I work to learn, every painting I challenge myself to do something I haven’t done before. It is a very rewarding way to work for me; It keeps things fresh and interesting. I am trying right now to leave the safety of sketches behind and go straight to the canvas, in order to make more direct work. Asking myself questions, communicating stories, not necessarily giving answers.

Working in oil is the best suited for me. It is versatile and has a rich history and a rich feel if done well, great texture and a depth in color that is simply unending. The last couple of years I’ve been moving away from modern materials and moving towards a more romantic approach. Right now I am working in old techniques and making my own materials, paints and mediums.

I tend to work with a very limited color pallet and with minute changes in shades of a color, I strive to get as much out of that one color as possible. (Un)covering portions of a piece to deconstruct it or make a process visible. Like cutting an union in half to view all the layers at once.

Every work has its own goals but generally I think good composition, balance, tension, light, space and atmosphere are some of the keywords that would describe my working process right now. I am preoccupied with the following subject matter that can translate into symbols in my work. These concepts are the search for truth, origin of ideas, originality, breaking rules, crossing borders.

My themes tend to be seemingly random, but this is not the case at all; in coalescence with my drawings they make some very long separate series. The steps in between are just harder to see because my sketches are often the key to see the changes.

So, I’ll keep filling spaces with objects & characters in order to tell a story I’m not sure I know the ending to, yet. And I know I am not where I want to be yet. But that is why I’ll continue and try to learn every day.