I am an artist living and working in Oslo Norway.
I was born, grew up and was educated in The Netherlands.
Sri Lanka, here my husband was born and grew up.
An artist was born… in the Netherlands
There was she – or me – the little girl Wendelmoed van der Veen, on a rainy day, sitting at the kitchen table making things out of ‘trash’, like old cardboard boxes that my mother collected for us to play with, or working with bricks and old planks that my father would bring to me. It didn’t matter. Whatever material I could get hold of, I would transform them, giving them another life and form. I also loved to draw, paint or make figures in clay and make my own toys such as carriages, motorboats and sailboats for my PlayMobil figures. It was like building the world around me. I remember constructing huts outside in the garden – ‘our forest’, even though it was only a few trees.
The natural world also fascinated me. I used to collect and press plants, finding their names; or just spend hours looking at animals, collecting insects, looking at them under a magnifying glass to see all their details. A world within reach to be transformed by my hands.
Then came the time of formal education. I chose art and handcraft subjects at school and went to a few courses to learn about drawing, watercolour and ceramics and discovered the joy of making my own clothes. I went to Buskerud Folkehøgskole in Darbu, Norway and immersed myself in fabrics only to realize that drawing, painting and sculpture was what I liked best! In fact, everything that would allow me to explore different material and techniques, there was I.
When the childhood’s inspiration became a profession
Thanks to a big suitcase filled with all kinds of drawings, works and clothes that I had made, I was accepted – at first attempt – to the Academy of Fine Arts A.B.K. Minerva in the Netherlands (Groningen). During my six years there, I studied and practiced drawing, painting, sculpture, photo, graphics, graphical design, learned to draw with computer, pedagogy, philosophy and art history.
Next step was Statens Kunstakademi in Oslo, Norway, thanks to the “Rasmus Skolarskip” scollarship, where I had the opportunity to have my own studio and dive further into painting and drawing.
With a formal education in place, I moved to Oslo to live with Vasanth, the love of my life, whom I had met at the Folkehøgskole in 1988. We fell in love and still very much are; Vasanth is my biggest inspiration and art supporter.
Then it was time to start making a career as an artist: finding a studio where I could work and dedicate myself to drawing and painting. Since then I’ve become a member of the Art Association in Oslo, Norwegian Artist Organisation (NBK), UKS (Association of Young artist), a board member of the Artist Association Oslo and Akershus (BOA), Norwegian Painters (LNM), Tegnerforbundet (Drawings Association in Norway) and at the same time always looking for a place to show my work.
My first exhibition at BOA, by means of the grant ‘Debutantstøtte’ that I received, was the official launching of myself as an artist. How happy I was!!
Nowadays I continue to live and work as an artist in Oslo.
The highlight in my profession is to be part of the art group Norwegian World Artist. We are artists from different backgrounds with one foot in Norway and one in another country. We also differ in age (ranging from 35 to 85), working methods and use of materials (drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, photo, video, performance etc.). Regardless of that, we always stick together and support each other and, above all, make diverse but complex holistic and interesting exhibitions – since 2008!
This inspires me!
I get inspiration from everything around me; living creatures, light, people, odd things and ordinary things. And of course other artists and their art.
Three countries, in particular, have great influence in my work.
The Netherlands, my original background and my homeland. There is nothing better than living abroad to give you a distance to see things differently. Even the very flat Dutch landscape, the grey weather, the green/grey atmosphere and light, and people always cycling to get around makes me totally fascinated.
Sri Lanka, where my husband was born, is my second homeland. Its daily life is another world, especially to a European like me. The wonderful experience of taking a shower by standing next to the well in a little underskirt, throwing buckets of fresh ‘cold’ water over me while the sun is shining and the palm trees waving in the wind. Because of the heat, when I am there, I can only draw. Every day I sit around with my diary, registering my experiences of the ordinary life through simple line drawings – the washing, a dog … or other things that inspire me, funny or scary. Over the years there have been many drawings, photos and paintings and it’s amazing to see how life changes as years go by.
Norway, our current homeland. Anything from drawing small details in the forest, experiencing what it’s like to be an artist in a Norwegian film, seeing people wearing umbrella to protect them from the snow, the art and performance of nature – everything inspires me! Nowadays I do live near a real forest where I go for walks every day, do cross-country skiing, paddle in the lake, whatever –it’s a fairy tale every time. All kinds of weather has its beauty and I keep nurturing my childhood curiosity by learning about mushrooms, berries, leaves, birds. It is amazing how, at second glance, everything reveals itself with its unique magic … fantastic!
My art and me – Me and my art – The surrounding world
Everything I draw, paint or create is connected with who I am and my surroundings.
Some people ask me if I can live from my work. I tell them that I cannot live without my work and my art.
For me, being an artist is like working all the time – whether I’m walking in the woods or in town I‘m always searching, thinking and working, getting ideas and getting inspired. Sometimes these processes are totally subconscious and all of a sudden this ‘A-HA’ idea pops up out of nowhere!! So yes, I need ALL of this to create my art!
The wind entangled the umbrella
Blinded by the sun I see headless people.
Entangled by darkness I see trolls and weirdos.
An optical illusion gives them very big feet.
Through my eyes I see movement, I feel the train
I am sitting in is moving, although it is standing still.
The train next to me moves on.
I am sorry I did not hear you.
I must have been dreaming.
Lovely!
Wendelmoed van der Veen