How do I define myself? Am I Belgian? European? Earthian? Am I a woman? Am I a human? Am I an artist? Am I a financial professional? Am I a friend? A daughter? A sister? A lover? A colleague? A stranger? An enemy? A source of joy? The origin of tears? An expert? An ignorant? Reserved? Extrovert? A dreamer? Down to earth? Probably all of the above depending on the point of view and the circumstance… Is it important to define who we are? Does it have to be confined in a limited box?
If I had to define myself: I am a free spirit, empathetic, emotional, romantic, dreamer, positive, spontaneous, open-minded, curious, eager to live / experience/ discover.
I love people: they inspire me and feed me with energy. I love to understand them: what makes them smile or cry? How do they feel? Why? What is their dream? And I love to deeply connect.
I also love solitude. Both are as important to me. Just like we need night and day. It is not incompatible, they just happen at intervals. People and experiences inspire us. Solitude enables to digest these experiences and be creative. Night as well.
I love night: the whole world sleeps, there is nothing expected from you, no to do list. You can really be. express yourself freely, with no one watching, no limiting process or rule, no right or wrong. Just you alone in the dark and silent night, where everything seems possible.
Because in a certain way I am reserved, because I don't like judgment, because I like my privacy; I have always used the night to express myself, from as long as I can remember. In those secluded moments, creativity unfolds, the magic arises, you are in sync, and you simply wish it never ends.
That’s why I love to share an open ear to everyone in this world, without judging but simply empathising. Because that's what I would need to create in the light: no judgment, an environment where we all accept eachother, where all opinions are valued and self-expression not criticised, where we learn from one another, laugh together and grow by embracing and understanding our differences.
... And I LOVE to paint in music, with windows wide open!
If I had to define my art I would definitely recognise myself in abstract expressionism: spontaneous, automatic, subconscious creation. The free expression of the mind.
The beauty of painting is that you can express much more than words (but people ask for words to translate the paintings!). I also write a lot - automatic writing. But painting is the only way I dare so far to share my feelings with the public.
But there is no static definition of who we are. My paintings are simply like a diary without the words. One day a colorist, another painting the dark; one day a doodler, another figurative. My paintings follow my emotions/feelings/inspirations. Just like a diary won’t collect the same words every day. An artist is a human like anyone else; with evolving believes and emotions.
I am full of feelings and energy. While I paint, I transcend. Most of the time it’s euphoric. Everything comes out of me, transposed on the canvas. I then feel liberated, calmed. The same way I feel after meditating, singing, running, dancing, laughing. Sometimes it doesn’t calm me but instead multiplies my energy levels and fills me with an urge to paint and paint and paint again. I guess we have so many feelings inside that we keep to ourselves that we could keep on painting them out day and night! I learnt through time that the way to achieve the best creations is by forcing yourself to step back every now and then, press pause, do something else, then look at it through different angles, with different eyes (a good lesson in life in general I guess). Then you see more clearly: the next stroke comes to you naturally, you know how to draw your final touch and when to call the creation DONE.
I believe painting is a great activity for everyone: in a world where we all work on divided tasks and rarely see the bigger picture (we rarely work on projects or create products from start to finish. What we do often lacks a purpose, a sense of achievement). Painting enables so many things: a sense of achievement / a democratic way of self-expression and communication; with no language or literacy barrier / a private way to express yourself publicly / a constructive way to channel emotions and keep stable mental health / etc…
Let’s all paint, let go, share, be!