Blue Surgeons, 2001.
Four pieces of canvas,
One painting.
A wall of blue.
A troop of fishes,
All alike, all behaving the same
But all individuals..
It?s safe to form a troop,
But is in this group,
One fish who is a loner?
Thinking about going a different way,
Thinking red, yellow or green,
Instead of blue.
Dodger blue.
A loner just like me.
4 x Acrylic on canvas.
Seize until now unknown.
Lizardfish, 1998.
For the portrait of this Lizardfish,
I used exactly the same colors,
As in the painting of the Puffer.
But in the opposite way.
Without influencing the color value.
These are the same in both paintings,
They are opposite, but similar.
Like an interesting love affair,
Opposites attract.
The eye in the center,
Expressing,
The emotion of the animal,
And the mood of the painter.
Acrylic on wood
Seize 41 cm ? 30 cm
Seize 16.2 inch ? 11.15 inch
Seahorse, yellow & blue, 2003.
This fragile creature, is nearly extinct.
Even though their ability to adjust to the colors of
their surroundings,
They do not have any defense against predators and
collectors,
Who desire them in the aquarium at home.
Helpless against the forces of nature, they float in
the unpredictable oceans of their existence.
Many times, I felt like the seahorse in a storm.
Trying hard not to be smashed against a rock.
Also I, drift through the rough waters of
civilization,
Trying hard not to be crushed.
Puffer-fish, 1999.
For the portrait of this Puffer-fish,
I used exactly the same colors,
As in the painting of the Lizardfish.
But in the opposite way,
Without influencing the color-value.
These are the same in both paintings.
They are opposite, but similar.
Like an interesting love affair,
Opposites attract.
The eye in the center,
Expressing,
The emotion of the animal,
And the mood of the painter.
Acrylic on wood
Seize 41 cm ? 30.5 cm.
Seize 16.3 inch ? 12 inch.
Scorpion-fish, 2000.
This champion of adjustment is able to change color,
Whenever he changes his surroundings, or changes his
mood.
This Scorpion-fish I painted during a rough colorful
mood.
Which you can feel when you touch the surface.
With eyes closed, this fish is still to be seen.
He is in braille.
The colors of the fish, I used to express the colors
of my mood.
I used the texture of his skin, to make this painting
three dimensional.
Acrylic on canvas
Seize 140 cm ? 100 cm.
Big red Seahorse, 2000.
Red I used as color to express the approaching destruction,
Of this fragile creature.
So rare, because of their near extinction
And even though their ability to adjust to the surrounding colors,
they did not had any defense,
Against the people who loved them in their aquarium.
And the current of the sea.
They are not strong swimmers,
And a storm causes a lot of casualties among the seahorse population.
In the modern world,
I felt many times like a seahorse in a storm,
Trying not to be smashed against rocks,
While I am drifting in the rough water,
Of civilization.
Acrylic on canvas.
Seize 200 cm – 100 cm.
Seize 16.3 inch – 12 inch
Glowing Frogfish, 2003.
On enlarged size, this 3 dimensional painting,,
shows a little beautiful sea monster, called Frogfish.
A little rare creature, the magnitude of an apple,
Without the ability to swim.
He uses his arms to walk the corals,
Which are his home and fishing-ground.
When fishing, he opens his mouth, and becomes twice
his normal size.
A fishing-rod on the top of his head, complete with a
shiner, to attract prey.
After he gulped this down, he will continue his hunt
again.
(Glow in the dark) Acrylic on canvas
Turtle, 1999.
As inhabitant’s of Bonaire, we did a lot of diving.
Sometimes as a hobby, or profession, sometimes as both.
The island provided everything.
Clear waters, excellent temperatures above and below the surface, and the most beautiful corals and fish. No pollution nor grotesque fish quotas...
One day, we went to little Bonaire, to view a mamma and papa shark, with seven youngsters.
There he was, a beautiful old creature, probably three times my age, but so elegant, graceful and strong.
A turtle, with a relaxed and peaceful expression in his eyes, and he looked at me.
He was not shy and there was no fear in those wise eyes.
He continued his journey, did not accelerate because he had already faced humanity so many times before.
The nearly extinct turtle, driven away and murdered… Drowned in fisherman’s net’s or choking, silent and screaming on our discarded plastic.
Killed because of his great shield, because of his ability to live two century’s, or just because they taste good in soup.
The meat of the turtle resembles the meat of the chicken.
There is no difference in the billion’s of chickens and the nearly extinct turtle…
His flesh is my paint.
A magical creature, beauty incarnate.
I capture that beauty , that elegance, with my paint.
Hoping humanity is capable of knowledge, or turning from its destructive powers.
In the hope that our children may have the opportunity to meet a free turtle,
And in the hope, that nor the children, nor the turtles will be punished any more for their innocence and trust.
I also saw the shark family. Important to understand, I felt a token to an alien reality as well as an honored and temporary member of a greater civilization of many other fishes. Didn’t feel fear, felt moved to share the moment.
But the turtle touched my heart. He shared his presence with our collective morality.
Without being aware of the danger of our presence in his life.
Without being aware that he probably will die because of us.
Without being aware that he definitely will die without us.
Without our knowledge of the extinction of this most singular distinction,
Paintings and pictures will be all that is left for the future generation.
Silent witnesses of a prehistoric creature, from the day’s before humanity rose.
