| Dear friends, It’s often thought that being an artist is a hard life. This is because: 1.They are either rich and dead or they are very poor and alive. 2.That they have a different outlook on the world because they suffer from mental disorders (Van Gogh mutilated his ear because he was hearing voices). 3.That they feel misunderstood or otherwise rejected. 4.That they make art to protest against a cruel and unjustifiable society. I don’t agree at all with this view. My life is easy, I feel better off than 75 %
of the people on this planet. Apart from being dyslexic I don’t have any major
malfunctions and I feel love and admiration all around me. I make paintings just because I
like to create. I like to create for the shear pleasure of transforming raw material into
a new shape that evokes an emotion. My passion for creation also runs into food and
cooking. In this section I would like to mention everyone who supported me, because without you I wouldn't be the same. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to my art skills. Although being mostly self-taught that doesn’t mean I didn’t have teachers. I would like to thank Frank Kappe for showing me on how to work with different materials, preparing canvasses and providing me with a great studio, Henk van Schoonerwoerd den Bezemer for letting me sit in his studio while he was working, Peter Paul Heurkens for constantly conceptually challenging me on what I was doing and Dik Bakhuizen van den Brink for how to present the final product. I would like to thank everyone who gave me a stage to exhibit my
artworks, because without that it would have been like painting the
same painting over and over again. I would like to thank Royal Camino,
Cultural center the "X" and Art Center Haagweg 4 in Leiden.
I would like to thank Margret from the Joy Power Club and Robert Tow
from the Persimmon Art Gallery, in Guangzhou for organizing great
exhibitions. I would like to thank Iem Roos, the Dutch Consul General
in Guangdong and Wild Ox, a Chinese scholar, for performing the opening
speeches at my exhibitions in Guangzhou. Lots of thanks to Arrow Zhang,
Frenck Si Tu and Tian Lio Sha for introducing me into the art society
in Guangzhou and Wang Hui in Beijing. We had great fun working together. I would like to thank everyone who showed more than special interest in my work. Most of all Rob and Han van der Meer, Dik van der Maat, Christ-Jan Manniën, Eric Vollebregt, Jeremy van Dijk, Martijn Breet, Vicky Stapleton, Michael Pearson, Duro Ungureanu, Wim Eykelenberg, Martine Werners, Jullius Visser, Piet Bos, Wouter, Vanilla, Ming Yung Zhang. I would like to thank everyone who modeled for me, because without you I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did. You all were most beautiful and inspiring. I would like to thank everyone who made this website possible. Cor Kuyvenhoven and Claus Ji for taking photo’s of my paintings, Dik van der Maat for scanning a lot of the photo’s, Martijn Breet for creating the original website, the hosting of my present website and continuously coaching me on how to do it myself, Michael Thomas and Dave White for their English suggestions and Jeremy van Dijk for numerous technical support throughout the years. I would like to thank the, "Dranklokaal de WW" in Leiden. You have been much more than a bar for me. Often after closing time after a long night drinking, I would clean you with the broom and then return home inspired to use the brush in my own studio. Special thanks also to Patric from The Tree in Beijing for stimulation me to make more paintings and for hosting an permanent exposition in his Belgium bar/restaurant. Special thanks also to Kristy Xu who was promoting my art in China and Judy Potter who did the same in the United States.. And the last persons I truly owe my everything to is my beautiful and lovely wife Nanda and my kid Quin. Words are just not good enough but I know you know. Thanks a lot! Randolf
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