Images from nature, documentaries and memories continue to inspire me.
A story also immediately conjures up images that I try to display, although I always have more images in my head than time to display them on canvas.
I am fascinated by the expressions of the human face, which is why I will certainly still make portraits.
I like a mysterious or magical touch but it’s not always there or sometimes others see this even when I don't ...
It has been my dream to become a painter since my childhood.
I love a magical or mysterious atmosphere in my works and every work is always a new challenge because I want to try everything: portraits, landscapes, still lives, nude, stories, series, marines and many other things.
I prefer working with smooth surfaces, which is why I use fine linen or wood.
It is an ongoing evolution. I have made many sketches on paper, but nowadays I also make my sketches immediately on the canvas or on iPad.
If I am not satisfied with the result, I leave my work be for a moment, but keep thinking about it and usually there is an idea that comes to adjust and improve it. Another method is to take a photo of the canvas that I am not satisfied with, which I then edit on iPad until I like the result and through which I adjust my work again. If there is no more inspiration to improve it, I just start over.
I never keep a canvas I am not satisfied with except if I plan to change it later.
Images from documentaries, films and memories remain in my memory and sooner or later they end up on the canvas or in a sketch. Those images are usually distorted by my imagination and no longer match the original images.
I have great admiration for many artists such as, among others, David Hockney, Alessandro Sicioldr, Rudolf Wacker, Franz Lerch, Marie-Louise Von Motesiczky, Gustave Klimt, Alfons Mucha, Maurice Denis, Alice Neel, Wiliam Degouve de Nuncques, Paul Gauguin, John Singer Sargent etc.
Although I am certainly not inclined to take over certain aspects of their work, I may have certain affinities with some of them.
My work is figurative but not really realistic. You could call it magic realistic.
1969 - 2015 : secretariaat Hof van Cassatie - Secretariat of the Supreme Court
1970 : Sketching evening classes in Sint Lukas Ghent
1971 : Evening classes living model in Sint Lukas Ghent
2011 : Orientation course Academy of Image and Art Ghent
2012 - 2019 : Painting Academy of Image and Art Ghent
2019 - 2024 : cross-over painting/drawing