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 on a big scale in my studio, which is in a converted dairy farm just north of Amsterdam. You can't find me happier than when painting a life size giant bull with huge brushes and broad strokes.

On a deeper level, the long standing and sometimes uncomfortable relationship between kept animals and humans keeps coming back in the work, whether I paint horses, donkeys, cows or apes. The dependence of the beast upon us, and its trust, give us a huge responsibility. I'm not at all sure that we as humans always live up to our part of the deal. In most of my work this relationship between humans and animals plays a role, sometimes overt, sometimes more in the background.

Drawing and painting living creatures from life is challenging and exciting. Animals move around, and this means that speed is important. I like the thrill of trying to get it right in one go, but visible signs of searching for the right shapes are part of the work, too. The brushstroke is essential and I try to achieve the freshness of my life sketches in the larger studio paintings as well.

FRESH OFF THE EASEL: plein air work from Noordwijk Schilderfestival