Different experiences and people have shaped me as an artist. I come from a loving family in which I was always encouraged to find and follow my own path.

I was  raised with respect for nature and love for all that lives. I always felt free to express my creativity and curiosity about people, my environment and my pursuit of harmony. This freedam has laid the foundation for the next steps I have taken on my journey as an artist.

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During my fashion education at the art academy Artez (Arnhem) and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent), I experienced that art is personal, but can also be made personally. This discovery led to my Personalized Art concept, with which I tell personal stories through paintings. Studying fashion, I also got to know the power of fashion and the meaning of color and shape.

My bachelor Cultural Anthropology made me more aware of the influence of my choices on my environment and the world and vice versa. This has prompted me to constantly think about the impact of my life on others. It has sparked a fire in me to keep learning how and what I tell with my artworks. It made me appreciate the similarities and differences in cultures even more. And is the reason that I look for the most sustainable options available to me at that time with all the materials I use.

During my master Conflict Resolution and Governance I learned that art can bring people together and function as a universal language for connection and understanding. It is a form of expression that goes beyond boundaries and creates space for the presence of multiple perspectives and truths. It is the only way for me to understand complexity in a way that allows me to discuss and share it with others.

All these experiences have ensured that within my art nature, fashion, culture, solidarity and personality always come together.

 

Picasso's quote ' art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life ' summarizes my experiences as an artist and strikes exactly the chord of what art and life are about in my experience:

 

Art stops time and offers a moment of reflection and recognition, it summarizes an essence and allows emotion to be experienced. I focus on the positive emotion (- meaning whatever emotion or story helps to heal the world) that art can generate. That is what I want to bring with my artworks: positive emotion, an element of joy in your home.