Multi layered abstract paintings
Modern abstract paintings that are characterised by the layered structure. Each layer contains details in colour, texture and/or material. The construction of (semi-)transparent layers creates a balanced painting with a lot of depth and detail. A painting that reveals its details under different angles of light and that invites visitors and collectors to discovery.
dated 2022 until 2023
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Voyagers
2022I made these paintings for an interesting couple from Israel, who had previously lived in Singapore and just moved to The Netherlands. While painting I thought of their adventurous life, the travels they made, the voyagers they were. It started a train of thought around voyagers, and led me to the two robotic interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 that were launched in 1977. The 2 probes were to fly near Jupiter and Saturn while collecting data. After launch the decision was taken to send Voyager 2 near Uranus and Neptune. I imagined what those Voyagers might have encountered, and still will encounter on their journey, as currently the Voyagers are still in operation past the outer boundary of the heliosphere in interstellar space. Wow, it gave me such inspiration for a vibrantly coloured set of paintings that extended, beyond the size of its canvas, into the frame. Both paintings can be combined in different sequence, maintaining harmony, yet giving another see and feel. And those that look closely, will discover the names of the human voyagers in these 2 paintings. Mixed media on canvas, 83cm x 123cm x 4cm. See video impression More info and pictures
Passing Titan
2022Inspired by two robotic interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, launched in 1977. The Voyager probes initially were destined to only fly near Jupiter and Saturn while collecting data for transmission back to Earth. After launch, the decision was taken to send Voyager 2 near Uranus and Neptune, to collect data for transmission back to Earth. Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, but along a shorter and faster trajectory that was designed to provide an optimal flyby of Saturn's moon Titan. I wonder how the journey of Voyager 1 was, how it saw space, how it saw Titan. How, in various spectra, electromagnetic radiation would translate to colours and how vibrant and harmonious these colours would be. Just imagination, just flashes of thought, just feelings that transformed to shapes, structures and vibrant colours that expand beyond the canvas, on top of, and through the frame. I really enjoyed the making of this painting, set up in 8 distinct, yet connected layers. Note: Passing Titan can be hung both horizontally and vertically.
Interstellar travels 1
2022Mixed media on wood panel, 50cm x 50cm x 4cm. Inspired by things I don't fully understand, find hard to grasp, but I like to fantasize about. I am a fan of science fiction movies with advanced science and technology, cosmos exploration, time travel and parallel universes. Not the kind of movies with adorable furry monsters or robots that are intelligent and yet only talk in "blieb blieb". No. Science fiction movies where you think it’s not possible today, but could be possible in 200 years. Movies in which they use technological principles to explain what is not yet feasible, such as activating advanced inertial dampers before going into warp speed. I wonder what space would look like if I could travel from one galaxy to another. I can't comprehend it, find it hard to grasp... but it gives me endless inspiration to paint. “Interstellar travels 1” was painted at the same time as “Interstellar travels 2”. Both paintings can be hung separately, but also look fantastic when hung together.
Interstellar travels - II
2022
Inspired by things I don't fully understand, find hard to grasp, but I like to fantasize about.
I am a fan of science fiction movies with advanced science and technology, cosmos exploration, time travel and parallel universes. Not the kind of movies with adorable furry monsters or robots that are intelligent and yet only talk in "blieb blieb". No. Science fiction movies where you think it’s not possible today, but could be possible in 200 years. Movies in which they use technological principles to explain what is not yet feasible, such as activating advanced inertial dampers before going into warp speed.
I wonder what space would look like if I could travel from one galaxy to another. I can't comprehend it, find it hard to grasp... but it gives me endless inspiration to paint.
“Interstellar travels 1” was painted at the same time as “Interstellar travels 2”. Both paintings can be hung separately, but also look fantastic when hung together.
Interstelaar travels 2 can be hung both horizontally as vertically.
