I mainly paint landscapes. I do paint other topics, like animals or still lives, but my preference goes to landscapes. The colors, the perspective, the details and of course the different seasons. It is never the same which is a big challenge for me.

Often, when I am on a walk with my dog Lynn, I get inspired by the landscape I walk in. I try to capture the idea in a photo, which is an art as such! At home I study the photos thoroughly and decide if what I thought was a good photo also has potential to make a good painting. Sometimes the photo looks great, but it cannot be transferred to paint on canvas.

I paint very detailed and try to keep it as realistic as possible, but my paintings are still paintings and they do reflect my view on nature and the landscape.

When I paint a different topic from a photo, like an animal, I paint the main topic very detailed in focus and the rest of the picture a bit more blurred to keep the focus on the main topic (also known as photo realistic). For an example, see the painting “reflectie”. For landscapes I take a different approach and try to paint everything as detailed as possible. If you look at a tree, it is in focus, as is the pole a bit further. Only items in the far distance gets blurry, as the eye cannot see those items sharp.

I start a painting by making a sketch with pencil. Then I color in the areas with acrylic paint as a base layer. I use acrylic paint because this dries quickly and I can continue immediately with painting with oil paint. I apply the colors mid-tone and then add layer after layer to get to the target color. Last part is to add the highlights that bring the painting to life.