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Do you have a particular theme in your work, and how did you arrive at it?

I find it difficult to give a clear answer to that. The stories in my paintings can vary greatly. It’s more of a feeling. Abnormality – I see my paintings as a portrait of abnormality. I hope my work reveals this abnormality without giving it a name or an explanation. I leave it free to exist for what it is.

Do you have any role models you look up to? (artists, musicians, and so on)

There aren’t any specific things I consciously look up to. It’s the peculiarities in my surroundings that provide inspiration for new work. Music? Lou Reed – the way he looked at people and events around him and then translated that into music is something I find very inspiring.

I also think De Lavel is really cool and I enjoy watching Westerns.

How do you start a piece and how does the creative process unfold?

A piece begins in my head; I hardly ever make a sketch but start working directly on the canvas. It’s often about something I’ve seen, something that sticks in your mind. Then I mull these thoughts over until the story becomes clear to me. Only then do I start painting. Music does play a major role, though. Not only in shaping the story but also during the painting itself. That partly determines the end result.

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Do you have a particular theme in your work, and how did you come to focus on it?

There is often an underlying theme in my work. Confinement, repression, restriction; not giving something the space it seems to need. It’s mainly about intuition and sensitivity. I engage with these themes a great deal in everyday life. Not just in my personal life, but also in society. Intuition and sensitivity are important subjects. You can’t approach and solve everything pragmatically.

How do you start a piece and how does the creative process unfold?

It usually starts with an idea about a particular material or technique I want to use. I then make a sketch or note of it. That sketch hangs on the wall in my studio for a week or even a few months (sometimes forever), attached with a bit of tape. Until the moment I start working on it. Often, all sorts of things change during the creative process. In that process, you discover that things might need to be done differently. I’m always working on several pieces at the same time. Sometimes I accidentally create a piece or the start of a new piece. It may be that such a piece turns out better than one you’d planned in advance.

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