CV

The discovery that I am an artist actually came relatively late in life at 43 years. Being bored with the business we took over from family when starting anew in a new country, the Netherlands, I started a short course in sculpting. Within a year I started exhibiting. The next 12 years were extremely prolific with a production of more than 400 small sculptures of which few remain with me.

The discovery of being a sculptor also freed my mind and made it possible to now be better in making work in other disciplines like painting, design, photography and last but certainly not least writing.

Ek is

Ek is wie ek is, nie wie n ander wil hê nie
ek is wat ek is, so gemaak deur die lewe
ek is hoe ek is, onstaan deur my menswees
my siel is nie te koop nie, my hart vir almal oop
my menswees vol met foute, ek leef in hoop
my taal is hoe ek uitdruk dit wat diep in my sit
uit my siel geborge die kilheid in my hart verhit

Ek is vervolg – Met respek

Ek is wie ek is, my identiteit staan vas soos n rots
ek durf anders wees, op te staan en getel te word.
Vat my soos ek is of los my, ek weier om sielloos
onderdruk te word deur die tiranie van middelmatigheid.
Met respek weier ek om liefdevol afgepers te word
om saam te smelt, onopvallend, ongenadigelik,
ontoegeeflik, identiteitsloos, kusnloos, kansloos.
Vat aan my taal dan vat jy aan my hart, my siel,
my menswees, my diepste kern, my ek.
Ek is wie ek is, ek is Afrikaans!

Born February 1955 from Dutch parents in Kimberley where I grew up. My schooling was fairly uneventful until I reached the age of 14 when the pressure to comply and live up to (extreme) expectations made me into a recalcitrant teenager. Having finished High School and my military conscription I drifted around in several jobs until I met my wife and moved to the Netherlands. After several years we moved back to South Africa and spent 10 happy years. Before moving back to NL I sold my Greenhouse manufacturing company and we lived in the Great Karoo where we ran a guesthouse.

After moving back to the Netherlands in 1993 we took over my now ex-wife’s family business. Missing the challenge and finding it boring I decided to start a sculpting course and the rest is history. I exhibited extensively from 1998 to 2007 after which the travel business took too much of my time.

Full artistic work CV available on request.