I paint and draw animals, people and sometimes landscapes. Animals interest me as painting objects, and I just love drawing them from life in the fields around me or painting them lifesize in my studio, which is in a converted dairy farm just north of Amsterdam. You can't find me happier than when painting fur with huge brushes and broad strokes. On a deeper level, the long standing and sometimes uncomfortable relationship between kept animals and humans keeps popping up in the work, whether I paint horses, donkeys, cows or apes. The dependence of the animals on us and their trust gives us a huge responsibility. I'm not at all sure that we as humans live up to our part of the deal.

I have just finished a large project about the different aspects of dairy farming. How does it influence the animals, the people and the landscape? This is the MILK project, culminating in a solo show at Waterlandsmuseum De Speeltoren in Monnickendam, and a book which is still available here. I am currently working on portraits and whatever takes my fancy.

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