For me, painting is an ode to everything that seems ‘ordinary’, to details that make life special. That could be an animal, a loving gesture, the resilience or humour of a human being. For me, painting is like poetry; it is playing with colours and giving space to my soul.

The vulnerabilities in life touch me equally. For those who are oppressed and lack freedom, I open my heart. Through my work with Médecins Sans Frontières and in district nursing, I have experienced a lot of misery up close: hunger, pain, fear, violence, oppression. Helping is at the heart of my personal legend. It is precisely then that it illuminates and gives me strength if I can depict the beauty of my experiences as much as possible in return.

My paintings are basically realistic. I often add abstract elements and symbolism, because life is more than what you initially see. Then I paint with epoxy on my work of oil or acrylic, for example, to express the layering I experience. Sometimes I use mixed media to support the image. After all, painting for me remains just ‘playing’ too. But…. my real raw material is ‘life’.

I sign my works with LaVoo. This is an abbreviation of my full name Lidwina Agnes Voorend. Also, it is a nod to my inspiring father, who named his company PROVO. That, in turn, was a nod to the protest movement in the 1960s.