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My Background
My Inspiration
My Background
I am an Australian-based sculptor with more than 35 years of professional experience. I moved to Australia with my family from Amsterdam, Holland at the age of 12.
My love for art started with enjoying spending time with my father, a Dutch artist and painter, in his art studio. After art college, I became a full-time sculptor, creating sculptures for public and private spaces. I held positions on the Warana Festival Committee Brisbane), the Crafts Council Queensland) and Society of Sculptors Queensland (president 1983—1985), to promote public art and sculpture in Queensland and Australia.
My motivation is to present meaningful sculpture for public display or private enjoyment.
I live and work in the beautiful Gold Coast hinterland. And I've worked in other places like Taiwan, China and around Australia to create sculptures for some amazing places and communities.
By now I have created hundreds of sculptures and I never tire of the journey of creation.
I run workshops from time to time to share my love of art and sculpture with others. The rest of the time, you'll find me in my outdoor studios creating sculptures for private commissions and public art projects.
My Medium
My Inspiration
My Background
I chose the motto “Blossom with the beauty of natural stone” as I mainly carve stone. It's a beautiful natural material that is very popular with people and fits well into just about any environment. I use Helidon freestone (a freshwater non-sedimentary sandstone), marble, granite, basalt and quartzite to create my sculptures.
Natural stone is durable and easy to maintain, and displays well both indoors and outdoors. I sometimes combine metal or paint with stone, or more than one type of stone, to create a unique sculpture for a particular place or person. I've also worked with bronze and stainless steel, but come back to stone time and again, due to its textural qualities and natural beauty.
I fell in love with sculpture early on in my career and continue to appreciate all the ways it adds value to different spaces and places.
My Inspiration
My Inspiration
My Inspiration
For 35 years now I’ve been making sculptures for landscapes and buildings in Australia and overseas. This means I work with people - developers, curators, gardeners, architects, project officers - but I also work with places.
I work to intensify the value in every location.
I highlight the natural qualities of the chosen site. And I clarify the social, historical and psychological factors – the desires, hopes and culture - that make each location special in the hearts of its custodians and visitors.
By tuning in to these forces, I’m able to identify the spirit of a place. From there, I can give material form to that special spirit. Typically I use stone or wood, but I might choose stainless steel, bronze or any other substance that my research reveals to be right for the place. I have a simple rule: by the time a project is complete, the location must be enriched. Clearly, different people measure richness in different ways - economic, social, ecological, psychic, spiritual. Acknowledging this diversity of values,
I make sure my sculptures interact with their settings so that the value of the place is improved according to all these different measures of wealth. Over the years I’ve learned that every project is a milestone in my own artistic development. I’ve also learned that my artwork is strongest when viewers feel that the sculpture has made the site into a milestone for their own journey through life. For that reason, I value consultation and interaction with the public during the planning, creative and installation processes. When a place has been artistically improved like this, people return to it often and take care of it because it has real significance
in their lives through identification with their environment and their community.