Since the end of August 2019 I moved back to Brussels, Belgium. The three years I spent in Kenya have been super interesting and moved me to paint my african impressions. I feel privileged to have learned so much of this wonderful part of the world which was quite foreign to me before. Life is full of emotions about people, nature, things etc...and leaving Kenya will be hard indeed.
One of the biggest luxuries in life, is to live surrounded by beauty. This is what I am trying to do. And yes one can see beauty everywhere...it is a state of mind.
Harmony is an integral part of beauty, this is what I am trying to convey in my work.
It is indeed a necessity for me to create. It has always been this way for as far as I can remember.
Not creating makes me feel empty and unfulfilled. In every day life it pervades all my actions, from cooking to finding different places to visit, walk, etc....Have a look at the furniture I created lower in my portfolio. The architects who sold my furniture were the first ones to sell my paintings.
For painting, nature inspires me a lot, many other sights or thoughts as well. If I end up painting
a landscape, a portrait or something else, it is because I felt a strong emotion and an urge to do it.
Hopefully my paintings inspire other people and radiate harmony in the home or office where they hang.
Living in Africa between 2017 and 2019 and having lived in North and South America and in northern and southern Europe, I picked up bits of cultures all over. During my stay in California I first came into close contact with asian art and philosophy which would leave a lasting mark on me. The influence from Asia was reinforced in Argentina where I took classes of japanese painting with Cristina Ishikawa. I took drawing classes and studied classical rennaisance flemish painting techniques. For the rest I am an autodidact.
The most gratifying moments in painting are those when you get into a meditative mood and when all of a sudden you get a kick out of an accident, something not planned which fits the painting perfectly. The intuition is at work and surprises the rational mind. Sometimes the painting overtakes your will and dictates colors, forms or nuances which were never thought of before.
Back in Europe now, I joined the Academy of Anderlecht Brussels. There I paint together with others, which is a new experience for me. We have teachers who give input on rare ocassions unless you ask for it. Here I try to let go and paint in ways I never or rarely did before. It is fun and I learn new things. The space available here also allowed me to paint on big canvases attached to a wall. ...
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