Childhood - Adolescence, or the hard journey to adult world.
I was born in the Netherlands, where I grew up with my brothers and sister in a loving family.
We lived in a place untouched by the noice of modern society. This childhood paradise came to an end when it became impossible for me to avoid the adult world any longer. Probably, it was at this time, I got lost and made choices, that were not in line with what I was feeling deep inside myself. My thirst to discover, grow and change was not satisfied at all, and not before long I felt the need to leave everything for an "elsewhere".
Major turning point, Travelling.
I started to travel the world, making a year long trip. This major turning point divides my life into a "before" and an "after". This journey was an intense period, during which I regained lost happiness. Coming back to the Netherlands was very difficult. I couldn't adapt to my "old world" and I isolated myself in a painful and lonely introspection. Art became a comfort to my fragile soul. Literature and music provoked "emotional orgasms" and I started to feel a strong attraction to paintings.
New country, new start
In 2004 I moved to Paris, learned the French language, visited museums, and I considered this step as a new, decisive start. Despite a busy family life and a part time job in a corporate environment, I always found time to paint. I followed classes at the School of Fine Arts, I set up a studio in our house, and during my lunch breaks I went into the forest to plant my easel ((I learned to drive with 50 mph on a dirt road while brushing my teeth and changing my clothes). In 2017, my artistic "coming-out" definitely showed me the path to my destiny. Something beyond myself urges me to follow this path, no matter where it takes me. Following the very encouraging reactions during my first participation in art fairs, I decided in 2021 to devote myself fully to painting.
2023
Guest of honeur - Salon de printemps - Senlis
7 - 11 june
2022
Solo exhibition - Compiègne
Salon de Printemps - Senlis (Prix de l'association art & amitié)
L'âme du paysage - Charenton-le-pont
Salon d'Automne - Compiègne (Prix coup de coeur)
Art en fête - Senlis
2021
Guest of honeur - Salon d'Automne - Compiègne
Sélection International festival peinture en plein air - Normandie
Sélection officielle du Salon d'Automne - Champs-Élysées Paris
2020
Artfair - Senlis
Salon d'Automne - Compiègne (Prix de la ville)
International festival peinture en plein air - Paris
cancelled:
Sélection officielle du Salon d'Automne - Champs-Élysées Paris
2019
Salon d'Art international - Lacroix Saint Ouen
Sélection officielle du Salon d'Automne - Champs-Élysées Paris
Salon d'Automne - Compiègne (Prix du conseil Départemental de l'Oise)
Biennale des Arts - Saint Quentin
Artfair - Senlis
Salon d'art - Armancourt (Prix du jury)
2018
Salon d'Automne - Compiègne (Prix du Public)