Close up pictures of the artist atelier showing tools and palette samples.
Material & technique
The painting methods that the artist uses are based on the Dutch and Flemish 17th century masters and the Italian 16th century masters. The artworks are created on traditional stretched canvas Belgian flax linen. The artist paints in trompe l'oeil techniques and sfumato methods. The artist applies multiple thin transparent glazes of oil paint, the amount of glazes vary from twenty to up to or over forty layers. The built up of the painting allows for depth and complexity and soft transitions of shading and bright colours with vibrance and luminosity. The quality of materials and method of application ensures stability of the artworks that are intended to last centuries and for colours to maintain vibrant. The artist has followed four years of training in traditional oil painting techniques in a masters atelier , specialising in 17th century Dutch masters and 14th renaissance Italian masters. The artist has replicated multiple master pieces to truly understand the techniques and methods. The artist is captivated by the impact that art has and implicates the techniques in her own work. The artist is constantly researching and trialing methods and diverse techniques and keeps record files on each artwork with detailed notes.The artist uses the traditional techniques to her own aesthetic and has a contemporary approach with influences of today’s mass pop culture and cartoons. The artist makes use of the technique called ‘Couleur rompue’, broken colour, this technique is to place colours next to each other and not mixing colours, allowing for extra contrast in the painting and luminosity.
About In Uncertainty collection
The collection titled In Uncertainty is the new collection by the artist Marianne Hendriks. The collection has been in preparation over a period of six years, where the artist has specialised in the techniques of both the Dutch 17th Masters and Italian 14th century masters. During the studies the artist created a still live collection titled Domesticus, exploring painting techniques and reflecting in times of lockdown. The collection ‘In Uncertainty’ is also a reflection on yet again uncertain times. The artist approach is to evolve and create an expanding collection, where the work will take on different influences and directions. The art work is with the main subject nature and dreams. The artist portrays plants, fruits and flowers and plays with their appearances. Marianne’s artwork has a poetic intention and is melancholic and romantic. The subjects have a theatrical appearance and are part of a performance that is perhaps even taking place without us as human spectators being aware. The artist also gives a leading role to colour The colour mode that the artist uses has another worldly aspect and is intentionally sweet and unusual. The artist has a playful approach to colour and embraces the liberties that the artist can take. Inspired by the use of colour by Michael Angelo in the Sistine chapel in the Vatican Rome. The artist refers to the colour mode of the cinematic colouring method during the 1920’s of film footage painted in by hand, called ‘technicolour’.The artist's style is strongly influenced by surrealism. The artist draws inspiration from Dreams and Dreamstate. The artist describes dreams as an uncertain experience, where you are not ever sure if you are having a so-called sweet dream or a nightmare. The artist states the importance of dreaming ‘It allows us to be free’.
About The Unknown collection
The collection ‘All that is unknown’ is based on poetry and nature. The collection explores love and romance and the artist suggests that to be an artist, one can not avoid being a romantic. The collection is inspired by sonnets and poems and letters by artists and writers. Marianne’s work is referring to the letters of Vincent van Gogh, writing to his brother Theo, describing how he fell in love with nature and how he felt deeply connected. In one of the many letters he describes a very moving moment, where a man has found himself. V.v.Gogh who struggled with many things in his life amongst was a struggle to find a sense of belonging, acceptance, meaning and love, he found this in nature. The poem ‘Gingo Biloba’ by Goethe is another reference the artist is inspired by. The poem of Goethe describes love as a mythical thing that nature is represented as part of the love language. At the time whilst developing the collection the artist has participated at the RCA London summer course. The course focuses on challenging ideas, and methods. Marianne explores writing poetry in her work during the course. Describing love in its many forms, the infatuation, feeling foolish, obsessively strong, admiration and interest for some one and nature. The artist describes love and romance as a great capacity in itself to have. Where romance is something to believe in for it to be able to exist. Marianne explores the complexity of love and depicts it in the form of writing and painting and nature. The poems wander through landscapes as part of the landscape, describing nature as part of love, empathy and belonging. Marianne’s writing of the poems are not chronicle and are in the landscape and separated in space and time, indicating that the meaning of her poems and love exist outside the timeline we live in.
About Domesticus collection
The Domesticus collection is a series of still life scenes, created during lockdown. The paintings are in a dream-like state, with a naive and childlike appearance. The artist accepts that the painting exists outside the realm of reality. There is an element of the unresolved and unfinished, giving a sense of unease in the paintings. Marianne refers to the themes used in the paintings: the Golden Age, an era of economic uncertainty, and conflict. The artist sees parallels and indicates that events are recurring in today's world.The paintings of Marianne are a succession of dreams, images, ideas, emotions. The dream state is something that fascinates and disturbs at the same time, usually occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The artist suggests that dreams represent hope, change and excitement. Influenced by the surrealist artist Rene Magriet, who quoted, ‘Ceci n'est pas une pipe’, recognising that art by divination exists outside the realm of reality. The artist reflects, showing empty spaces and isolated vignettes, expressing melancholy. The paintings are left unfinished and abstracted, devering from reality. The perspective and points of views are warped and elements do not match. The fruits portrayed are falling or scattered, representing transcendence, the feeling of turning is amplified by the bright blazing sun and colours. The fruit appears to be perfectly ripe and sweet and about to go rotten. From a stage of thriving and abundance to being corrupted and rotten, implying that good and bad appear not too far apart. The blue skies represent truth, freedom, with fleeting clouds that are morphing into new forms, indicating uncertainty and a reminder of life’s impermanence. A fly appears into the artworks, unwanted, another reminder and symbol in art history of rot and wasting away. Referring to many hours alone in the atelier with a fly for company.