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Hesther van

Doornum
By: Nicole Relics

What influenced her work?


Hesther has been passionate
about drawing and painting
since she was a child. Her
first work, however, was
inspired
by
the
many
drawings she had to do from
models at college. In the
course of the years Hesther's
work has developed from a
figurative style to a more
abstract approach of her
subjects.
Emotions,
experiences and life stories
can be clearly recognized in
her imagery; Identities, a
portrait of the inner being.
There is a philosophy behind
all her work.

"Particularly the search


prior to making the work
is extremely fascinating. I
hear, think, feel, dream,
see and create; I find that
very
challenging,
inspiring and enriching."
People,
particularly
women,
are
a
key
element in her paintings.
The choice of subject,
expressive use of colour,
composition and clearly
visible strokes make her
work a symbiosis of
reason,
feeling
and
symbolism . Her work
fascinates the observer,
it is gripping and stays in
your thoughts.

Techniques, tools, inspiration?


During my study at the
Hogeschool voor de Kunsten I
discovered what for me was
the most ideal way to express
my creativity; and painting
became my discipline. Since
then I have developed my
own
combination
of
techniques
and
materials
making my work highly
recognizable. They have a
distinctive straight, jagged
and tangible horizontal and
vertical structure in their
backgrounds.
The
brush
stroke is tangible and visible
due to the accumulation of
paint through the use of

By scratching with a
palette knife or the
back of a brush in the
wet or half-dry paint
layers, I give my work
a dynamic effect. The
works show various
hues of the colours
used: from bright red
to brown, from ochre
to gold, from oxide
black to moon silver.
The colours are mixed
both on the canvas
and on the palette.
The combination of
structure and the use
of metallic colours
(various shades of

Throughout the years my work


has developed from figurative
to a more abstract approach to
my subjects. People,
particularly women and their
portraits, are central in my
paintings. Their open stance
exudes their vulnerability as
well as their strength. This is
reinforced by their
transparency; the figures more
or less flow into the
background. In this way the
backgrounds in my work play
an equally important role; this
way of working with space
emphasizes my search for the
identity of my subjects. The
compositions, colours and
poses personify conscious and
subconscious archetypes; they
symbolize the search for the
inner self and thereby serve as
metaphors for the various
aspects of life, such as love,
sadness, silence and
tranquillity. Emotions,
experiences and life stories
can be clearly recognized in
this imagery.

Why do I
like her?
I really like how
she portrays
and sees
women. Also, I
like her style,
color use and
how she
manages to get
Hesther: Powerful, sensual women who are not frightened to show
a reaction from
their vulnerability. These are the women on my canvases. This is me
theseem
viewer.
they
to proclaim. A woman who dares to be herself is wonderful
to behold, balanced in body and spirit. The open attitude of my
models radiates vulnerability as well as strength. This is enhanced by
their transparency. The characters flow as it were, into the
background.

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