My portraits

During my design studies at the Rietveld Academy one of my teachers noticed that I always made drawings of people. Facial expressions were a prominent feature in those drawings. He asked me to join his portrait painting classes where he taught painting techniques that lay close to one’s natural way of painting.
He taught me Venetian techniques, as used in the High Renaissance by painters like Veronese and Titian. I so much enjoyed his classes that I decided to keep painting next to graphic design and illustration.
Painting a portrait is a very intense experience. One feels many layers of emotions in the person in front. You have to choose what you want to express most in your painting and what to leave hidden. It’s mostly a subconscious process. It just happens.
Those are the best moments; even so they take a lot of energy. I can only take one or two portrait commissions per year.