Philine van der Vegte is a Dutch painter who paints the world around her in oils and gouache. She paints from observation and en plein air. Her painting has been described as atmospheric and
tonal.
Philine’s work is fairly realistic, in a loose style. The subjects are close to home and the farm where she lives; Dutch landscapes, people around her and farm animals. Philine studied at
Wackers Academy of figurative art in Amsterdam, and graduated with honours in June 2019.
She has participated in an won awards at several international plein air painting festivals such as Noordwijk and Pintar Rapido. With a small charcoal drawing of trees reflected in a ditch, she
won a place at the Dutch national Summer Exhibition at Museum De Fundatie. One of her portraits was selected for the "Lang leve Rembrandt" exhibition at the Rijksmuseum.
The starting point for her paintings is always in the real world. Painting from observation is important to her and she will choose to do so whenever possible. Whatever the practical drawbacks,
she feels it is better to capture the essence of a person, a landscape or an object in this way.
Philine aims to show a timeless beauty, without reverting to nostalgia. She paints fast and tries to keep her paintings fresh. She looks for that perfect brushstroke, that shows exactly what she
wants it to say. Sometimes rough and fast, sometimes very tender. Her mission as an artist is to bring real life to life.
From the exam jury report:
"Imposing sizes, as well as intimate smaller portraits. Her presentation is exceptional through the large format. It's a statement, "Here I am". Her skills are excellent, a solid draughtsman, a fluent and fast painter. The story is consistent and painted with compassion. Good in form, tone and colour. Spot on and bravura painting."
“Painting in the open air is always challenging. 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? For me that’s what it is all about: showing the beauty of the Dutch fields and skies. When I start a painting, I look for the things that have lasted. The area I live in has a rich and long cultural history. I paint people, landscapes, animals. I try to show them the way they are now, framing them in their rapidly changing surroundings.”
EDUCATION
2015 - 2019 Wackers Academie Amsterdam. Graduation under mentorship of Jim Harris with the project “Portrait of a village”
2018 Sarum Studios Salisbury (UK), sightsize figure and portrait drawing and painting with Nicholas Beer
2017 Child portrait masterclasses with Irma Braat
2015 Cultuurhuis Wherelant Purmerend, 2015 sketchbook with Henk Fakkeldij
2014 - 2015 Cultuurhuis Wherelant Purmerend, oil painting with Ingrid Pasmans
2013 Cultuurhuis Wherelant Purmerend, watercolour with Ingrid Pasmans
1990-1997 MSc Industrial Design Engineering, TU Delft
AWARDS
2018 Kunst Kijken Volendam
2017 Noordwijk plein air painting festival (nominee)
2017 Kunst kijken Volendam
2016 Pintar Rapido Amsterdam
COLLECTIONS
Bernard Nieuwentijt College, Monnickendam
WalburgPers, Zutphen
BBC, London (Seascape as a background for the 2019 drama series “Gold digger”)
Works held in private collections in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany, UK, Australia, Belgium, France, Israel and Italy.
SELECTED PRESS
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2019 "Lang leve Rembrandt, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
2019 Schilderfestival Noordwijk
2019 Graduation show at Wackers Academy, Amsterdam.
2019 "Hoornse Nieuwe", De Boterhal, Hoorn
2019 "Tales of the unexpected", De Boterhal, Hoorn
2018 “Expoost #3: Landschap”, Affichemuseum Hoorn
2018 “Verval" (Decay), Waterlandse Kunstkring in Grote Kerk, Monnickendam
2018 Duo exhibition in Waterland Town Hall with ceramist Malisca Muller
2018 "Is getekend", De Boterhal, Hoorn.
2018 Duo exhibition with ceramist Gerda Roodenburg in the church Broek in Waterland.
2017 “Schilderen wat je ziet”, solo portrait exhibition, cultural centre De Bolder, Monnickendam.
2017 Summer exhibition “Water", Museum De Fundatie, Zwolle
2017 Plein air painting festival Noordwijk
2017 Solo exhibition, De Kleinste expositie van Nederland, Monnickendam
2016 Museumnight Antwerpen, exhibition "Unseen talent”, DIVA museum Antwerp (B).
2016 Solo exhibition "Noordwijk plein-air”, Study centre Amsterdam of the Open University.
2016 Painting festival Noordwijk
2016 Solo exhibition "Mens en dier" in Cultural Centre De Bolder, Monnickendam
2016 Museum Edam, group exhibition “100 jaar droge voeten”.
At the table in local TV show "Waterlandse zaken", my 15 minutes of fame from 17:44
See all press here.