Style of Painting

It matters how a jug or a jar looks. A jug is not merely a container made to hold liquid, it is also a form, a shape which has often been made to be beautiful in addition to being functional. In my paintings I want to express my appreciation for beautiful shapes and for the colours and textures of traditional materials, such as clay and crystal and copper, and wood and stone.

Working on a still life with
the first edition of Van Gogh's Letters

When studying the form and colour of beautiful objects, I am awed by the craftsmanship of the artisans who made them. They add to the rich variety of shape and colour in this world. I also appreciate that God gave us all a pair of eyes, so we can admire all that beauty to begin with.

Learning from others, from their mistakes but, much more importantly, from their triumphs, is an inspiring and fulfilling activity. The painters I especially admire are the French masters Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin and Henri Fantin-Latour, and from my native country Vincent van Gogh (not so much his paintings, but rather the seven hundred or so letters he wrote to his brother Theo), and the contemporary painters Henk Helmantel and Roman Reisinger.

Of course, artists learning from each other does not mean that we should copy each other. This is especially true with regards to composition. My still life paintings are all original compositions, but I admit, it is hard work to get it right. In other words, it's easy to get it wrong.

God's compositions are invariably right.

There are certain rules for composition, but is not sufficient to merely obeying these rules. A good composition requires more than adhering to the golden ratio or divine proportion. I spend many hours minutely re-arranging various objects before being satisfied with the result.

So with respect to composition, I aim to add a contemporary touch and thus 'place my paintings in today.'

Many of today's still life painters (especially so in Holland) have specialised in producing works of amazingly detailed realism, thereby continuing the age old tradition. Although I admire many of them, for myself I have chosen to take inspiration from artists such as Fantin-Latour and Chardin, and so I aim to paint with a slightly more impressionist brush.