New exhibition in DUNAatelier Katwijk

Fred Thoolen likes to make short sketches, a quick rendering of what he sees, what comes to mind is the basis for what he draws and paints in his immediate surroundings and on his travels. This exhibition is a sampling of the work he has created.

'Often from drawing people, a landscape, a factory or a situation that arises from the interaction of man and nature, a theme arises that I can explore visually in various works that explore that subject in depth.

The actions of people in nature do not always make me happy. A lot is affected or demolished without respect for the uniqueness of everything around us. But fortunately, nature also goes its own way. For example, I have visited the landscapes in which the myth of Heracles took place and recorded in about 12 paintings what they look like now. Sometimes not so much has changed in 2,000 years.

For several years I did "artist in residencies" in Callosa, Spain and Kolymbari in Crete. In Spain, the Moorish rule of 800 years now still appears to have a huge impact on daily life. The many wars of the reconquista are still remembered. In Crete, people live in a direct relationship with the landscape - and now also with tourists.... But the trauma of the Second World War is still unresolved.

With the greatest pleasure I go out with ink and a pen to capture the environment, to draw people. I have taught model drawing for over 40 years and that is also shown in this exhibition.

Michiel Schepers is primarily a draughtsman. His concern is to discover something in the motif that he would never have noticed without the drawing on the spot.

He explains:

'The meaning of my life is to see the world, everything that is there without exception. Drawing is a means of looking closely at nature and humanity. Painting is the public expression of it. Main rule here: don't make it more beautiful or interesting than it is.  

To see the whole world I travel, talk to strangers, penetrate closed circles and dense forest, and take my time. Intimacy with everything - that's the aim!

The main subjects: forest, city, woman, child and man, craggy mountains and crowded valleys each require separate study and expression. The result of all this, is a cosmic feeling, that everything (but only everything without exclusion) is good. For everything leaves nothing to be desired. '