Elmar Ipskamp

Green
2016
Oil on linen
150x180

The paintings that I have made are like friends – both the paintings themselves and the people in them. It is not therapy, but I do find it therapeutic. Working on these paintings feels enjoyable and I could not live without them. In this way, painting is like continuously looking in the mirror. It can be very tiring, but it is also addictive, which urges me to continue.

At the moment I paint lonely and solitary figures that are all connected to me in their own ways; they stand unaccompanied in their worlds. These worlds range from the outdoors or surfaces only to even a simple household or living room. In general, the figures are discouraged or bored; they wonder how they ended up where they are, and what the point of living is at all. I intentionally do not paint people I know, nor do I paint myself; that would cause me to be too close to my work. They wouldn’t be my friends anymore – it would just be me.

Each finished work has an atmosphere that is different yet still conveys similar feelings. It is impossible for the observers to feel the same about my paintings as I do; yet it is possible for them to experience something similar.

 

Elmaripskamp.nl
Green
2016
Oil on linen
150x180