Featured Artist Yvonne Welman

Artist Yvonne Welman paints complex and intriguing images that embody her personal reaction to social issues. Learn more about this artist and her work by visiting her website.

 

 

I live and work in the Netherlands in a rural town known for its silversmith artists.

 

 

I loved my training at the academy of arts, although it was hard work and there were seldom compliments. That was a normal tradition in those days. You would supposedly to be better prepared for the real world if you were not pampered at all in your study. I got my masters in art and art history and started my teaching career while raising my kids. I worked for decades as a teacher in arts and art history.

 

 

Due to a personal change, making art became an important part of my life again.

 

 

Because I wanted to hone my skills as a painter, I took lessons in 16th and 17th century oil painting techniques. My work is a personal reaction to social issues. I want to tell visual stories from a feminist point of view. My work reflects the way I, as a woman, look at social issues and gender differences.

 

 

For me, a person is a being with body and soul, brain and heart. I want the viewer to bring their own thoughts and emotions to my work—I want to let the viewer pose the “why” question. As a painter and a teacher, I want people to understand we need a world with high moral standards and to show compassion! Learn from history. I am often indignant about what is happening in society.

 

 

In my large theme paintings there are different narratives to look at, for instance, stories from art history, social issues, painting techniques and my own personal life. Because of that, the meanings behind my paintings are difficult and hard to understand. For this reason, I want them also to be attractive to look at in order to keep the attention of the viewer as long as possible.

 

 

Most of the time I know exactly what I want to paint, but I keep my mind open to other possibilities and to make changes, as well as using the coincidences that occur during the process. It keeps my mind busy so I don’t get bored while I am painting.

 

 

Lately, I have begun my paintings with a digital design. After that I paint with open acrylic, in combination with other materials such as fineliner and fabrics that I often gather from  my personal collection.

 

 

I love beauty. When I am stuck on a painting and can’t decide what to do with it, I draw flowers just for the fun of it. I use colored pencil, pastel and pierre noir on paper. The velvety quality of pastel and pierre noire are for me as near as possible to beauty of nature. I see beauty as essential to art because our mind needs beauty to stay alive and vibrant.

 

Artist Yvonne Welman invites you to follow her on Facebook.

 

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