Take Photo

When I start, I never know what I'm going to do with a picture, what apps I'm going to use...things happen...an intuitive process. I always like to work with layers on layers to achieve a certain subtlety. I also want depth in each piece. The viewer must be able to "see" the layer below - to see what is untold and feel the atmosphere. Therefore, a work does not necessarily have to be beautiful... it is the experience that is important.


Because I have been seriously ill for a long time and won’t recover, the theme dead is such a “thing”. One day I was sick and tired in bed again as I made this picture of myself. (I work a lot with pictures of myself because I'm always available as a model). Then I decided to make something out of this photo that would express my feeling of that time…“oh shut up, when I die, then I die"...I’m not that religious, and had not planned to die for a long time, but the expression Deo Volente (God willing) appears in my mind. 

I love Repix and use it a lot. I started with it to crop the image and chose a lighting effect which made the picture softer. Then I went to Big Lens to blur the background. Because I like to have monochrome colors in my work I use Pixlr-o-maticoften. It has several nice filters. I used one that made the picture a bit softer. (I also use Noir but not in this case).  After that, I used Weather FX to post a cloud on a white background. I mixed both pictures with Image Blender and I then I erased the part of the cloud photo that I did not want to use. I wanted it to be subtle and just visible. Now it seems to me as if I’m laying still and quiet in a bed of snow waiting for things to come…or not.

Soon it was not enough anymore - this kind of expression.  I wanted much more depth. I chose, partly because of Henk Peeters (famous artist from the Zero).  He became my mentor and made me love modern minimalistic and conceptual art. 

At this time I'm immensely fascinated by art of mobile photography. I think art made in this way, will be one of the most important art disciplines of this time.  I've only been working with mobile photography for a few months.  Just before last Christmas I was inspired by Nico Brons, a well-known iPhoneographer in the Netherlands. And now I am forever infected with the art of mob virus.