Dream Ladder Painting

ARTISTIC BACKGROUNDBorn in Den Hague, The Netherlands 1952New Zealand, citizen 1965Lessons in oil painting, with Nick Stein 1963In 1971 received a Diploma in Graphic Design, (With Merit) at the Christchurch Polytech. In 1972 I studied at the School of Fine Art, University Of Canterbury, achieving high marks but left the following year to paint fulltime. I started exhibiting, my painting tutor, Dick Lovell-Smith purchased five of my paintings at the time. In 1974, I won the Royal Overseas League Award for painting (Art History professor, John Simpson, was the judge). My painting was exhibited in London in 1975. I travelled to Europe in 1978, and exhibited a painting in The Netherlands Royal Academy show, in Roermond. I studied Rembrandt, Mondrian and other artists work in galleries throughout Holland. I continued painting and exhibiting, I was briefly involved in puppetry and theatre on my return. Notably in 1989, I was awarded a QE2 direct support grant, and in 1991, I exhibited this work at the McDougall Art Annex, Christchurch. In 2003, The Te Papa Museum, Wellington purchased Life Spiral. In 2006 Real Art Road Show Purchased and toured Two of my Paintings. Then in 2008 my first public sculpture Stele was unveiled in Temuka. In April 2009, I won first prize in The Peters Doig, Marlborough Art Society Art Awards, for my painting The Iconoclast Wilhelmus C Ruifrok SIX PAINTINGSI am currently working on Six paintings, they are at various stages of completion. Two of the paintings are specifically designed around the figure, showing the visceral structures of the muscles and at times the skeletal under- pinnings. The reason and emotive direction for these works revolves around the search for the immortal and the relationship to the mortal, physical and corporeal world that we live in. The idea is that, if you look closely at the mysterious physical structure you might uncover the spirit that motivates, not only the body of the creature, but the environment in which it lives.Modern science has pointed out that all elements present on earth and in the universe at large, are created inside stars, larger stars produce heavier elements like carbon and iron and ultimately one of the heaviest elements uranium.*This established fact.