ME AND MY PAL

This artwork tells of a little girl walking on the beach and discovering her own shadow. She thinks it is her new friend.

I remember as a young girl I loved cutting pictures out of magazines to stick on my school diaries, books and even my bedroom door. Add to that the fascination I always had with walls with old posters, peeling paint, shoddy billboards and weathered paint. Completely unintentionally, I found a new way of working in which I feel comfortable and comfortable. What started as copying old walls with worn posters has grown into a large number of series with new visual stories. Not just eclecticism, but bringing together many seemingly disjointed storylines into a whole new story, my own personal story. Initially, there was one thing missing that is very important to me; the transparency that is normally only possible when using watercolour. The incessant layering of transparent watercolour is a challenge I did not want to miss, and after much trial and error, I finally succeeded in making the collages as transparent as a watercolour. Every layer of paper, oil, acrylic, pencil, crayon, biros, watercolour, ink, charcoal and everything else I use remains visible in the artwork. I spent my formative years as an artist at the Art Academy in Den Bosch. Nowadays, I consider myself self-taught and have developed my own style from the unconventional medium of collage.

This artwork is offered by db Waterman

I remembered that as a young girl I so much liked to cut images from magazines to paste them into school agendas, scrapbooks and even on my bedroom door. Add to this the fascination I always had for walls filled with old posters, flaking paint, scrappy billboards and weathered paint, it opened an unexpected door for completely new opportunities. Completely unintended I found a new way of working, I felt pleasurably and comfortably at home in. What started out as copying old walls with worn out posters has grown into many series of new visual storytelling. Not simply just eclecticism, but bringing together many seemingly incoherent story lines into one completely new story, my own personal story. Initially it lacked the one thing that is important to me, the transparency that normally only is possible with the use of watercolor. The unforgiving layering of transparent watercolors is a challenge I would not want to miss and after a lot of trial and error I finally succeeded in getting the collages as transparent as a watercolor. Every layer of paper, oil, acrylic, pencil, crayon, ballpoint, watercolor, ink, charcoal and whatever else I use, remains visible in the artwork. You can imagine it made me feel the queen of the ball !

Learn more about db Waterman?

• All artworks by db Waterman
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