It always starts with words. Fragments of thoughts, English and Dutch sentences mixed together, without logic but full of feeling. With my oil pastels, I scratch them down, layer upon layer. A secret script, sometimes soft and tender, sometimes fierce and raw. Then comes the paint. I stroke, smear, smudge, let colours collide and disappear again. Then words again, as if I am having a conversation with the canvas. It is a rhythm of building up and letting go, of chaos and stillness.
And suddenly, without having planned it, a face appears. Not quite, not sharply outlined, but half visible. As if someone emerges from the fog and retreats just as quickly. This portrait feels like someone dissolving into the crowd, living in the shadows. Someone who chooses not to be seen, or perhaps never really to be seen. The elusiveness is what makes it powerful.
As a little girl Daniëlle was already obsessed with crafts, pencils, markers and paint. Making things that did not yet exist. Fantasy and lots of colour led her to create special works, such as sheep in heels with their heads sticking out of the canvas. Colour and.. Read more…