Since I have become a mother of two children Aaron now seven and Lauren six my daily routine has become extremely busy and accompanied by many fulfilling moments. The most fascinating experience is the observation of the growth of my two children. I am unsure how they would quote in the art scene but I experience their potential to be very talented and creative.
To attempt to express ones feelings via art and have something important to tell for me means (says) a lot. Such as the growth of Aaron and Lauren as they become more self conscious so does their interpenetration via art change. From their simple two dimensional drawings nearly not recognizable I see them transforming into intriguing compositions. Clear diagrams such as face expressions, movement, buildings in three dimensional forms begin to develop. I interpret threw their drawings how they are feeling and what is concerning them at that moment.
For a while my interested has been focused with themes such as how the growth and the creativity of a person are linked. Often I ask why an adult has completely different visions and ideas compared with that of a child. Sometimes I am self critical and reflect with my art and try to find the answers. How can a child with little but with clear lines paint or draw an image. At the same moment my children have watched me in my studio and have directly observed every small detail with all that I have painted. Amazed and astound with the huge canvasses and many colors they reflect and realize that they do not have the acquired skills to complete such a huge image.
Therefore extracted from daily life I have come to this new series of paintings and naturally have named it "Ability”. As free as every child Aaron and Lauren paint or draw with powerful colors, choose their own themes and feel comfortable to use recycled paper. With a few of their completed images I have transferred them onto large canvases with a profession scope of an adult to create something new but at the same time to keep the identity of the original drawing/ painting.
Is this a symbiosis between a child and an adult or is it just a game and experience which took place in my studio? The collaboration brought us all a lot of pleasure and enjoyment!
The process through the years is seen as a positive development in our careers. Many questions are still a secret. Can an adult walk in the same shoes as a child or can a child present him/ herself as an adult?
Perhaps that is why through the years one needs to change the size of one’s shoes.
Photo Image: “The Turtle” by Lydia van den Berg, Acrylics on Canvas, 100x80 cm, Uster - Switzerland, 2011
24 Oktober 2011, Uster, Switzerland
Lydia van den Berg