"The Godfather, Marlon Brando" Painting

Peter Donkersloot (April 8, 1959) was born in Arnhem. After his studies at the Arnhem Art Academy, Peter was a freelance illustrator for various publishers and advertising agencies. In his spare time he made paintings. At the end of 1987 he discovered that work and ambition did not go well together anymore and he forced himself to make a decision.

"I always had the idea that when everything failed, I could go back to the advertising business, although I knew that this would never happen. The nature of the art is to show the audience what the artist does, about what he dreams or what keeps him awake. When I recognized that, I knew that I would never return to my former profession. If you stay true to yourself, you can be rewarded by an adult audience. That's the ultimate position for an artist! "

Peter Donkersloot paints according to the old 'layer by layer tradition'. Transparent layers give the paintings more depth and the colors are 'warmer'. This cannot be achieved by coloring directly from the tube. The old masters worked the same way with home-made oil based paint. Due to the slow drying they had to wait, sometimes even weeks, before they could add an extra layer. This is why many artists, like Donkersloot, now work with the fast-drying acrylics (based on water) to achieve the same effects.

"My ambition was to become the best artist in the world, but a qualification like this does not exist. Nobody can decide objectively because there are no standards for it. Perhaps I try to make the ultimate painting, the painting which cannot be described in words. There must be a stage where words stop and the painting begins. Without a doubt, it's nonsense to talk about it. If I could explain this, the art of painting would be superfluous. It is a mindset that cannot be achieved with verbal communication. That's my quest! "