Embracing It All Painting

I am a mixed-media painter living in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. FOR ME PAINTING IS ABOUT CREATING A NEW STATE OF BEING For me painting is about creating a new state of being. I never feel more connected with myself and the here and now, then when I give myself permission to drift. I’m always in search of that forever changing moment when you feel like a speck in the universe, but somehow grow emotionally three foot tall. Starting a painting is like a journey unfolding. Opening a book on it’s first page or taking that first step. The anticipation and acceptance that the journey has begun. To get lost in order to find yourself. Transported to a place where there is no need to explain anything or answer any question. To just dive in to that feeling that exists somewhere between reality and memory. The whole process is simultaneously subtle and bold, complex and simple, planned and spontaneous. I truly love that moment when something timeless and contemporary appears. I feel most centered whilst painting, so the whole process has a meditative and contemplative quality to it. I often combine acrylic paint with several mediums, such as gels and pastes on canvas. When working on these pieces, either with a brush, spatula or via poring methods, I introduce colour and contrast until the first stage of a piece feels right and finished. In the second stage I let the emerged shapes lead me towards an intuitive, slow and delicate build up of layers and arrangements until all individual parts feel balanced and play the right supporting role in the overall composition. My love for art and creation lies in this second stage. It pushes and pulls the creative process within my own artistic journey: Letting my love for the materials, different techniques and the drive to create out, whilst always providing new insights and moments of learning and reflection. Some paintings only come together after many layers have been applied, amplified or subdued and I have to be alert and in tune with my work to see and not miss those important phases.