Email for availability of artworks: info@marnixvanwelie.nl

I live in the Netherlands, close to the North Sea. I love the nearby dunes, the forest, the beach and the surf. I’m fortunate to have this rough, untamed landscape so close by, in an otherwise small, flat and densely populated country. It took me a long time to truly appreciate this environment. Only recently did I start working in the dunes and on the beach. I used to prefer going to the Alps, in both summer and winter. Mountain landscapes, skiers, and climbers are themes I keep returning to. A small vintage black-and-white photograph from Die Alpen, the magazine of the Swiss Alpine Club, is enough for me to drift off in my studio late at night, drawing and painting. 

Daily drawing is at the core of my practice. It is a journey, a journey of the mind, and I never know beforehand where it will lead. I draw from a wide range of subjects: nature, landscapes, people, portraits, classic cinema, old books and vintage photography. These sources form the starting points of my artistic process. Sometimes the work remains recognizable and figurative; other times it evolves into abstraction. I want to work as freely as possible: fast, direct, intuitive. I don’t build up many layers of paint or keep working on a piece endlessly. If I continue painting for too long, it usually loses its strength. 

I limit myself in materials and color. I have a strong affinity for Japanese calligraphy. The way I draw with sumi ink is heavily influenced by it. I also work with watercolor and oil paint on canvas and antique wooden panels, each surface contributing its own qualities to the work. Line is my anchor, a path, a movement, a way of thinking across the surface. Often, black and white alone is enough for me. Color may enter as a counterbalance: transparent warmth against cool distance, emotion against detachment. In many works I leave parts of the paper, canvas, or wood grain visible, creating a dialogue between material, memory and image.