I was born in Brussels in 1957 and studied drawing, painting and art history at the Academy of visual and audio-visual arts (Leuven, Belgium). I live and work near Brussels, Belgium in my home based art studio.
Art has always been a constant companion in my life. I used to dance classical ballet during my younger years and always loved expressing myself with visual lines and elegant forms. Nowadays I express these same lines in my art work, where I combine them with the feelings that appear to me during the painting process or as a result from social interactions.
Art is my kind of therapy and it has helped me overcome significant milestones in my life. So much even that I wanted to spread this positive experience to others, such as autistic children during painting art therapy classes and cancer patients in accepting their new body or to ‘forget’ the c-word and just be in the moment for a while. I also taught and practiced art with children during weekends and holidays, as I believe children have a great set of inspiration and they see the surroundings differently with their unconditional and honest approach to life. Helping and supporting them was one of the most memorable moments in my artistic life!
If I had to identify a constant in my work, I would analyse it as following: the world around me is a source of inspiration, as is the value of nature, the daily life and the madness of the contemporary world. They give me impressions, feelings and emotions.
I work slowly through a succession of layers and little by little these layers become a language. At the beginning when I start a painting, I can have more or less an idea, but I don’t know which image will appear. Through my work, I try to send the viewer on a discovery, and hope to surprise him/her with the colours, shapes, forms and lines. The texts and words that I use in some works are my own, sometimes inspired by my favourite art writer Austin Kleon.
Usually I work with mixed materials, my preference is to work on larger formats.
This gives me the freedom of space to express myself.
I believe that the wonder and mystery of art and life are found in the directness of the present. My art gives me a sense of freedom. I hope that I can do this forever!