made by myself. I edit it in multiple process runs and in several layers by color manipulation and adding and editing multiple digital photographic effects. I do that until a surrealistic atmosphere is created that touches me and tells the story I want to tell.
The photograph(s) I begin with has/have an impressionistic, surrealistic or abstract realist style, which is the basis for all my work.
Prints are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available in my Saatchi Art portfolio at the artwork page
ALL WE NEED IS LESS CONSUMING
Through my artworks I ask you to reflect for a moment on the nature around you, on the beautiful feeling that nature can evoke, on your actions to support the wellbeing of the earth and everything that lives on it, on what humanity loses when many of us continue on the destructive path of ever more greed and consuming, on how you can survive in this rapidly changing world…
Want to know your ecological footprint?
Visit this website: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
Want to reduce your ecological footprint?
Ask me, I will help you. For free. Or simply choose Your Footprint in the menu
December 27, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
Thick clouds of brown
smoke darken the sun
Eyes tear,
birds cry
The sun colors the evening
in the hues of the poison that
factories vomit
How high may become
the price the future
will have to pay?
I feel it is my mission to make people aware of the beauty and at the same time fragility of nature. At the same time, this sometimes feels like hypocrisy because I am part of the society that causes the destruction of the earth's habitability. Even though I do my best to live simply and keep my ecological footprint considerably smaller than "the use" of 1 earth.
At times when I feel that, I also feel an urge to create a work with a more poignant message....
This is a digital artwork, printed with high-quality ink on museum-quality cotton paper (Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308gsm). The work comes in a limited edition of 10, signed and with a certificate of authenticity.
For these artworks, I start with one or more photographs made by myself. I edit it in multiple process runs and in several layers by color manipulation and adding and editing multiple digital photographic effects. I do that until a surrealistic atmosphere is created that touches me and tells the story I want to tell.
The photograph(s) I begin with has/have an impressionistic, surrealistic or abstract realist style, which is the basis for all my work.
Prints are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available in my Saatchi Art portfolio at the artwork page
ALL WE NEED IS LESS CONSUMING
Through my artworks I ask you to reflect for a moment on the nature around you, on the beautiful feeling that nature can evoke, on your actions to support the wellbeing of the earth and everything that lives on it, on what humanity loses when many of us continue on the destructive path of ever more greed and consuming, on how you can survive in this rapidly changing world…
Want to know your ecological footprint?
Visit this website: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
Want to reduce your ecological footprint?
Ask me, I will help you. For free. Or simply choose Your Footprint in the menu
October 7, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
[...] When she wakes
she lifts the shade, impatient for a glimpse
of flight: a sparrow, a swallowtail—
something with wings she can memorize.
The above stanza is from Laura Ann Reed's poem "As Clouds Before the Wind", and inspired me to make this artwork.
Laura Ann is a poet from the US, her work particularly appeals to me. Moreover, she is a very inspiring woman; I am fortunate to have a regular email contact with her.
Read more about Laura Ann and enjoy some of her poems via this link to her website. The entire poem is below the image of the artwork.
'A Glimpse Of Flight' is an artwork in my collections 'Secret Places'.
Text continues below the image
Laura Ann's poem:
As Clouds Before the Wind
There are borders toward which
she moves, although she can’t say
what galaxies they lie between.
Daily, she prepares for a parting
in the trees, waits for the window
hinge to break, the pane to crack
and fall. She’s ready for the wind
to fill her room. She has one foot
planted on another planet,
and in her sleep she yields naked
to the Eros of its magnetic field—
its ethereal embrace. When she wakes
she lifts the shade, impatient for a glimpse
of flight: a sparrow, a swallowtail—
something with wings she can memorize.
This is a digital artwork, printed with high-quality ink on museum-quality cotton paper (Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308gsm). The work comes in a limited edition of 10, signed and with a certificate of authenticity.
For these artworks, I start with one or more photographs made by myself. I edit it in multiple process runs and in several layers by color manipulation and adding and editing multiple digital photographic effects. I do that until a surrealistic atmosphere is created that touches me and tells the story I want to tell.
The photograph(s) I begin with has/have an impressionistic, surrealistic or abstract realist style, which is the basis for all my work.
Prints are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available in my Saatchi Art portfolio at the artwork page
ALL WE NEED IS LESS CONSUMING
Through my artworks I ask you to reflect for a moment on the nature around you, on the beautiful feeling that nature can evoke, on your actions to support the wellbeing of the earth and everything that lives on it, on what humanity loses when many of us continue on the destructive path of ever more greed and consuming, on how you can survive in this rapidly changing world…
Want to know your ecological footprint?
Visit this website: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
Want to reduce your ecological footprint?
