The first thing you notice in Johan Abeling’s work is the mysteriousness. The atmosphere in his desolate landscapes are almost unreal. The artist is considered a northern realist; a term for realistic painters from the north of The Netherlands. His subject is the northern Dutch landscapes, often with a bare tree, an abandoned villa or just a small part of a run-down fence or border post. He uses reality as inspiration for his own mystic world. His paintings seem to have their own personality and their own story. You can also regard his paintings as resting points in a hectic society. Johan Abeling is a master in the use of sfumato, a technique to create a diffuse and filtered light. By applying several transparent layers he softens the transition between colours and shapes, creating dream-like images.