I have lived in the Netherlands, Canada, and the USA. When I was 12 years old my family immigrated to Canada where I became a naturalized Canadian citizen. After graduating from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I obtained US citizenship through my mother’s US birth. In 1987 I received my MFA from Western Michigan University.
My art is based on a need to express reality as I see and feel it around me. I’m under no illusion to reveal ‘Truth’, but only to translate the truth of my observation and experience into a painted expression. The creative process and intuitive impulses that drive us are mysterious and unique for each artist. In my search for clarity, from the general chaos around me, I usually turn to landscape or urban scenes as metaphor, using photos, sketches, or memories. My hope is to give a personal expression that is both powerful and revealing.