About gee & the studio.
As a child, I loved to be outside. Even as a little girl, I was fascinated by all life around us. I drew notebooks full of forests, wolves and other small animals and I was surprised that others did not see the beauty that I saw.
Nowadays, it is probably the same for many. Insects are often undervalued. But me? I still like to be amazed by the diversity of life around us.
Because although many small creatures can have a frightening appearance at first sight, they are actually beautiful and unique when you look at them a little longer. And then comes the realisation that they all play their unique own small but important role in the cycle of life.
With all my works, I try to show how beautiful our biodiversity actually is. With this, I hope to touch others, so that they will also see what I see.
I try to bring a piece of my love for nature into everyone’s life. I put into each work a lot of patience, dedication and an eye for detail. And with that I hope to bring a bit of awareness, sensation and wonder. Not only about insects, but also about flowers, herbs, the underwater world, birds and other beautiful natural things.
My source of inspiration, nature, is inexhaustible and the day does not have enough hours. But it is also gratitude that I feel. I could not do without the creativity it brings me. It is a part of my whole being.
I really believe that entrepreneurship is something you do from the heart. That is what I have always believed, and where I ran my business from. Until I had to deal with a number of major, drastic changes in my life. I had great plans, but I was no longer able to carry them out. It felt as if it had happened to me overnight. A burn-out. In terms of feelings, a door was slammed shut in my face. Not knowing at the time that another door was opening.
You think you know yourself. After all, you live your whole life with yourself. But as you might have experienced yourself through life: specially in these difficult times, you really get to know yourself. It is as if you are rediscovered in your own being. I came to the conclusion that I was not walking the path that was meant for me. it was actually a shocking conclusion, because I had just made plans to retrain myself from WordPress web designer to Shopify Expert. I had already built the website, I had spread the word and I had even done some courses and exams. So I was dead serious about it and put a lot of effort in it.
But on the other hand, a voice inside me said that I had always known this and I needed to start to listen. Because there was something in me that wanted to do something even more than I was doing now. But I never thought that I was able to achieve it. You probably recognise it: you (unintentionally) keep yourself small. But that was the moment when I discovered that my passions lay on a different plane. And that was in making ART.
The title Nature Artist is one that I have grown into over the past year. Creativity runs like an unbreakable thread through my life. But was I prevously good at it? Not at all! Enjoying art and being good at it are very different aspects.
You can curse a burn-out. So did I. It wasn’t and still isn’t easy. But I see now that it is also a blessing. The path I’m ealking is so special! I have always loved nature, but never had a specific fascination with insects until the burn-out happened. So can you imagine how crazy it felt for me to suddenly feel the urge to draw them? To be unable to do something one day, and like overnight, to be able to do something the next day? It was and is a special experience, in which I am daily amazed about what I have put on paper. To gain insights and control over my hands. How is it possible? It is clear that this goes hand in hand with spiritual growth. A difficult and beautiful process, that I like to share with you.
I work mainly from my home studio in Tilburg, the Netherlands where a large mural of a bee flaunts itself on the wall and you can find something in almost every corner that shows you that you have come to the place of a Nature Artist. My own paintings hang on the walls. I have become attached to them, even though I make every work for sale. My sideboard is my working cabinet. My creative altar. Pots of paint brushes, projects in the making and items displayed in front of the window. And, plants. Lots and lots of plants that I can never get enough of. It’s like a creative green jungle, but when you step into my place you see a reflection of everything I love, a piece of my soul.
Although it’s a great and very nice for me to work from home, especially with my two young children close by, I hope to open a studio in my hometown in the future. A place where I can make a mess and don’t have to wash the paint spatters from my white curtains after one of my creative outbursts. A place where I literally have the space to grow, and can go bigger with my works. A place that I can open up to anyone who just wants to drop by without an appointment, and where ideas and workshops are created. And yes, of course, with lots of plants.
For now, it is a dream. Just as I once dreamed of being able to draw well. And once dreamed of making it my daily work. So also this beautiful image that I have sketched in my head, will one day see the light of day.
Creativity comes in many forms. For me, the main factor is that I can create in all freedom. The visual arts, making things, digitally, with wood, on paper, canvas and even on walls.
I like to do that with mixed techniques and materials, including:
acrylic paint,
gouache,
watercolour,
ecoline ink,
charcoal,
0.03 + 0.05 fineliners,
duo markers or
pencils.
In terms of combination, I prefer to use fineliners, water colours and pencils to achieve the best result. The thin lines in combination with the dot technique (also called dotwork or pointillism) ensure many fine details. My strength lies in being patient, and this is how the details come out best.
When it comes to paper, I prefer to use water colour paper or Khadi paper. Khadi paper is 100% cotton paper from India. It is handmade. This beautiful paper has a long fibre, which makes it exceptionally strong. Because it is handmade, each sheet has a rough finish. And these imperfections are precisely what make this paper so beautiful. Furthermore, this paper is acid-free and suitable for many possibilities, including all the techniques that I use.
“Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye… it also includes the inner pictures of the soul“