Back to the basics

For years I painted quietly, just for myself. I read books about the old masters, learned their techniques. But I showed my work to almost no one.

Then came corona. I was stuck in Switzerland – couldn't visit family in the Netherlands, felt lonely. One day I pulled my old painting supplies out of the shed. It took some getting used to. The first paintings didn't all turn out well. But it felt good to make something with my hands again.

Painting became my outlet. In a strange time, it gave me peace.

Now I'm back in the Netherlands. Carefully, I'm starting to show my work again. And you know what? People respond. They look, they ask, they appreciate. It's bearing fruit.

My parents weren't artists, but they did encourage me. At Christmas I often got a box of pencils and a big sketchbook. At school, teachers would ask how I could draw a horse or a chicken so realistically. My answer as a child was simple: "I see it. And then I draw it."

That's how painting works too. You see something – in real life or in your mind – and you try to put it on canvas with paint. That's all.

One teacher truly saw what I could do: Miss Blauuwboer. She said: "Keep going." Years later, during corona, when I pulled my supplies from the shed, I heard her voice again in my head.

Recently I heard she has passed away. I want to pause here for a moment. Because it means so much when a child hears: "What you're doing is good." These days everything seems to revolve around performance and measurable results. But creativity? Making something out of nothing? That's a gift. And nurturing that gift in a child – you never forget that.

Once I was accepted to an art academy. I didn't go. Because of circumstances, but also doubt. Looking back, I'm at peace with that. A passion that truly comes from within never disappears. It simply waits its time. Like with me: years later, I picked up the brush again anyway.

Miss Blauuwboer, thank you. Your words stayed with me.

Sometimes you don't have to make big art. Just making is enough.