Unlocking doors

A few months ago I felt like drawing my mom, she died two years ago and I wanted to do a little portrait of her. When it was finished I put it on Facebook and got some really nice comments. My friend Sanneke Griepink, who is an artist too, replied: ‘Hey you can do portraits too!’ And somehow that little remark made me think. Yes, I can do portraits too, in fact it was my favourite thing to do as a teenager, draw my family, actors, popstars… When did I quit again? Oh right, right after I finished art academy.

Somehow doing portraits became a bad thing.

In the years after that I did one portrait I really liked doing and then right after one I really hated and never finished. I ended up passing on the commission to a befriended artist and never doing a portrait again.

As it turns out I don’t hate doing portraits, I just need to stay close to a way of working that fits me. Right now I’m working on a portrait of my brother and very much enjoying the process. It’s not quite ready yet but still having fun and already looking forward to the next portraitproject.

Another door I’m pondering to unlock is teaching, giving small courses from my home…