Category: Behind the art
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Why Artists Work in Series
Read more: Why Artists Work in SeriesWorking in series allows ideas to unfold gradually across multiple paintings. Symbols, colour and composition shift and return. Series such as *Sneaky Hidden Sunflowers* and *Icelandic Houses* illustrate this process.
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Selecting Work for the Archive
Read more: Selecting Work for the ArchiveToday, I am selecting works for archiving, a careful process of archiving contemporary paintings within the larger structure of my oeuvre. Archiving is not closing a chapter. It is structuring the oeuvre. It clarifies continuity, strengthens coherence, and preserves the evolution of the work.
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How I determine the price of a work
Read more: How I determine the price of a workThe price of an artwork This studio note expands on the ideas described in my Artist Vision.Read the full Artist Vision here → The price of an artwork is never based on a single factor.I weigh several elements together. First, format and material. Oil paint, wood, canvas, or mixed techniques each come with their own…
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art in the Snow — Behind the Scenes
Read more: art in the Snow — Behind the ScenesBehind the scenes — photographing Icelandic Snowwhite in the snow Today there was snow in the Netherlands. A beautiful layer covered the bulb fields around us. Even the water was wrapped in a true blanket of snow, which I could gently push aside with the paddle. Normally, we use this boat to cross over with…
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What will 2026 bring?
Read more: What will 2026 bring?Art plans 2026. What will 2026 bring?Hopefully, at the very least, plenty of snow in the coming days. Beyond that, I am planning ahead, with a focus on suitable gallery contacts, Kunstmaand Ameland, and Kunstmoment Diepenheim, two curated art events in the Netherlands. That is exciting, because it has to be the right fit. A…
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When a Story Chooses an Image
Read more: When a Story Chooses an ImageA new story by writer Karin Melis. (Published on 22 december 2025.) A story that pulled me into a cave, to follow the feelings of a man on a mission. Karin writes. And listens. I still have much to learn from her in many areas, but above all in compassion.(https://www.trouw.nl/auteur/karin-melis/) Where I can sometimes end…
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Morning walk
Read more: Morning walkA walk in the early morning. Never alone. winter reflection artist What’s hidden, and reappears in spring? It’s winter, a season of winter reflection for an artist. And winter is a time for making plans for the new year. December has always been a rather hectic period for me, energetic, social, full of movement, and…
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Small Houses, Strong Winds
Read more: Small Houses, Strong WindsA quiet gallery morning at Gallery Twintig, where I hung new work from my Icelandic Houses series. Visitors asked about the story behind the small, resilient houses that stand firm in the wild Icelandic landscape. Their recognition of that hopeful strength reminded me why this theme continues to move me.
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A personal story
Read more: A personal storyCharcoal in my hands There’s a thin veil of black dust over the table, my hands are constantly grey around the edges. I’m fully in the sketch phase. No large canvases, no layered colour, but paper, line, and energy that I sometimes let flow freely and sometimes channel with sharp focus. It feels like returning…
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After the storm
Read more: After the stormDuring storm Benjamin I had a flashback. (The storm was mild where we live, which was a pity… because I love a storm.)Anyway, it pulled me back to summer. To the way I dove into movement—of nature, on and in the water, and in myself. It influenced my painting. I put down a whole series.…
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up-popping symbols
Read more: up-popping symbolsHare and deer appear while I work—up-popping symbols that carry my memories and my father’s fables. Not answers, but openings.
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Magical Realism in My Work
Read more: Magical Realism in My WorkA female artist statement Much of my practice is rooted in magical realism, it gives me the freedom to image my reality through symbols, dreamlike spaces, and the world as I feel it. To some it may sound abstract, yet to me it is clear as day. It is not fantasy but my own truth,…