Watch impression movie
Mixed media on wood panel, 133cm x 50cm x 4cm
Anomaly of the Cosmological principle
2022Inspired by my fascination for the cosmos, … and it’s anomalies. We know only one universe. We therefore cannot analyse it by comparing it to anything similar. So, in order to understand and to try and make sense of it, so we can describe it, we have to accept certain assumptions about it. These assumptions are called the cosmological principle. In short: on average, on a very, very large scale the universe looks the same (homogenous and isotropic) in all directions, in all regions. The existence of a repeating structure, like synchronised galaxies or correlations in quasars at different locations in the universe, sometimes with a distance of over 20 million light years, suggests that there should be a super large-scale structure in the universe. These anomalies violate the cosmological principle. Both paintings should be hung with a space of 30cm -80cm from each other. But if you hang both painting without space between them, you might notice another anomaly hiding in the cosmos ;-)
Mungibeddu - part I
2022Inspired by the beautiful nature I saw on my trip to Sicily, on and around Mount Etna. Mount Etna is one of the world's largest and most active volcano's and dominates the Sicilian landscape. She has an overwhelming presence, with many intense colours that she shows in abundance. The Sicilian's call her Mungibeddu or Mongibello in Italian, which means beautiful mountain. And beautiful she is. While painting this work of art, I especially was influenced by the forms and colours of the white thin clouds against the blue skies and the shape and greyish colours of the once red hot lava. In the grey lava stone there were still some remains, stripes, of snow. Even though it already was September. In the cones of Mount Etna there was a palette of brown, beige almost yellow colours of rock. Contrasting magnificently against the grey. Loved this colour combination and put it in this painting. This painting can be well combined with the other painting based on the same inspiration; Mungibeddu part II. Mixed media on wood 113x70x4cm More detailled photo's of this painting
Mungibeddu - part II
2022Inspired by the beautiful nature I saw on my trip to Sicily, on and around Mount Etna. Mount Etna is one of the world's largest and most active volcano's and dominates the Sicilian landscape. She has an overwhelming presence, with many intense colours that she shows in abundance. The Sicilian's call her Mungibeddu or Mongibello in Italian, which means beautiful mountain. And beautiful she is. While painting this work of art, I especially was influenced by the forms and colours of the white thin clouds against the blue skies and the shape and greyish colours of the once red hot lava. In the grey lava stone there were still some remains, stripes, of snow. Even though it already was September. In the cones of Mount Etna there was a palette of brown, beige almost yellow colours of rock. Contrasting magnificently against the grey. Loved this colour combination and put it in this painting. This painting can be well combined with the other painting based on the same inspiration; Mungibeddu part I. Mixed media on wood 70x70x4cm
Senang
2022The beauty of abstract art is that your imagination, your creativity, determines what you see. Where I am often primarily concerned with painting techniques and balance in colours and shapes, the art collector sees landscapes, the cosmos, animals and sometimes even ghosts in my abstract paintings. I think that's beautiful. The shapes in this painting stem from my mood the day I started the painting; senang, balanced and energetic. The colours inspired by the beautiful pastel-like, earthy colours of a bunch of dried flowers that we had on our dining table, supplemented with accents of unearthly mother-of-pearl colours. The applied mixed media techniques have created a 3D structure as a background that I could never create exactly like that again, even if I wanted to. Now I am of course curious what objects, shapes or figures you see in my abstract art? Mixed media on wood panel, 80cm x 70cm x 3.6cm
Swirls of human nature
2022
A swirl has various meanings: it can mean a twisting or spiralling pattern, as in cigarette smoke, braided hair or an ice cream, being dizzy or giddy, or it is sometimes used as a label for a relationship between 2 people from different ethnicities and/or nationalities.
Human nature is a concept that denotes the thinking, feeling and acting that we are said to have naturally. Philosophers have been debating for centuries whether the development of human nature is related to genes or to environment (so called “nature” versus “nurture”).
Swirls and human nature. Do you recognise the following lines?
Reaching out, to touch a stranger. Electric eyes are everywhere.
See that girl, she knows I’m watching.
She likes the way I stare.
If they say “why?, why?”, just tell ‘em that is human nature.
While standing over my paint panel, all these meanings, alternative interpretations and thoughts came together and formed the inspiration for this painting; Swirls of human nature.