MY STORY, MY ART
Born from depression and chronic fatigue,
intuitive play is the main key driver behind my art making.
MY WORK IS A CHANNELING OF
THE VOICE OF MY INNER CHILD.
IT'S A HIGHLY INTUITIVE AND
PLAYFUL SEARCH FOR A VISUAL
REPRESENTATION OF EMOTIONS
AND INWARD TRUTHS
THAT I COULD NEVER PUT INTO WORDS.
It's without exception a spontaneous expression of this moment in time, an intuitive unfolding of layer upon layer, rather than a step in the execution of a plan.
I respond in each moment to what shows up in my process, guiding me into my next step.
It's the way I live my life too. That way I come alive the most. This is key for me.
TO COME ALIVE WHEN I PAINT
This process yields so many little surprises, gems & ideas that I could never have come up with as a conscious plan and proposal in advance. ONE LAYER IS THE CATALYST FOR THE NEXT AND SO ON.
The layers and layers of marks, shapes, drips, scratches & lines are like visual eye catchers that draw you deeper into the story of the painting, often subtly obscuring the layers beneath, leaving them tantalisingly beyond grasp. Evoking a longing to reach further and deeper.
EACH OF MY PAINTINGS GOES ON ITS OWN INDIVIDUAL & UNIQUE QUEST TOWARDS RESOLUTION. I FIND MYSELF IN THE PAINTING WHEN I FULLY TRUST THE PROCESS. I'M GUIDED BY MY BODY, FEELINGS AND SPONTANEOUS INTERNAL NUDGES.
It's in the searching and 'not knowing' where I'm going exactly, that my authentic voice comes out.
I HAD TO HIT THE BIG FIFTY WHEN I FINALLY DISCOVERED
PAINTING. IT WAS THEN THAT I REALISED I HAD BEEN
OUT OF TOUCH WITH MY
INNER ARTIST FOR MOST OF MY LIFE.
As a 10 year old girl I was a top gymnast, training 14 hours a week for the Youth Olympic Games.
Even though I loved it, for years I was heavily overtaxing my body and with the injuries and chronic stress,
it left me feeling traumatised and disconnected from myself as a teen.
I developed serious health problems of which CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) was the hardest
to tackle over the years. Thanks to discovering dance and yoga in my twenties and thanks to
thirty years of body, mind and soul work, I gradually found my way back to my true self.
Inner child healing, energy- and shadow work played a major part in my healing journey
back to health and my more feminine, creative Self.
In my creative process I play, explore & seek balance between aliveness and resting spaces, the quiet and loud conversations in shapes & colour and the variety of values.
I use a multi-disciplinary approach, choosing mixed media like acrylics, inks, & oil sticks, sometimes oil & wax. I like creating my own collage paper and use the technique of both direct as well as indirect mark making. The possibilities are endless and that gives me tremendous joy.
MY WORK ENERGISES AND INJECTS
HOME & HEART WITH A SENSE OF JOY,
LIGHT-HEARTEDNESS AND FREEDOM.
Each artistic journey to me is a celebration of the wisdom and gifts of my soul and a testimonial to all I’ve overcome.
I feel inspired by Intuitive Artists like Nicholas Wilton (Art2Life), Jodi Ohl, Louise Fletcher and Judy Woods.
When I started my creative journey in 2022 on the Greek island Corfu,
I had zero painting experience and the belief I wasn’t creative. I also had hit rock bottom in life, felt profoundly exhausted and was going through depression.
I decided to honour the deep desire to simply play and mess around with
some paint, with colour and shapes. What I experienced in the process
was a retrieving of a long lost creative part of my soul, the reigniting of my inner creative fire. My inner child finally coming out of hiding. She started communicating after years of being silent. I was ready to listen.
I found Freedom, I found Joy and I’ve never looked back.
TODAY I MAINLY DEDICATE MY TIME AND ENERGY TO MAKING ART.
I'VE STARTED STELLING MY ORIGINALS,
FINE ART PRINTS AND PREMIUM CANVAS PRINTS
WITH MY ART4JOY WORKSHOPS
I GUIDE PEOPLE INTO
FINDING CREATIVE FREEDOM
THROUGH THE POWER OF PLAY.
I was born in Australia but grew up in the Netherlands. I married my current English husband and lived for 10 years in the UK. We have a beautiful teen daughter together. I've worked and lived in Australia, Holland, Nicaragua, UK and today my base is in Costa Blanca, Spain. Before I discovered painting I simply was too occupied with being a mother, a project manager, a teacher, trainer and life coach. And with surviving, as my health struggles kept nudging me to slow down.
That’s a little bit about my life and why I came
to create the art I make today.
THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY.
