HI, I'm Elisabeth,

Next to a dark forest, in a small village near the Belgian border, I paint threatened animals in oil, with wings. The wings are my own symbol for how close these animals are to disappearing. If we carry on like this, angels will be all we have left.

Serene, a little dark, and meant to dream away in.

Where I come from

Since I was a child I have felt a strong bond with animals, often stronger than with people. I can’t explain why. Painting them, especially the vulnerable ones, was an easy choice. I want to show what is happening to them: climate change, poaching, the pet trade.

I trained as a classical dancer at Fontys Dansacademie, and I taught myself to paint in oil. Ballet taught me to work slowly, strictly and precisely, and I paint the same way. My taste is classical too. I study posture and the body closely, and I build each painting layer by layer, as the Old Masters did, until it is right.

What inspires me

I work in the Baroque tradition. Masters like Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Rubens inspire me, and not only for their dramatic light & Shadow, but for their use of symbolism. over time, developed my own: The wings, glowing orbs, and in my newer work, a red thread representing both our love for wildlife and the harm we cause it.

I find my images in sacred places:

  • The silence of the Sacré-Cœur, which asks to be respected and demands stillness. Serene, and a little dark.

  • Statues on old graves: how they stand, sit or lie, and how the wings on the angels are built.

  • A forest on a misty autumn morning, early, when everything goes soft.

I take those postures and that stillness back to the canvas.

Angels stand between life and death. So do the animals I paint. Many of them are slipping away, too often because of human impact. That is why I give them wings.

I want my paintings to carry a message, and to be a place you can rest in.

What I give back

10% of the sale price of every original goes to an organisation connected to the animal in the painting. From every Lettres de l’Atelier letter, €1 goes to a different wildlife organisation each month.