Notes To Myself #1
Oil on linen
100 x 100 cm
2014
Notes To Myself marks the first series of paintings in which I started exploring with the boundaries of my controlled work process. The idea was to start with a triangle pattern and a specific color combination to gradually change the appearance by expressionistic choices. Each painting evolved out of a dynamic process from the beginning to the end, where each added layer gave rise to the intensity of the colors and created new levels of depth.
By painting layer upon layer and intuitively adjusting the pattern and colors, each artwork differs due to multiple choices. In Notes To Myself #4 there is a moment in which I sought for more contrast by adding a red color. In the process of making I felt that red wasn’t a good decision, so I had to change the painting again. Besides those experimental choices I also deliberately used different colors as a background layer, which is similar to the glazing technique from the Renaissance. As for example the Verdaccio, a monochrome green under-layer used underneath painted skin parts of a body, was used in ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Botticelli ca. 1486. When the underlaying colors are added by experiment they enhance the color, but they also lead to new choices on which the painting gradually evolves. These moments of decisions and doubts in the painting process are fundamental for what I’m looking for in my paintings.
The exploration in the boundaries of my own systematics and patterns, also extends to my artistry and position as an artist. Artworks and patterns often return on new surfaces and for the series Notes To Myself I expanded this to printed media. By using a digital canvas I printed the series on high quality art paper in a limited edition of 50 prints. The artwork on paper shows every brushstroke, just as the original painting, but due to the material, size and technique it gets a totally different look and feel.
