New directions
1992-1996
In 1987, the Visual Artists Scheme came to an end, and it became necessary to reorient myself.
Even though I sold work in galleries, this income would never be enough to make a living, so I considered part-time work as a furniture maker.
In 1992, I bought an etching press and all the other supplies and began making etchings.
In 1995, I enrolled in Enterprise Art, a marketing program for visual artists. Although applying marketing principles to the visual arts was challenging, I did get some good ideas about the direction I should take.
Part-time furniture making
In 1992, I retrained in furniture making, followed by vocational training and a professional diploma in 1994. To obtain this diploma, I interned at various companies during the day and attended theoretical classes a few evenings a week.
However, I was unable to find a job as a furniture maker afterward, and so this plan came to an end. Nevertheless, this training program has significantly benefited my professional practice as a visual artist, and by gaining some distance from my work, my painting style was able to evolve. I abandoned my rigid painting style and adopted a more relaxed approach.
Watercolor etching
Since 1992, in addition to oil paintings and watercolors, I had been making etchings and had purchased an etching press and all the other necessary supplies.
I got the idea to add some color to my etchings, and after some initial experiments, this eventually led to Aquarel Ets, a combined technique of etching and watercolor.
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My new painting style
Around 1992, I changed my painting style. From then on, I preferred to paint on panels and in smaller formats.
Moreover, I now worked from photos instead of sketches.
The single-colored surfaces disappeared and were replaced by
multicolored touches, giving the paintings an impressionistic character.
Home exhibitions
In 1995, I enrolled in a marketing program for visual artists. This gave me some good ideas about which direction to go.
This is the year I held my first home exhibition. For that purpose, I had cleared out a large part of my house and installed hanging rails and spotlights.
Then in 1996, I held my second home exhibition, Rotterdam on Line, which was very successful, mainly thanks to the watercolor etchings.
