Window Shopping Painting

About me I have been working as an independent visual artist since 1994. My studio is located in Zwolle at communal building for music, performance, arts & crafts @ Rieteweg 10, Zwolle, Overijssel, the Netherlands. I am rooted in the graphic industry but over time I have developed into a multi-disciplinary artist. I am rooted in the graphic industry but over time I have developed into a multi-disciplinary artist. The graphic influence is still present in my work. As my artworks have a strong sense of aesthetics and firm arrangement of colour and composition. My creating process is comparable with the process of a graphic designer. The concept, the idea is leading. Then several ideas are explored until the final idea transforms into a painting or digital artwork. However there is always room for coincidence. Unexpected errors bring me new insights, thus incites new interventions. A bit of frustration is actually the key to the outcome. No shine without friction A distinctive feature in my work is the human in all its shapes, forms and behavioural aspects, the state its in. My art is often a personal reflection of social issues and current affairs, summarized, the condition humane. Daily scenes, platitudes and the absurdities fascinate me. Although my art is highly aesthetical it also contains distressing elements that evoke a feeling of uneasiness. This contradiction is a recurring theme in my artwork. Do you really see what is shown? What lies underneath? Thematically it could be looked upon as a search to the core of being. The images I create are attractive, smooth and somewhat polished at first sight but on second sight the controversy is revealed. My aim is to portray human nature, stripped of pretence or behind the surface. The created images often touch upon the edge of fiction and fact. To me, innovation is not a purpose in itself but the result of progressive insight and the need to stretch and push my own boundaries. Currently my work seems a mixture between estranged architectural or manmade environments and floating, alienated, displaced and/or disconnected creatures. My two latest series of paintings, Metropolitans and Brave New World are my response and reflections of all that occurs in modern society. It shifts from irony to dystopy. My autonomous work consists of paintings, sculptures, collages and digital photo manipulation. Contemporary (sur)realist? I am not easily categorized in a tradition or movement.