There is always something already there

An old panel from my grandmother. Scraps of paper. Something I didn't throw away. Sometimes I don't even remember why.

I just start there. Not because it's a good idea, but because it's there and that's enough.

layered mixed-media piece from Anna, blue portrait with visible textures

more work

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paper patchwork made of blue squares with one pink square

dried ume leaves coverd with green sage paint

How I Work

Adding, removing, looking, and repeat

I start without a plan. That sounds free, but it doesn't always feel that way, because the whole time I am looking. This still works. This doesn't anymore. This is getting boring. This feels too deliberate. That moment is irritating. It was fun for a bit, but not anymore. Then I set it aside. Not neatly wrapping it up. Just stopping and looking again later to see if there is still something in it.

My studio is rarely tidy

On the table: test pieces, colour samples, half-finished works all mixed together. Right there, between the layers of paper, tape and paint, the most interesting combinations often appear.

Nothing is sacred

I paint over things, scratch back to earlier layers, and let the history of a work stay visible.

Happy accidents

Some pieces just failed. They are still in there. Painted over. Sanded away. But not really gone. Those layers often make it better. Not because they are beautiful, but because they broke something that was too neat. There is always a moment when I think: I should probably do something more with this, and at the same time, if I keep going now, I'll ruin it. That is usually the moment it's finished.

layed pink portraitby anna berends van loenen

I almost threw this one away when the figure wasn't visible yet

layered collage with pink, blue and green and papers from an old book

this was too tame so I turned it into business cards

When you look, don't just look at the whole. I don't either. I look at where it chafes. That's where it happens.

Behind the scenes

This is what it looks like up close.

Gathering

Loose scraps, notes, found shapes. First, everything is allowed on the table.

layersof diverend papers on a canvas in proress with pink and blue and purple botanical shapes

Building

Layers come and go. I place, remove, turn over. Until it clicks.

finished painting calles feathers from the natural flow collection in pink, blue and prple with collaged leaves and feathers

Letting go

Then suddenly it's enough. Then I leave the work alone.

in the studio

My TROEPboek is not beautiful. That's not the point.

It's a sketchbook where everything is allowed. From scraps and failed attempts to things that are going nowhere. The threshold to start is lower when you know it doesn't have to become anything.

I try not to do anything right in there. The best things come out of it when I'm not paying attention.