About my work

Jumping from one medium to another

In 1998 I started studying graphic design in Utrecht the Netherlands. Internet was still on the rise and only the minority worked on a Macintosh that ran on Classics (remember?). One of my teachers once introduced me to “Painter” a computer program that enabled me to paint on a computer. I didn’t have much experience with painting at all, let alone on a computer, but I wanted to be an artist and I loved it!

Trying out a new medium, computer program, 2D/3D or whatever, never was a big deal to me. As a student I was hungry for new knowledge and skills. My fellow students in Utrecht or later in the Hague where I studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts saw me playfully learning how to use new tools and might think I was wasn’t really paying attention, but I was serious about it. It is just in my nature to take things lightly and to have fun: it is the way I learn. And once I master a skill enough for me to use, it hardly ever becomes rusty.

Composition #006

I couldn’t quite see it then, that I did the same as my father did who was a gardener at the time. He easily switched between various jobs in his life, he was trained as a mechanical engineer, became the CEO of an insurance company and ended up to become a gardener. He was never afraid to start a complicated job. Like taking apart a car (for the first time) piece by piece to paint it and restore the engine, building a house from scratch… stuff like that. He said he understood the basics and was confident enough to overcome setbacks that occur in every project.

Estrade (dais)

What I want to examine, express or communicate as an artist comes from my core. There lies my focus. This mindset enables me to use tools at hand freely. I just don’t worry about setbacks and I never really have to, because I am very flexible during the progress. I also surrounded me with great craftsmen who can provide me with their expertise or even do parts of the job for me.

Working with ceramics, make a painting or to draw on a computer doesn’t even change my way of thinking about concept or form. It just do it. But I do recognize that I let a fair part of chaos/coincidence enter my works. That disrupting element is always the same: it disrupts. I just have to let it work for me.

Icon #017