STRENGTH AND FRAGILITY

I paint and draw my immediate surroundings in the rural area just north of Amsterdam.  Aiming to show a timeless beauty, without reverting to nostalgia.
 Every time I’m out there with my easel, I ask myself: what fascinates me about what I see and how do I capture the beauty of this view in my painting? I am always looking for the essence of what I want to express. The area I live in has a rich and long cultural history. I paint people, landscapes, animals, trying to show them the way they are now, framing them in their rapidly changing surroundings.

At the moment, the focus of my work lies with painting cattle, sheep and horses. Farm animals are part of our cultural heritage and our landscape, as well as an economic factor. They are not pets, but production units. Life and death of these animals lies in our hands. Their physical strength is intimidating, certainly up close, but they are utterly dependent and vulnerable. I want to show this impressive strength and beauty, but I also want to raise the issue of  servitude and fragility. I do this in lifesize drawings and paintings, that often express a certain threat or sadness, as well as the beauty of the animals.

Apart from the big farm animals, I paint postcard sized plein air landscapes, and portraits from life.

FRESH OFF THE EASEL

Small plein air landscape paintings I made at the Noordwijk Painting Festival. All are oil on panel 13x18cm. See all landscapes here.