Painting is simplifying, as a painter you choose what to show and what not to show. Sometimes I see how far I can go with this simplification without losing the recognisability.
For this great tit, I chose pastel crayons and a black pastel mat paper. The black paper makes the yellow of the bird's breast stand out even more. The yellow reflects in the white tips of the wings.
The great tit is a common garden bird, but it is struggling. There are fewer and fewer insects, and with spring starting earlier and earlier, the great tit often has to offer its young other food. The young birds get too little protein, which sometimes makes them too weak to stand on their feet.
Connection is the overarching theme in my works. In my paintings, I try to capture the moment of my encounter with a bird or another animal. Those few seconds of contact, sometimes shock, but also surprise or curiosity. The beauty of everything that lives, and the connection I feel with everything around me I try to capture on my paper or canvas
Much of my childhood was spent in the forest near my parents' cottage. There, my love for birds, the forest animals and the rustling wind in the trees was born. The forest is still a place I love to visit, I immediately feel relaxed, can breathe.. Read more…