After skipping a year, Deleo will open his studio doors again during the Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend (GRAW) and you are invited!

The new Terra Ultima find that was on display in the Microkosmos exhibition at the Drents Museum is back in Rotterdam. During GRAW, You can see the whole project at his studio, after which the painting will travel on to PAN Amsterdam.

However, there is more new work to see, including drawings made of animal and plant species that might emerge in the distant future under the influence of climate change.

New limited prints and original pieces will be available alongside my better-known works. Of course copies of the book Terra Ultima are still in stock in multiple languages and if you wish they can be signed for you.

To tempt you to visit (and as a thank you for coming), Deleo is offering a 15% studio discount that weekend on all purchases over €50.
You can still find the studio in a small but lovely patch of nature inside an old school building along the river Maas.

In the same building several other artists and writers are also opening their studios.

The address is Nesserdijk 406.
Please feel welcome, both days 19 & 20 September 2026
between 12:00h and 18:00h.

Read the invitation in Dutch.

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 a framed original artwork made by Deleo. 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.