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What prompted you to approach art and become an artist (events, feelings, experiences...)
My family - since childhood I have been interested in art and design. I got these interests from my parents, they had a modern view of the world, traveled a lot, loved design, dressed hip and fashionable. I was not immediately attracted to modern art such as Cobra, for example. I did like magical realism and surrealism, I had one outspoken favorite: Carel Willink. I found his work very fascinating. Furthermore, I loved Salvador Dali.
My grandfather was a painter, which I thought was super fun.... when you paint an object, it looks nice and fresh and new. The smell of paint ... in his world I felt at home.
My father worked in the medical field as a pathologist anatomist; it was taken for granted that I would succeed him. At that time, I resolved that when I retired, I would paint, and paint like my paragon Carel Willink.
My education at the Design Academy - I always loved beautifully designed products, but was also very interested in new and old production methods. Fairly early, I was not yet thirty years old at the time, I stopped working, and started to fulfill a long-cherished wish: I started my studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven (Netherlands). That was a revelation; I felt like a fish in the water. Both the design process, the design and the production process turned out to suit me well; I was then completely captivated by the Memphis style and designed several electric household products.
The course allowed me to simultaneously gain more and understanding of the art world, different art styles and techniques.
My attitude - The combination of my innate tendency to approach things differently, to shift my perspective, my urge to find out if something can function in another way, on the one hand, and my sense of aesthetics on the other, brings me close to design and art in general.
This manifested itself, among other things, when I had a daughter, invented an alternative way to bathe her and designed a new standard for this purpose: the Shantala baby bathtub. The bathtub was mass-produced (I have since sold the patent) and is still sold worldwide.
After my education, I started my own business and designed, furniture, mood lights for indoor and outdoor, garden decoration. I manufactured everything by hand, where aesthetics often won out over functionality.
For medical reasons, I could not keep this up and my ultimate dream finally came true: painting whole days.
What is your artistic journey, techniques and subjects you have experimented with so far?
Technique: In the early stages, I worked with acrylic paint on canvas. But soon I wanted to control the production process myself, so pretty soon I experimented with the substrate. The canvas was replaced by plywood board. At a later stage by MDF and finally hardwood board.
I coat the sheets with several layers of gesso. For me, this base has to be as flat as possible.
Since last year I have been painting with oil paint. I find this sublime. I am still experimenting. Wet in wet or several layers. Currently layer upon layer is my preference.
Also as a learning process I often paint the sea, clouds, the beach, also this offers me a technical challenge, I underwent several online courses before I was satisfied with the result, I am still learning every day.
The subject: In the beginning my preference was mainly iconic forms, mountainous futuristic landscapes, desolate landscapes, often night scenes.
Very often I integrate a self-designed furniture in my paintings.
My fondness for "classical" forms is also characteristic: a colonnade, the kasbah, a church or chessboard, a checkered pattern, often receive a prominent role.
I like to experiment with the contrast between day and night, between soil and sky. I sometimes make two versions of the same painting: a nighttime version in exclusively black and white tones, and a version in colorful daylight.
What are 3 aspects that set you apart from other artists that make your work unique?
Very often I integrate into my paintings an object I designed myself, usually a piece of furniture.
The back of the painting is also painted: in black and framed with title, signature and date. My floor lamp is also painted on each back.
The surreal yet harmonically-desolate setting where from a sandy plain, you have a view of the earth or a setting of planets that is not realistic, or only possibly possible in a near or distant future, is an important element in my paintings.
The colors I use are distinctive: the sand color is frequent.
Where does your inspiration come from?
My past trips to Morocco and the islands in the Mediterranean Sea, with their beautiful Moroccan and antique architecture, they have certainly offered me inspiration. Meetings also bring new insights and interests.
But all in all the ideas come naturally, they are always and everywhere, sitting in my head waiting to be realized, I don't have to do much for them.
When I want to make a new painting, I take my sketchbook, make a whole series of sketches, and during this phase I come up with other ideas. The painting is completely determined in advance while sketching.
What is the purpose of your art? What visions, sensations or feelings do you want to evoke in the viewer?
I don't really dwell on this. I do what I can't resist and depict the things I love. It would give me pleasure if the viewer sees or experiences that you can see things differently if your perspective changes. That is my guideline and challenge: to put things in a different perspective, to show that all things can also be different.
I hope that the viewer is touched by a dreamy distant world that at first glance is desolate and melancholic, but also shows a quiet and gentle harmony.
How is the creation process of your works? Spontaneously or with a long preparatory process (technique, inspiration from art classics or otherwise)?
The ideas arise spontaneously. I know which subjects fascinate me, some are constants, others come up as a result of a trip or encounter, which I try to integrate. The execution of these ideas is thoughtful and structured.
