What is on my easel...

I have been working on this painting of this little girl (36" x 24") in acrylics for the last weeks. On the wall behind her the text of the first article of the Bill of Rights is written. It is fading and chipped off partly. The girl is staring at me - the artist - or at all of us, wondering....

Study in colour of the male body

I love to paint and draw the male body. I am clueless why somebody could say that the male body is ugly and not esthetically pleasing to look at. It is true that male bodies come in all shapes and sizes, but the same applies to female bodies. Besides we each have a different taste in what we find pleasing to look at.

Personally I find the work of Dylan Ricci very pleasing to look at and his male models are superb. His photography inspired me to the two following studies in mixed media (soft pastels and ink).

In these studies I highlighted the beauty in the round shapes of a male body. In the background - to contrast the round forms and shapes of the body - I use straight lines and rectangular shapes. Soft pastels are an excellent medium to bring out the softness of the skin, whereas the ink makes the contrast to the pastels.

Word and Symbols July 3 - August 10, 2010

The Windish-Hunt Gallery in Coconut Grove, FL had yet another great idea for a show. The subject is "Words & Symbols". It is the kind of subject that inspires a lot of artists, even if we normally do not use words or symbols (-ism) in our work.

I entered two paintings for this show; both are 24"x24" and in acrylics. Normally I work with oil paint, but I also like to work with acrylics. I choose a different style, more colors and more freely and I had a lot of fun in doing so.

The first one is "Change your words and you will change your world" The text starts on the left side of the canvas and finishes on the front. Words are powerful as words can kill, hurt, uplift and actually change your life.

The second is almost the opposite of the first as it refers to silence.

"The title is: "Listen to the colorful words of my silence". This one is inspired by a conversation I had with a close friend about communication within a relationship, or maybe more the lack of it. But the lack of words does not mean that somebody is not communicating. Silence can hold a lot of words and meaning in both a positive or a negative way.
I put the text on the front but in a small font to express the silence.

Both the use of words or silence can be powerful means of expressing yourself.

MOCA Audience's Choice Recipient

On April 14, 2010 I did a presentation at the MOCA in Miami for the program "5 minutes of fame"?

My 5 minutes are being extended because I was chosen by the audience as the "Audience's Choice Recipient. And that results in one of my paintings being published on MOCA's website.

I am so freaking thrilled with that!

Thank you everybody who voted for me in April and who supported me.

Transitions

At first - when I started working on these paintings - I wanted to create a series about people trying to find their balance in life. I got the idea when watching an old man, who could barely walk, literally swinging from one pole in the bus to the next until he reached the door. He was more in balance than the rest of us.

Nowadays a lot of people struggle with their balance in life and I am no stranger to that at times. But while working on the paintings, it seemed that they became more personal. I wasn't sure how or why but every time I looked at my work, it was as if I was telling myself something.

After a while it hit me: it was about me. I was the portrait of my transition from Holland to the US. Don't get me wrong, I have not regretted my move what so ever, but it did have an impact on me. I left my family, friends and my life as I knew it behind to start all over again.

The paintings are not sad - with their vivid bright colors - and it shows me finding a new balance here. Each one of them is a step towards the future. If you click here you can see the Transition paintings.

Click here if you want to know more about the presentation at the MOCA in North Miami.

5 MINUTES OF FAME

On April 14 I will be presenting my work at 5 MINUTES OF FAME at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in North Miami.

This is a series that is part of MOCA by Moonlight programming, allows local artists to explain how and why they create their art.

Although I am nervous (this is a complete understatement), I am also very excited about this opportunity.

Nudes

Getting Ready (12" x 12" oil on canvas)

I love the human body. I love how the light creates this beautiful effects on the skin and more so to capture that in my paintings.
By the way, each body is so unique and especially when you look at the skin tones. For me it is really fun to work with that.

Not only do I paint the female nudes but also the male. Now I know that many consider the male body not as beautiful (to paint) as the female. Perhaps the female nude is more accepted nowadays, but I find that the male nude is equally as beautiful as the female body.

Future (12" x 12" oil on canvas)

And even though the female body is celebrated for its round shapes, I find that the male body has many of the same beauty.

If you are interested to see more of my nudes, please click here.

Fresh from the Fridge (2009)

When I knew I would have a solo at the Focaccia Rustica in Coconut Grove, I also realised that this would not be the place to hang nudes. It is after all a family restaurant. And this implied that I had to come up with a new body of work. To be honest, I went blank at first. For days I stared at two empty canvases and all that came to mind were nudes.

One afternoon my partner asked me why I didn't start painting and I replied: "Paint what? I have no other subject on my mind than nudes."

He suggested to go out and look around the house, to see if anything would inspire me. But I am not a plein air artist - ok, I never tried it and the large amount of hungry, bloodsucking mosquitoes outside doesn't make it very inviting for me to try a landscape out there.


Then he said to me: "Why don't you look in the kitchen, maybe there is something in there that will give you ideas."

And so I did, not that I am normally so obedient, but I was blank and he tried to help me. I opened the fridge... nothing yet, no celestial flash of inspiration. Then I opened the vegetable drawer in the fridge and I saw a variety of fruits and vegetables, each with their own colours and shapes... and there it was... my source of inspiration: Fresh from the Fridge.

To see all the paintings from this series, please click here.