ABOUT MY WORK
Pastelpaintings and mixed media on paper
I visited Italy for the first time when 17 y.o. during a study trip to Rome and Florence and the overwhelming beauty impressed me a lot and was of great influence to my career.
Im an artist interested in environmental issues expressed in series like 'The waters of Venice, the Sounds of Nature and the position of the artist in society in the being an Artist series'. Now having Venice in the picture as an endangered historical city because of the rising sea-level caused by climate change. At my first visit to Venice in 2018 while waiting for my boat trip I noticed near the station on a white wall marks how high the water level will be coming years , the curling, spiraling and tossing sea weeds in the lagoon reminded me of the threat of this danger and I started 'The waters of Venice' series and developing in a current Project. it was as if I was being called by Spirits from the past and my work was created in a flow.
I'm using a method that suits my temperament ( short time to dry and working fast ) with the mix of washed ink, ( Indian ink diluted with water in various degrees )charcoal and pastels what results in picturesque effects. I make use of high quality 400 grams paper. And before I start my method I’m stretching the paper with tape as a result that wrinkles are not visible.
Besides the washed ink technique I was experienced in model drawing and fascinated by the dry-point etching method which is still visible in my varied black lines.
The name Pastel paintings is invented in the early 18th century while famous artists made portraits of the elite with pastels on paper accepted as a serious method. Masters working for the elite like the Italian Rosalba Carièrra and the French Maurice Quentin de La Tour. Another of great influences were the old Chinese ink wash master and the 16th century Japanese ones like Hasegawa Tõhaku and Sesshu Tõyõ.
THE SOUNDS OF NATURE
The Grids
Tic, tac, toe or boter kaas en eieren
Years ago I started with the idea to entitle some series ‘tic,tac,toe’ or in Dutch: ‘boter, kaas en eieren’ or ‘butter, cheese and eggs’ as a playful thought and also because it evokes for me a fertile place a spot under the sun and a green land of milk and honey. Its well known that the Netherlands is a land of cows grazing in the many meadows that milk produces a lot of products in making cheese and butter. And these symbols reminds me of the old fashioned milkman or greengrocer who used to deliver milk, cheese and other goods at peoples doors. As I can remember, they put crosses when the customer paid up, and a zero when delivery was on credit.
Thinking about at a different level the range of the positive- and negative electrical poles or the countless zero-or-one schemes that produces all kind of signals over the world. Perhaps the universeis the sum of all mathematical numbers, a gamble in which numbers sort themselves in groups and form the structure of nature and construction of the earth. The grids in my series are little planets similar like our earth, with fantasy forms filled in with colors as budding buds of flowers or where life begins and a fertile green growing place to be. Because of their gentle and calm appearance the colorful little ornaments are a contrast within the my many strong brushstrokes and areas in my Pastel paintings.
The meaning of flowers
Since ancient times flowers are associated with that life and both beauties are short-lived. The flowers of fruit trees as preliminary stage for the growth of fruit and still lifes with flower as Vanitas themes shows the transformations of life. I have a number of flower types that regularly appear in my work as an important source of inspiration. As an exemple the Passion Flower symbol of spirituaility.
Being an Artist
I have great affinity with the Renaissance Art featured with a simple but highly effective compositional form: a central human figure in the fore ground was placed against a natural landscape in the background. My aim is to use this form to explore different aspects of - being an artist-: my profession and the profession.
For several of my ‘being an artist’ series, I asked an artist to be my model and using sketches, or photo’s of professional models. On the basis of photos, I shaped facial and bodily expressions. I am reluctant to use myself as a model: using someone else creates a distance which allows me to explore the subject in more depth. The drawings mirror my own experience regardless of whether the depicted figure is a man or a woman. The human feelings that are the subject of my work are universal: loneliness, concentration, depth, perseverance. And I know for sure that every professional artist who goes through a creative process is familiar with them.
In my creative mind destinations are dark, captivating and new. The road that leads to them, from creative design to the end product, is strewn with difficulties. In my imagination I depict the artist as an explorer, alchemist or inventor eager to discover unknown territories.