I always make a large number of sketches first and pay close attention to composition and perspective. Then the size is determined, the hardwood board is cut to size, a first layer is applied, on this I apply the final sketch. Then I paint with oil paint, layer upon layer, sometimes wet on wet.
I wear a cotton apron, to prevent threads from my wool sweater from getting into the paint. And although I am somewhat afraid of cat hair on the canvas, the cat named Vinci sits next to me very often. Classical music, preferably Bach or Chopin, is always playing in the background.
Which techniques do you prefer? If so, can you explain?
Craftsmanship and quality materials are paramount, as well as my preference to make as much as possible myself, including the frame and . Sawing, gluing, applying primers.
Painting I do with oil paints. Both oil paint and brushes are of the highest quality.
I also pay a lot of attention to composition and perspective, the subjects are painted in detail, without distortions. I use warm tones.
Are there any innovative aspects to your work? Can you tell us which ones?
I think you can call my paintings authentic, they exude simplicity and honesty in mostly dreamy images. Perhaps they do offer a reflection of these times with its course toward decay and its need for stillness and simplicity.
I like to feel the materials, undergo the craft, fuse ideas, change perspective, this is reflected in the representation of tension in the combination of materials I paint: wood, stone floors, sand, water and so on.
Do you have a size or medium that you feel most comfortable with? If so, why?
My preference is a format with ratio 2/3, an approximation of the golden ratio, it brings balance and harmony.
Still, I sometimes, and also like to, work with square s. With these s I leave a wide edge open at the front, which I fill in, including with a cement layer, as a frame.
Where do you make your work? At home, in a shared or private studio? And how is your production organized within this space?
Until recently, I rented a studio in Maastricht, Netherlands, in the old factories of the MOSA.
When I was no longer allowed to drive for health reasons, I set up my studio at home. I sketch at an extra-large self-designed table with inlaid glass top. On another table are paints and brushes. The painting itself I do at an old large Revolt drawing table by Friso Kramer, which I can adjust to various positions, which is ideal for me. Some paintings are provided with a wooden frame, I also design these myself, of course in a different (outdoor) space.
Does your work bring you to travel to meet new collectors, for shows or exhibitions? If so, what does it bring you?
For several years now I have been traveling very little. Quasi all my attention goes to the painting itself.
How do you envision the evolution of your work and your figure as an artist in the future?
I hope to find recognition and appreciation both for my craftsmanship, my dedication and my style. I see painting as my main mission, I was born for it, I feel it and it gives me peace and satisfaction. I hope the viewer also finds peace and satisfaction.
What is the subject, style or technique of your latest artistic production?
At the moment I am painting an extraterrestrial view with in the foreground my floor lamp with block motif, the lamp is in the sand, it is night and the sky is pitch black, in the distance the great rising earth and some other planets. The painting gives a dreamy wistful impression. Painted with oil paint on MDF board.
Can you tell us about your most important exhibition experience?
Several times I had the opportunity to exhibit in Maastricht in the buildings of the SAM Decorfabriek, where I also had a studio for about ten years. These are old factory buildings , the spaces are immense, high, with a beautiful concrete floor, extreme light from shed roofs, this gave my art objects (I usually exhibited both furniture, lamps and paintings) an extra dimension.
If you could have a famous work from art history, which one would you choose? And why would you choose it?
It could be a painting by Carel Willink, for example, "Simeon the Pillar Saint" from 1939. What appeals to me in this painting are the contract between the dark threatening sky and the lightness of the stone floor, the columns, the craftsmanship that speaks from it, the contrast between the threatening and the serene, the stately atmosphere it evokes, the dramatic beauty contained in history and decay.
But it could also be a work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, for example, "Chemin montant dans les hautes herbes" from 1875. I am a great lover of Impressionism in general and Renoir in particular. This painting appeals to me because it understands the art of expressing an almost unbearable playful lightness and gaiety, through the contrast in the colors and the panache of the brushstrokes.
If you could invite a famous artist (dead or alive) to dinner, who would it be? How would you imagine him/her spending the evening?
That would undoubtedly be Carel Willink. By the way, I have met him once, about 40 years ago. I was in Amsterdam, he was sitting at the table next to me but at that moment I thought it inappropriate to interrupt him. Anno 2022 it would have been different....
I would invite Carel Willink for dinner, cook for him myself, preferably vegetarian Indian or Lebanese, take care of the atmosphere, perhaps we could listen to music together beforehand; afterwards, possibly take a walk to the beautiful castle in the vicinity. I would compliment him extensively and inquire curiously about his sources of inspiration and the techniques he uses.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli 
