ABOUT THE ARTIST

1953, living & working in Rijmenam, Belgium

I’ve always felt a strong attraction to the creative: poetry, literature, dance, painting, and the visual arts alike. At 17, I published a small cultural school magazine, which often led me to vernissages across Antwerp.

When it came time to choose a field of study, I initially considered attending art school. But my parents convinced me to try a university program first. So I enrolled in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Ghent University and completed my studies with a post-master degree in marketing. That’s how I ended up in the world of marketing and
advertising.

I spent many years in that field, giving it my all and enjoying every bit of it. I co-founded an agency with three partners, which eventually became part of the Saatchi & Saatchi network. Although my role was mostly strategic and managerial, I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in a creative environment.

Later, I worked independently for many years as a marketing and brand strategy consultant. But I increasingly found myself wondering how my life might have unfolded if I had taken the other path at that long-ago crossroads — the one that led to the art academy. That curiosity brought the easel, paint tubes, brushes, and canvas into my home.

It was the pandemic that finally put me back on the path of my long-buried passion: painting — always oil on canvas.

Today, it’s no longer just a passion; it has become a new profession I practice every day. As a self-taught artist, I’ve gradually been able to develop my own voice.