Niek van der Plas paints impressionist scenes of Holland's beaches and dunes, bulb fields, city scenes in Amsterdam and Maastricht, and other typically Dutch vistas such as the harbours of Old Dutch towns. Figures are often central in the work of this painter, who was born in 1954 and who is notable for his use of light colours.

Nicolaas (Niek) van der Plas was born in Leiden on 12 July 1954. He grew up as the oldest son in a family of four children in Katwijk, a fishing village where the sea and dunes are prominent in the landscape.

Niek's father was a house painter and decorator by profession, but his early working years were spent at sea as a fisherman. Art was one of several hobbies enjo...