I have been drawing ever since I was a young boy. I could draw all day long and express my creativity that way. I would draw anything: castles, Donald Duck, the Ninja Turtles, basically everything I was interested in. All during high school I kept drawing; mostly caricatures of my teachers. I have always preferred drawing faces.

After I graduated high school I studied Physical Education. At that time, my brother’s girlfriend was making small paintings to decorate her living room. That inspired me to start experimenting with paint on canvas as well. I started painting faces on large canvases. Since I never had any professi onal art classes, I had to discover every technique and try it out for myself. I started out using pastels on canvas. It wasn’t a big success and I switched to oil paints. During my search for my own style I discovered acrylics, which I like to use in bright and bold colors.
For whatever reason, I have always had a fascination for faces. I would always draw faces. Sometimes they would be realistic charcoal sketches, sometimes they were cartoon-like drawings. I have always used bright colors. At times when I used oil paint the colors were more moderate.

My first exposition, organized by my younger brother, was on December 14 in “ ‘t Blauwe Huis” in Heerlen, the Netherlands.  On display were my signature colorful portraits of celebrities. Later that month I was introduced by my girlfriend Angela to Armand Gerards who was working on a project called “A Cultural Experience”. For this project Mr. Gerard was looking for original artwork to be displayed at designer home furnishing store Berden in Heerlen, Venlo and Sittard. I am one of their artists-in-residence and have some of my works displayed in the stores.

My art
I mostly paint portraits, defined by my use of color. I choose the colors intuitively as I paint, never knowing what the final image will look like. Important is that the colors ‘look right’ to me. Spontaneous brush strokes and using a lot of paint creates depth and adds texture so that the image “comes to life.”
Besides my signature colorful portraits, I also make oil paint portraits in a more moderate , almost sepia range of coloring. I mostly work on my own pieces, but I work on commission too.  If you are interested in owning one of my vibrantly colored portraits in acrylic paint or a more nuanced oil paint portrait, please contact me. You will find my contact information on the website.