Ask me, I will help you. For free. Or simply choose Your Footprint in the menu
Swimming In Tears II
While trees cry
fish shed their tears
in endless waves
In the project Drowned Earth I show you how I see the earth of a century from now. A fusion of the forests and the oceans, with hopefully in the distant future a rich ecosystem that has managed to adapt to the new circumstances.
Living In The Other World
Mangroves, just as seagrass beds and coral reefs, keep coastal zones healthy. Mangroves provide essential habitat for thousands of species. They also stabilize shorelines, preventing erosion and protecting the land — and the people who live there — from waves and storms.
August 22, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
I have the right to fly
To grow, to prosper
The right to be
To raise offspring
Feed you and others
To be fed myself
Who defends our rights?
Does a human being have more right to a clean earth and a safe and healthy life than a bird, a tree, a flower?
If your answer to this is "Yes," then why?
Hasn't that human being forfeited that right by polluting the earth, by risking his health through bad eating habits and by using year after year more than what the earth can provide?
Does a Western person have as much right to it as a person in a developing country who has never been guilty of that unbridled consuming, polluting and unhealthy behavior?
Do I have a RIGHT to live in a healthy environment? Or is life a FAVOR of nature, which I may enjoy as long as I behave nicely and don't make a mess of my body and my surroundings, and that of people around me and people far away?
I can get terribly irritated by the cries of Western people about their rights. Right to clean air, right to clean water, right to healthy food, right to... In my opinion, we in the 'developed countries' have long since forfeited all our environmental rights, and yet we continue as if the amount of available rights for us can never be exhausted.
Wake up, it's long run out. There is no clean water anymore, no clean air, no clean fertile land. Your rights, my rights, they all stop, where and when we abuse the rights of nature.
We spoiled children, we must earn our rights for today and tomorrow and the rights of humanity in the future. By sustainable living, by consuming significantly less, by cleaning up what we ourselves have polluted.
'Right To Fly' is a new digital artwork in my collections 'Stray Birds' and 'Digital Art'.
Prints are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available in my Saatchi Art portfolio at the artwork page.
Through my artworks I ask you to reflect for a moment on the nature around you, on the beautiful feeling that nature can evoke, on your actions to support the wellbeing of the earth and everything that lives on it, on what humanity loses when many of us continue on the destructive path of ever more greed and consuming, on how you can survive in this rapidly changing world…
Want to know your ecological footprint?
Visit this website: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
Want to reduce your ecological footprint?
Ask me, I will help you. For free. Or simply choose Your Footprint in the menu
August 15, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
Dreams wander
between the trees,
waiting, longing
to be reborn as
common sense
in a new time
Many people dream of an earth that is safe and clean, that is treated with care so that it can give enough to all its inhabitants without becoming exhausted.
Only when all those dreams come to life in common sense and people take action to live differently will that dream become a reality.
Do you ever dream about that too? And what did you do today to make those dreams come alive?
I washed myself this morning with cold water, yesterday I grabbed my bike to go shopping. Then I covered a section of the vegetable garden where the harvest is finished with a layer of shredded garden waste. As food for the new sowing season next year, to cover the soil in its resting period against drying out and prevent the growth of too many weeds...
'Wandering Dreams' is a new digital artwork in my collections 'Secret Places' and 'Digital Art’↗️.
This digital artwork was created through a collaboration with Janet Akselrud↗️, here is her website↗️.
She generously gave me permission to use one of her digital artworks.
Thank you Janet, I hope you like the result !
Prints are available, ask for a quote or contact me through a message. Prints are also available in my Saatchi Art portfolio at the artwork page↗️.
Through my artworks I ask you to reflect for a moment on the nature around you, on the beautiful feeling that nature can evoke. Thus to think about your actions to support the wellbeing of the earth and everything that lives on it. And on what humanity loses when many of us continue on the destructive path of ever more greed and consuming. And please, reflect on how you can survive in this rapidly changing world…
So do you want to know your ecological footprint?
Then visit this website: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home/en
And do you want to reduce your ecological footprint?
Then ask me, I will help you. For free. Or simply visit my website and choose in the menu for Your Footprint.
And if you appreciate my writings and art and want to support me, you can buy me a piece of fruit here: https://ko-fi.com/jacobberghoef, thank you 🍏 !
Interested in more? Then read what I wrote about System Change, Man's impact on the earth, Organic Change, Regenerative Agriculture, Regeneration
June 21, 2022 — Comments are off for this post.
And Then The Sun Stood Still - Summer.... - I love this time of the year, in which the whole cosmos seems to come to a standstill for a moment.
December 21, 2021 — Comments are off for this post.
And Then The Sun Stood Still - Winter Solstice - The sun seems to stand still for a few days, before the light returns.
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