Inspiration: I mainly get inspired from painting itself, from vivid colours and the fun feeling of mixing them. Unconsciously I might be inspired by memories, patterns I recall from my work as a bioinformatician and feelings in the moment. My paintings are really playfull and it seems that neither colour nor shapes are inspired by nature. Yet I discovered over time that the patterns that I seem to come up with myself – can be found in nature, if you look intentionally and close enough. I have reached a painting practice that I feel enables me to express myself and mirror my personal playfulness and drive to continue to have fun albeit being part of society’s strict adulthood script. I love water, oceans and lakes. I love the blues and greens the depth and mystery underwater and the endlessness of it. I really enjoy jumping into the water and also watching other people jumping in and swimming. I like to explore large, irregular shapes, unintentional lines, and the combination of organic and rectangular marks. I mostly end up with vibrant colors and aim for high contrasts. I play with randomness to challenge myself and construct “problems” which need to be solved with only what’s available in the moment, hoping to create something unexpected. For example, I choose colors that I don’t like to then try and find a way to make them work. Being very impatient I prefer not to overthink. I’m more inclined to move forward and work with what I have, letting the pieces come together as determined by circumstances (as in life?). I often hate what I’m looking at and want to give up but after some time I feel forced to get back at it. I came to believe that accepting “ugliness” is essential to discovering new creative possibilities. This style has positively influenced my painting because it provides an added element of surprise and stimulates exploration.