This painting was born from an explosion of intuition and colour. I started without a plan, just with a pile of oil pastels, thick blobs of paint and leftovers from my palette that I didn't want to lose. Each piece of paint found its own place on the canvas. As if the face appeared by itself, hidden between layers and layers of energy.
The power is in the layering. First scratching and smudging with pastel crayon, then coarse blobs of paint over it. Sometimes I let it dry, sometimes I just pulled wet paint through, creating unexpected mixed colours. It feels like dancing with chaos. Like inviting chance and saying "come, join in".
The portrait is not a perfect face, but a feeling. The eyes pop out, the lips whisper red and pink, while the background celebrates in all shades. I love that you can almost touch the thick texture with your eyes. It is an exuberant celebration of colour, energy and imperfection.
As a little girl Daniëlle was already obsessed with crafts, pencils, markers and paint. Making things that did not yet exist. Fantasy and lots of colour led her to create special works, such as sheep in heels with their heads sticking out of the canvas. Colour and.. Read more…