Horsing around

When I was around 10 years old, I developed a fascination for drawing. My main subject at the time? Horses. The girls in my glass were all about horsebackriding – I tried, it wasn’t my jam – and so horses were A Big Deal back then. I just always thought they were so regal and elegant, and somehow very friendly to look at. They looked like willing subjects, static as they were. So I drew them.

After a while, I wanted a different challenge, and set out to drawing celebrities. I drew everyone I admired, and surrounded myself with these A3 sized homemade posters of them. Turns out I have a knack for drawing really recognisably, and that I’m able to do so quickly. That became my way of drawing. I didn’t take the time to develop technique, because for me the satisfaction was in the resemblance.

I also painted a little, preferring acryllic paint at the time. I used that to paint mostly landscapes or abstracts on canvas.

Choices

Around the time I graduated high school, I was already exploring other avenues. I was in a theatergroup for a few years and kind of thought about going in that direction. I took a liking to the internet and learned HTML, graphic design! Bt most importantly, I was focused on my year as a foreign exchange student in the United States. While there, I took several classes that aren’t available in the Dutch high school curriculum. Think creative writing, journalism, sociology and psychology. I discovered that I both loved, and was good at, psychology. So I enrolled in a HBO program for a year, and then became eligible to enroll in University for a 3 year Bachelor’s program. I took a gap year, during which I decided to travel a little by myself. And then I went back to obtain my master’s degree in Cognitive Neurosciences.

By the time I was 24, drawing didn’t have a prominent place in my life anymore. Another art form had taken over and become my way of self-expression: photography. A lot of which I honed during those aforementioned travels.

One door closes

The things I am passionate about have always made way for something else, because I’m interested in many things. Which I used to think was a bad thing, but it’s just really not.

But when I was 31/32 (we’re in 2014/15 here), I was going through a very, very rough time both physically and mentally (grieving and accepting) – and found my way back to my first creative love. My desire to draw kind of stuck around since then, albeit not all day every day. The pandemic – which we’re still in as I’m writing this – is a life-altering time for many people.

For me it’s a time of immense productivity, while also balancing life at home with my two young children and husband. I learned to bake (and will be starting a blog for that too). I am learning a new language. I’ve become good with finances (and am officially an adult, despite having been a mom for 4,5 years haha). And I started digital illustration, which I’ve also started to license (like I do photography).

This one’s for me

But it’s important to me that I continue this for myself, not JUST for sales. Digital illustration takes a lot of time and I want it to be about expression more than anything. And learning. I want to make images that tell a story or could be a part of a story. To translate whatever I’m unable to do with photography (especially since we’re literally stuck in lockdowns). So this place right here is where I can develop that part of myself, free from what’s expected, or trendy. Here, I don’t have to go with any briefs or flows other than my very own.

Chromasome is a conscious misspelling of chromosome, combining a word that is all about bright, intense color, with “being a part of me”. While I don’t spend my every waking hour drawing, I grew up with it, and have felt its comfort and its power since I was but a 10 year old drawing horses. Here in my portfolio, I’ll share finished works, so works completely as intended. I hope this way I’ll also stimulate myself to finish things. But if you click through to see more about the image in question, there may be some works in progress there too. Or maybe one day I’ll attach a journal to this blog. But for now it’s clean and simple.

You can also find my work on instagram @Chromasome.art 🙂

It took me 4 months to find a way to describe my art, and now that I have, I’m very excited to get this show on the road and share my progress with you.

xx