leaves on my mind WITH JACOLIEN DE JONG T I met Jacolien at the Cultural Sunday in Utrecht. The combination of her art and elements she takes from nature tell a story about human life. Her latest subject is the human mind which she translates with leaves from the… tree. The soft but true nature of her art is very inviting and makes you look twice.
It all started in 1979, when at the age of 19, I moved to Utrecht to be a student at the Utrecht School of the Arts where I would major in the Arts. I love to draw on paper using mixed media and regularly show my work at exhibitions. Besides being an artist I am also an entrepreneur. 26 years ago I started an organisation called “Het Schildersbedrijf’ for businesses and, for the last 10 years I have been organising creative courses for people in elderly care with 'Bureau Kwiek'. I believe that with creativity people can communicate and express their feelings in their own way. J
As an artist I become personally involved with my subject and do a lot of research as a result. Recently I have become fascinated with the human brain - especially in the mystery of how the mind works and how external stimuli helps us to recall memories. The transience we see in nature with the changing of seasons, is a beautiful metaphor to express the loss of memories.
As a child I started to collect flowers and leaves and dry them in books. I find beauty in the structure of leaves and use them in my work. As a result, I now use drawing materials together with paint, ink and organic material on paper. My visual language is influenced by old medieval painting. I feel related to the primitive and symbolic way of telling stories of times long past. I am inspired by the use of colours, paint and brushstroke of artists such as Van Gogh, as well as the visual language of surrealist painters such as Frida Kahlo, who exposes her life in her self-portraits. After 40 years Utrecht still inspires and surprises me. One of my favourite places is the Hortus, the botanic gardens of the University of Utrecht. Here you find the oldest Ginkgo Biloba tree which covers the garden with beautiful gold gingko leaves in the autumn. It also has a giant Amazonica water lily in the greenhouse.
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ART BY NATURE | NATURE THROUGH THE EYES OF
