Mistral, 2017

Marie-Louise van den Akker  

Originally from the Netherlands, I completed my studies at the Breda Academy of Fine Arts in 1993. In 2001, I settled in France, in the Creuse region. I combine my life as an artist with that of an art therapist. I exhibit regularly in France and the Netherlands (Concept Store Gallery, La Baule – Salon d'Art Contemporain d'Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand – Galerie Peter Bax, Sneek, The Netherlands) and I participate in land art or environmental art festivals (Vign'art, Epernay – Festival de l'Estran, Côte de Granit Rose).

My small paintings are the simplest; they contain only color, sky, and sea. The larger paintings can be more complex, a graphic design blending with the transparent colors of the sea, seeking a harmony of several different elements. I don't reproduce nature, but I need this interaction with nature, this "dialogue," to nourish my work.

As a support for my paintings, I often use wooden panels. The wood is rigid, which allows me to scrape and push the paint away. I apply oil paint in thin layers that are then moved or pushed away. This way of working allows me to play with transparencies and layering, to find colors with a certain depth and surprising nuances.