Since 2024, De Volkskrant, Landschappen NL, and Vroege Vogels have established ‘De Natuurboekenprijs’, a new award for the best Dutch-language nature book.

This year (2025), all nature books published between June 1, 2024, and June 1, 2025, are eligible: from field guides to children’s books, and from poetry collections to novels. On the ‘Vroege Vogels’ radio broadcast of July 7, 2025, the longlist was announced, from which five titles were nominated.

On September 28, during the Vroege Vogels radio broadcast, the winner was announced: Eva Meijer, with her book ‘Muizenleven’ (Mouse Life). Eva Meijer’s prize included a sum of money and the framed original artwork. The jury consisted of Jean-Pierre Geelen (De Volkskrant), Jocelyn de Kwant (Landschap Noord-Holland), and Merlijn Schneiders (Vroege Vogels).

A short filmed impression showing the creative process behind this artwork can be seen here.

One year ago, artist and explorer Raoul Deleo returned to the mysterious continent of Terra Ultima. The expedition commenced unexpectedly with the unearthing of a curious object, long entombed beneath the desert sands of northeastern Terra Ultima—a discovery that, at first glance, seemed to be a relic from a long-lost human civilization. Careful excavation and detailed examination helped Deleo to uncover perhaps something even more extraordinary. This scientific and artistic expedition, documented in a film, traces Deleo’s meticulous process of research and reconstruction. The journey culminated in a new artwork—a meticulously rendered painting that casts another light on the natural history of Terra Ultima, inviting viewers to step once more into a world that lies just beyond the edge of the known.

The film and a new painting are on show at the Microcosm exhibition in the Drents Museum from September 6 until March 1, 2026.

In the weekend of September 21 & 22, during the ‘Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend’ (GRAW), I will open my studio again.
Now, quite some time after the publication of the book ‘Terra Ultima’, the calm has returned.
A new expedition to the continent is cautiously in preparation.
During the weekend, the already known “discoveries”, and some new small originals, framed and unframed are on show (and for sale*).

Also, after many requests, the painting I recently made for the National Geographic about the Dodo is available as a print. Of course there are still (signed) books for sale in both Dutch, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Danish translations.

*To convince you to come over and as a thank you for your visit, there will be a studio discount of 15% on all purchases over €50,-.

My studio is located in Rotterdam in an old school building, situated next to the river Maas and surrounded by a tiny patch of nature.
The address is Nesserdijk 406, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Please feel welcome, both days between 11:00h and 17:00h.
I’m looking forward to your visit!

Warm regards, Raoul Deleo

PS. In the same building there will also be eight other artists and writers opening their studio that weekend.

About two months ago Deleo received an assignment from National Geographic magazine.
He was asked to create an illustration to accompany an article about the dodo, in which paleontologist Leon Claessens states that the dodo was not so much a stupid and clumsy animal, but rather a very unlucky one. The title of the article: “The tragic fate of the Dodo”

Deleo really enjoyed the study and research to determine how the bird, that went extinct more than 300 years ago, must have looked like. Few contemporary paintings and drawings of the animal survived. Most of the artists, just like Deleo, had never seen a living species. His version also blends fact and fiction. However, he closely examined a skull kept by the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, a painting (1625) by the Mughal artist Ustad Mansur and the drawings made by Joris Joostensz Laerle during the voyage of the VOC Gelderland in 1602, among many other resources.

In the painting that Deleo made, the (flightless) bird frozen in mid air, refers to it’s seemingly inevitable extinction. The egg, held up very carefully by the bird, symbolizes the struggle for survival (and the revival attempts by humans). Remains of the egg are considered to be the holy grail in Dodo research, and have, until now, never been found.

Deleo tried to depict the dodo in a somewhat unexpected way, but at the same time make references to well-known images and assumptions about the animal. The posture deliberately resembles that of a found fossil of an archaeopteryx. Both, the dodo and the archaeopteryx, are famous but unfortunately extinct. In the posture one could also recognize a reference to seventeenth century still life paintings with hunting trophies. This because the extinction of the dodo, unlike the disappearance of the archeopteryx, is entirely due to humans (directly or indirectly).

The final artwork made with acrylic paint is published in the October edition of the Dutch version of the magazine. A video showing the process of creating the artwork can be seen here.