Hermanus Pieper is a Dutch artist but has lived most of his life in London. COVID-19 gave him time to get back to his love of painting.
Tell us about your art and what you specialise in.
Since I came to live here in the Algarve and seeing the colours of the flowers and the light, I just had to create paintings in lots of colours. That’s why I called a lot of my paintings ‘colours of love’.
Have you always been an artist?
No, I had to make a living and as an artist it’s difficult, so my partner and I did lots of interior designing in England, and I painted in between jobs.
What mediums do you work with and how would you describe your subject matter?
I work with acrylic mainly, and my subject is decided at the time I start, that could be anything, I look around and see things everywhere. Something will grab me, and I will sometimes make a drawing of it first just to see, but not always. It depends on how strong the feeling is.
How long does each piece take to create?
My paintings can take from a couple of hours to a few days, and some of the intricate ones can take much longer.
Have you ever created something unique or unusual?
My very first drawing was of Françoise Hardy, a famous French singer, when I was very young, about 11 or 12. One of my teachers, when he saw the drawing, asked me to draw on all the blackboards in all the classrooms for Christmas. I also did a painting for Cliff Richard, when he did the musical Time, which was a fantastic show, I only saw it 98 times!!
Do you have any advice for an aspiring or hobby artist?
Yes, NEVER but NEVER give up, if that’s what you love to do – go for it!
What can we look forward to from you?
My studio is small at present but that’s going to change soon, and my plan is to create bigger, much bigger paintings, with lots of colours.
Shows or events? where and when?
Yes, I am hoping to have an exhibition here in the Algarve in Albufeira, but I don’t know when yet. Fingers crossed it will be soon.
