As a child, I was always fascinated by art. Although I could be amazed by the details of a big old extremely detailed clair-obscure painting, you would rather find me sitting in front of a weirdish abstract work trying to see animals and figures in it. I have always loved to spot forms in the formless, in the clouds for example when looking up, in the bark of trees when walking through the park or even on the natural stone tiles of my parents bathroom while talking a shower. As I grew up I developed a strong interest in human emotions and you would find me again sitting in front of some abstract painting, now thinking about the intention of the artist and trying to figure out what the painting revealed about the hidden chambers of the soul who painted it.  Add some years to that and I would be reflecting on my own interpretation, finding a better understanding of who I am through the work of others.

Coming from a family which was never good at communicating feelings, combined with a heart and soul that carried way too many emotions, expression of that what could not be spoken was very important. Everything I make comes from deep within, all too often from places that I didn’t even know were there. Seeing my expression on the canvas makes me understand the vast variety of emotions and feelings that we as human beings carry inside.

Painting is a very intuitive process and in contrast to who I am in my daily life it is an open gate for allowing free flow. Sometimes I will step back from the painting, look at it, take it all in, and suddenly see my current emotional state or that what is occupying my mind in it. Sometimes in a symbolic way but all to often pretty ‘in-your-face’ as well. This is one of many reasons I am often a little shy about sharing my work and showing it to others: it almost feels like sharing a diary with a complete stranger. But when I ask them what they see, I see my paintings becoming a mirror of their own being.

It always makes me smile, because they can never see what I see, even if they see it too. And it reminds me of what art means to me: finding yourself.

Digital transformation

Over the past year I have become more and more excited about the concept of NFT’s and digital art. Therefor, I have decided to release a drop of blockchain-inspired NFT’s based on physical paintings created by me. These paintings are not the artwork, but will be used as the starting point for the digital art I will be minting. As an artist, having the opportunity to use my paintings as a starting point for a newer art form instead of the paintings being the endpoint, feels extremely exciting. To some extent, the enhancements and additions to the digital work feels like finally finishing my work – and I cannot be more excited about this NFT drop.