In 1993 I graduated cum laude in drawing and painting at the Minerva Academy of Fine Arts in Groningen. As an independent artist I make free work and work on commission. A highlight is the drawing assignment for the Senate of the States General in The Hague. In Amsterdam I got permission to register construction in prominent places on the North-South line (from 1999 to 2008). I can mention the purchase by the Amsterdam Museum of “De Ferdinand Bolstraat” (2008) as the pinnacle of painting technique.
My development as an artist is largely due to outdoor work. Initially I chose landscapes, but since I live in the Randstad, subject choices such as buildings (interiors and exteriors) and passers-by are obvious. Yet I still regularly work in the quiet north of the country. I am currently working on a visual story about archaeology, following an excavation of a fifteenth-century defense tower in southwest Friesland.
I mainly use still lifes to research various painting and drawing techniques. I also study my great examples: Rembrandt, Morandi, Sickert, Nolde, Freud and Bonnard. In addition to working outdoors, this studious attitude determined my development and led to my own style: a certain fusion of the classical drawing and painting technique with a recognizable loose touch.
For the production of my drawings and paintings (in various formats), I mainly use oil paint and charcoal, but also acrylic paint, ink, chalk and graphite.
On my website you will find an extensive portfolio and information about exhibitions and collections. You will also find information about my other activities, such as giving courses to adults.
www.miawesterhof.kunstinzicht.nl