Lia Van Elffenbrinck

This is the story about me
How Art came into my life
In 2007 I started painting as I felt very very bad. I had nothing left: no home, no work, no friends. Then I noted how good it felt to paint, so I painted and drew just to myself. Sometimes I used these paintings as a present for my children, but I never told the world about me and never showed the world what I was doing. In 2015 a very dear friend told me, that I was an artist and that I should do something with it. It sure was an eye opener which first made me scared.
Of course in my life I was always painting, but I thought that it was quite normal and everyone would do that.
Writing about me makes think of my parents. Being a very good coupeuse seamstress, my mother sewed my colourful clothes. They where very beautiful, but they made me different from other kids. My father was an architect and he showed me to look and to see. So myeyes became the most important tool in painting. Looking at buildings, I saw the roofs, the windows, the doors, the bricks and all those colours. I saw some buildings smiling and some buildings being very angry, as if they had a life of their own. Both my parents have established a feeling for beauty and colours in me.

Because I am self-taught and have never followed a painting or drawing course, I have studied many artists by looking very carefully every time. Of course I tried to imitate them to find out what suited me best.

I developed a few directions that lead to my style. A few directions, because I don't want to limit myself to one type of paint and not to one style. Sometimes I want to work abstract, but sometimes it has to be figurative and sometimes a combination of both. I use acrylic paint, oil paint, gouache or pastels. I can't really choose one type of paint, so I use them alternately, sometimes also together on one canvas.

EXHIBITIONS:
2020
• Art facilitator Marion!, Bergen op Zoom and St. Willebrord.

2019

• Restaurant De Kamer, Emmen.
• Design Meubelhuis Scherer, Uithuizermeeden.
• De Langenhof, Zwolle.

2018

• The Colorfield Performance in collaboration with Dirk Hakze, Sloten.
• Overleven in kleur, De Horst, Emmen
• Impressie, TCA Assen.
• Opening, ‘Toolbox‘, Emmen.
• Dorpshoeve, Nieuw-Schoonebeek.
• AKE, Emmen.
• CBK, Emmen.
• Kunst- en Cultuurroute, Nieuw-Amsterdam.

2017
• Micksart, Rensenpark, Emmen.
• Dorpshoeve, Nieuw-Schoonebeek.

2016

• Schildersfestival, Sellingen.
• Micksart, Rensenpark, Emmen.
• CBK, Emmen.