Our lives used to feel like a never-ending drizzly Sunday afternoon. That's until Vrolijk Schilderij (Dutch for "Happy Painting") opened its doors and unleashed a world of joy.
Both from Hengelo, The Netherlands, Corrie (65) and Renate (46) are the two creatives behind Vrolijk Schilderij. Not only do they have a great bond, but they're each incredibly talented. They've been working together since 2007. It all started when a handsome prince trotted in on his happy horse, the prince being Corrie's son. Renate instantly fell in love, married her prince and in the process became Corrie's daughter-in-law. How awesome is that?! Even more awesome is that baby Liz was born. "Since we work together on paintings, we sign them Liz," says Corrie, "that's our connection". Liz is now a big girl of almost eight years old.
We're now going to travel back in time to 2010, when the global economic crisis was in full swing. "We were looking for something that would bring a bit of happiness in those difficult times," explained Renate. "We're fascinated by the everyday things all around us," and they transform these into happy paintings with a palette knife, splotches of paint and a touch of humour. Their formula involves using nine crazy colours that all match really well together and are a distinctive feature of their style. Everyday subjects, such as cityscapes, cows and tulips burst into life as colourful paintings.
Mission accomplished, you could say. They now have their own studio in Hengelo. "Painting is our passion, that's what we do most here," begins Renate, "As well as painting, we've set up an online community where we teach people to paint using step-by-step video lessons." Corrie and Renate work on paintings together, which helps them to bring out the best in each other. You see this in the final result. They're in the studio five days a week and they often work on commission. After making a painting, they digitise it so that we at Art Heroes can make beautiful replicas of it. Their favourite? The two happy cows with their tongues hanging out their mouths that you can see on the right.
Stylist Lianne about Vrolijk Schilderij and their work: "Brightening up your home with a piece from Vrolijk Schilderij won't just make the place look amazing; it'll also make you really happy!"
In need of a cheerful artwork on your wall? Check out all the works of Vrolijk Schilderij.