About me and art

Since I can remember, I always had pen and paper with me and drew all the things around me. My mother told about the time I couldn`t remember, because I was too young , that I was very fond of „decorating“ her cooking books with faces and she was not so happy about it.

When I was at school, I became interested in other things too, like languages, working with children and medicine. Than came the time, when I had to decide, which interest should be my future profession.

That wasn`t an easy decision and life laid out  a few surprising ways in front of me until I found the solution.

So, here am I today : a dentist for nearly 3 decades, who loves to treat children and show them a fearless way to oral hygiene, a passionate artist as a „second life“ in my sparetime and still interested in learning languages . And by my side my dear husband for 39 years now and our 3 children, always loving and supportive.

Over time I found more time for art, learning from other artists, visiting the exhibitions of the old masters in Amsterdam, experimenting in different styles and materials.

Why faces?

I have to admit, that faces are still my favourite subject, although a bit bigger and a bit more advanced from the time in my mothers cooking books.

But why faces?

It`s because I`m fascinated by people. I meet a lot of them every day and I admire this variety in their life’s and stories, which are mirrored in their faces.

In the media (especially adverts in TV and all around us at every street corner) there is shown a different idea of people. There is a tendency to put people into stereotyped boxes according to the fashion and beauty  industry. You have to be young, thin, radiant, beautiful and …… photoshopped.

I think, it`s an unhealthy kind of role model. Because people are so much more than these stereotypes. You can find beauty in everyone, inside and outside.

It can be a smile, a kind act, the wisdom of age, the curiosity of a child.

So I try to show people in different ages and gender, as well as in different emotional states. Because, as we all know, life isn`t always easy and we are not all the time happy.

Fear, anger and uncertanty belong to us as well as happiness, love and trust.

Sources of inspiration

There are of course other sources of inspiration too.

Music, poetry and theatre are very special for me. The work of Shakespeare (the plays and the sonnets) had a huge impact on me.

One of the portraits you can see in the gallery is inspired by a wonderful theatre performance of „Hamlet“ in Helsingör a few years ago I had the opportunity to see with my family. As a memory we have a few words of the famous soliloquy framed at our wall in the livingroom.

The way I work

Normally I work in small series to find a way to express one theme. But sometimes it´s just one painting that wants to come out of me, even if it`s in the middle of the night.

The paintings you can browse through in the gallery are done in 2 main materials: acrylics and oils on canvas. Once in a while though I go wild and try out diffent medias such as mixed media on different canvas types e.g. cartonage.

With acrylic paint on canvas – I am able to work fast and energetic, because of the fast drying time of the paint. So it`s possible for me to put all the energy I recieved through an  inspiration fast enough onto the canvas and not overthink it or paint it to death.

Oil paint on the other hand is a different medium. I need time for it and work in a different approach, mostly layers with a lot of drying time in between.