THE PAINTER
From a young age, Geurt Jan has been fond of drawing and painting. Starting with small pictures and drawings, he step by step developed towards large oil and acrylic paintings. Since several years the size of his studio has inspired him to paint large canvasses.
He is inspired by the American Abstract Expressionists such as Rothko and Frankenthaler. Another source of inspiration is De Kooning. Geurt Jan de Heus says about De Kooning: “Being at the beaches around Montauk, you can see the light that inspired De Kooning for his most beautiful paintings. You can see the similarities with the Dutch Islands where I find the same kind of light. While trying to catch that similar light and energy I felt how De Kooning must have felt, standing in the water and seeing the sun sinking into the ocean”.
Large color field paintings and monochromes are part of his oeuvre. “The most appealing part for me is to create something out of nothing. The process of starting with an empty canvas and step by step, layer for layer, exploring and searching for the best solution in the process. The act of painting, scratching and starting over again gives him an empty mind.”
To Geurt Jan his painting activities have several similarities with the negotiation process: exploring, solution finding, deciding what to do, one step forward, two steps back. It’s a journey.
PAINTINGS
