Gerard Toonstra

I'm an artist from Rotterdam. In daytime I work with technology, after working hours and in weekends I spend my time painting. I mostly like realist paintings, particularly the ones that have a subconscious element to it. I like to look at paintings for a long time, discovering specific cues in expressions, movements, poses and from there colors, color harmonies. In my own works I also like to take the time to discover the subjects, what works and where to exaggerate a bit and where to diminish.

I was given the opportunity to have five consecutive lessons in painting from a local master. Since then, I've learned a lot from youtube videos, some well known accredited books, blog posts, online tutorials given by masters in their field. And painting is life long learning, so I'm still learning from every painting I make.

- Merit award from the 2020 portrait exhibition on Camelback online gallery.