Private & Family life:
I was born and raised 25 miles south of Amsterdam, Holland. Eventhough I excelled in arts, I kept that as a hobby throughout my life and chose science for my education and professional career.

At the age of 23 I married Jantina (Tineke), whom I knew from high school (how can you ever forget a girl with with one brown and one blue eye? 

Our son Mark was quite an artist in high school (you can see his art on this website), but who is now too busy with his young family and developing his career.

My job gave us the opportunity to move 9 times. We have lived in Holland, England (10 years) and in the USA since 1985. As a result, we still have friends in every location, where we have lived. In 1998 we retired, still young, to Sarasota, Florida - the prettiest town in the whole world- and built our dream home in the Bent Tree Country Club. 

But in May 2007, just after our 40th wedding anniversary, my world collapsed. Jantina, the love of my life, lost her fight against breast cancer and passed away.

Professional Career:
Although being a Vice President of a Flavor-Science Department might sound rather dull, my actual job was very creative i.e. the creation and application of flavorings. This took me to virtually every country in Europe, Far East, Indonesia, Australia, North and South America, where I interacted with the local people and learned about their cultures and odor & taste preferences.  I was able to retire young, and we choose Sarasota as our new domicile.

Since then, I have been increasingly  involved in the art-scene as (past) President of the Sarasota Art Center and the Ringling Museum of Art, where I am a Docent.

Artistic Talents:
My artistic talents were first noticed in grade school, in a small town in Holland, from the many pencil drawings and watercolors I made with a cheap watercolor set. I remember that in 6th grade I turned out dozens of beautiful colored ink drawings, which were exhibited in the school. Unfortunately I did not keep any of them.

In my early twenties I discovered photography and quickly became very proficient in darkroom techniques to manipulate and improve my (black&white only) prints. I won several awards and had a portrait of my nan published in the local newspaper. I had my first large exhibition at the age of 25, showing over 40 large prints, depicting landscapes, portraits and nudes. At this time I gradually co-developed a book of photography and poetry, "The Last Day". Printed copies are not for sale, but you can view it in full elsewhere on this website.

During my years living in England, I attended etching classes. The results can be magnificent, but the effort is very time consuming. I might start etching again one of these day, if I can find a place with all of the equipment.

After my retirement, I started painting with soft pastels. The materials are quite different from what I remember in high school. As in most cases, using the best materials, can give stunning results - not at all the insipid colors and textures what most people associate with pastels.

Since my artwork style is so detailed, I can easily spend 30 - 40 hours on a 20" x 25" painting. I am constantly trying to loosen up and suggest detail, rather than actually include it. However, I keep returning to a painting, when it's supposed to be finished, to add further detail. Oh well, that is probably the charm of my work.

Finally: I frame all of my work myself, using fairly priced picture- or poster frames and cutting my own mats.