Join us as we speak with Amarins Lyklema, a Dutch acrylic painter that erases the boundary between the self-taught and the professional artist.
Was your life path always to become an artist? What brought you to where you are today?
"Looking back, I believe it has to have been my life path. From as early as I can remember, I’ve always loved drawing and painting. I just have such a strong attraction to it. In my free time after school I would spend hours in my room sketching and creating things with paint. I always wanted to do something with my art but never would have thought it would be feasible to become an artist. So I chose a more practical profession. But besides my day to day work, I’ve never stopped painting. For all of my life, it’s always been a very important way to be able to express myself.
I just can’t do without."
The demand of social media and the need to create constant content proves to be a point of stress for many creatives. Can you describe your thoughts and feelings on this subject? Do you enjoy documenting your process?
"I like to give people a little behind the scenes on how I work and social media is a great platform to show this to people through. I like to share my thoughts and fears during the process in order to show what it takes to make these paintings. It’s a great motivation to see how people react to my work. And I hope I can be an inspiration to others this way.
When I’m working on a painting I’m already thinking about how I can represent the painting in a creative way. But to keep it fun and doable I’ve set myself a goal to try to post one thing a week. I try to not to take myself too seriously and just have fun with it."
How did you overcome societal pressures to conform to more traditional forms of making a living?
"I was lucky enough to always have people around me who believed in me and motivated me to paint , so I did not experience that pressure.
But when I decided to make this my profession instead of my hobby, the pressure came more from myself: am I good enough?
This still is something I struggle with from time to time."
Who are your greatest mentors? Are they all artists, or are they also people of personal significance?
"When I was young I was amazed by the skills of the great Dutch masters. Now I can find something in a lot of styles and artists. But I admire artists like Henk Heilmantel and Jopie Huisman and how they can see beauty in day to day objects. The way they choose to make a composition and the use of colors…
Just look them up and you’ll see what I mean!"
As a professional artist who was self-taught, do you think going to school for art is worth it?
"I can’t really judge that, because I don’t know how things would have been if I did do art school. Maybe I would have come to certain insights faster than I did now.
I once asked a great illustrator if you have to do art school to be able to become an artist , he told me that if I just work hard and kept on making a lot of art I would get there.
That’s what I believe is absolutely true, it just takes time , self study and perseverance. And I’m actually proud to be able to say that what you see me create is 100% me. It can’t get more authentic then that!"
What is your inspiration around the specific arrangements of your paintings? Do you create a landscape of objects and photograph them for reference?
"As an artist I’m always looking for my next subject to paint. I try to see the beauty in ordinary things. When I have an idea I think about this for weeks and how I would translate this to my canvas.
Then, I make the actual composition. I work on it for hours. Every detail has to be right. So many things to take in consideration. The colors , composition, the story I want to tell and so on. I take alot of photos and then use these photos as a reference because a photo is not a painting. It needs more to come to life on canvas. I choose to highlight or intensivy things , or to blur or leave things out. And at a certain point in the painting proces I don’t even look at the photos and just use my imagination."
Your paintings are beautifully realistic, however, in close inspection an array of abstract textures and colour is apparent. What is your inspiration for this process?
"So nobody taught me how to paint. This is just a technique that I learned myself over the years. I learned that using this glazing technique I can make the acrylic colors very vivid. I just love to play with bright colors and sometimes reach out for a color you wouldn’t think of at first. This way, I can make my paintings captivating and interesting to look at.
I’m not aiming for my paintings to be hyper realistic. I hope to be original and that you can tell a painting is done by my hand."
What are some highlights throughout your life as an artist and in your art career that you are really proud of?
"Just the fact people want to buy my art is a highlight every time.
I one time had some one who moved a really expensive (Herman Brood) painting to make room for my art. That was fun. A few months ago I had a 6 pages interview in a big magazine. And just recently I had an exposition on my first art fair. At this fair I also received my first art award.
For me, a self taught artist, to be rewarded this way is an honour and proof I must be doing something right."
Do you have any pieces currently in the works? How is your process going thus far?
"I’m almost finished working on one of a stag skull with massive antlers. It is very monotone but I just love to use as many colors as possible.
After this one is finished, I’ll be working on a commission of a beautiful dark horse. This will be a challenge but I just love to step out of my comfort zone and try to get the best out of myself. There is so much to gain and learn from it, it’s the only way forward and to grow as an artist."
How have you used Tri-Art Mfg. in your work? Is there a particular product that you often reach for?
"I started working with the Tri-Art Liquid series about 8 years ago and immediately fell in love.
Although it's a paint that is low in viscosity, the pigment in it is amazing. It’s perfect for the way I like to work. It doesn’t leave any unevenness and It’s perfect for the glazing technique I use. This paint changed my way of using my paint and technique significantly. Oh, and the Non-Stick Palette is very practical too. So, thank you so much Tri-Art for creating these amazing products and to Van Beek for stocking them!"
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