Soft words I tell myself

This body of work has been inspired by how hard I am on myself as a person and also as an artist.

I started telling myself soft words as a contrast to the feeling of having to be the largest person, constantly bettering myself and having to do everything alone (according to myself). The two works ‘Daydream for a couple of hours’ and ‘Even when no one is looking’ are based on selfportraits and reflect both harsh and soft sides.

All works on show in Utrecht from april until the end of June 2024. A selection is also exhibited at de Portretbiënnale in Amsterdam.

See available work

Even when no one is looking

Oil and oil pastel on linen, 150 x 120 cm, 2024

Daydream for a couple of hours

Oil and oil pastel on linen, 180 x 120 cm, 2023/2024

Standing (study)

Oil on unstretched linen, approx 25 x 50 cm, 2023

Daydream for a couple of hours (study)

Oil on unstretched linen, approx 38 x 25 cm, 2023

Orange kitchen lighting

Oil on linen, 40 x 60 cm, 2024

Some days, not every day

Oil and oil pastel on linen, 40 x 60 cm, 2024

Are we still whispering soft words or are we in denial

Oil and oil pastel on linen, 40 x 60 cm, 2024

I am not a mirror of myself from yesterday

Oil and oil pastel on linen, 40 x 60 cm, 2024

Dirt under my fingernails

Oil on linen, 40 x 60 cm, 2024

Let it go, disappear

Oil on linen, 40 x 60 cm, 2024

My imaginary friends are part of this body of work.

I’ve been painting my own Imaginary Friends for years (but have only recently started calling them that). They’re a break from my larger work and are a place to experiment with texture, colour and expression. They’re usually drawn without reference and have a recurring cast of characters from my imagination.

Imaginary friends

I think that at different moments in time, characters appear on my paper to help me solve certain problems I run into. Sometimes that’s a younger childlike character to help me see things less seriously and sometimes that’s a confident, I-deserve-everything-in-life character.

They’re my imaginary friends and are helping me see.