Aloha!
I was born in Indonesia on the small island of Ambon in the Moluccas. I lived in New Guinea (then Dutch New Guinea, now known as West Papua New Guinea or Iriyan Jaya). My native language is Dutch. We lived in the tropics until I was 11 and then we moved to the Netherlands. My parents always wanted to emigrate to the US and we were able to do that in 1964. My dad was a very talented artist and I grew up drawing right beside him. I’m lucky that I had a dad that loved to draw.
Did you know that every child is an artist until the age of 5 or so? You see, we are all created in God’s image and we can create and take us wherever our imagination will take us. Most kids love to draw and paint. Then one day an older person (most likely a parent or teacher) will tell them that they’re doing it “wrong.” Or they tell them, that you are supposed to “stay in the lines.” Most kids get discouraged and soon stop believing in themselves and that they are creative.
I love every kind of art, even graphic art. All my high school life, I took at least one class of some kind of art. Be it drawing or photography. But it wasn’t until I went to Redding in February of 2008 to attend a Prophetic Arts Conference. It was then that I was told to “throw out everything I had ever learned about art.” I found out that God loves to express Himself through us and to simply listen to Him and follow his prompting.
When I came away from there, I couldn’t stop painting. I painted a painting a week. I’ve slowed down some, but only because of my own busy-ness. It is very important to slow down and allow God to teach you and flow through you expressions His art.
In 2005 I started designing digital scrapbook kits after my daughter passed away. It was very therapeutic for me but fun, too. I also did a little bit of 3D art, pen and ink calligraphy, hand lettering. But more recently, I’ve come back full circle to drawing with colored & graphite pencils and acrylics.