About me

My name is Liesbeth Goosen and I live in a small village near Rotterdam. From the moment I seriously started painting, I now have more than 50 years of experience in different techniques.

My style of painting is realistic with a bit of impressionism. Not surprising, really, because I love the paintings of the great Impressionist painters of the 19th century. I have always loved the loose brushwork and energy that comes from those paintings.

I sometimes go out into nature to take photos and to make impressions of various subjects with quick sketches in (color) pencil and sometimes in pen and ink, some of which are later converted into paintings in acrylic or watercolor in my studio. In addition, I often use photos that have been taken by others who gave me permission to use the image.

Painting made by my father, Mr. H.F. Goosen,
after a celtic tale, 1998

Self-taught

Except for a few short courses, I never really had lessons in painting and drawing techniques. I just did it very, very often.

As a 14 year old I took a full year to teach myself the rules of drawing in perspective and to learn how to work well with a regular pencil. At that time I took my sketchbook with me every day – even to school – and worked daily on new drawings of buildings with pencils of different hardness to get differences in the grayscale. The following year I took a year to learn how to use pen and ink and the next year to work with washed ink. By drawing and painting almost every day, I learned myself what works well and what doesn’t work.

When I was 17,  in the 5th grade of my pre-university education, I came across watercolor paint for the first time. I had chosen ‘Art’ as one of the subjects for my final exames the following year and watercolor painting was one of the things we were going to learn. Fantastic! 
Again I painted every free moment to become as good as possible. Not to get better than someone else, but mainly just to get better.

Working with acrylics did not come my way until much later: after my mother passed away, I started an art course at the Rotterdam Day and Evening School Community. There I came across acrylic paint for the very first time and, just like in my teens, I approached learning this technique in the same way: do it as often as you can!

Currently my main technique is painting with acrylic paint, in addition to drawing with colored pencil and working with pastel pencil. Although I really enjoy drawing, I have noticed that after a while I start to miss the feel of the paint on my brush and my fingers. I now paint almost every day and still love to do it.

My inspiration

I got to know the different movements in art history during my secondary school. Later I was inspired by the work of painters such as Turner, Van Gogh and of course Monet, Renoir and Cézanne.

Although I find the works of the old Dutch and Flemish masters (Frans Hals) beautiful, the loose and fast brushstrokes of the Impressionist painters still appeal to me more.

Processing grief

Painting is my lifelong passion and when I feel stressed or sad it helps me to feel better again.

This is clearly visible in my life: in the period after my mother’s death, in the period after my son had a serious accident and so on, there is always a period in which I take up my brushes more often and use painting as an outlet to my grief. That does not mean that the paintings of those periods are sad and “black”, quit the opposite. In the most difficult times I need to make something bright and beautiful; something that makes me happy.

Because that’s what it’s all about: there are so many beautiful things in the world and the world is also so big and grand that I can always find something to paint to make me happy again. My paintings are therefore always full of color and painted with strong contrasts.

People tell me they feel ‘happy’ just by looking at my paintings. Then I know I did a good job; I made a good painting that will make the buyer happy to have in his of her home.

How I work

Although I paint a lot of landscapes and animals that are outside, it is not always possible to paint outside in the Dutch climate (too cold and/or too wet). At those moments I take my camera and take pictures of things that I like: a beautiful sky, a reflection in the water, a strangely shaped tree or just the cat sitting on a wall enjoying the sun.

When I get home I sort these photos. On closer inspection, most of them cannot be used to make a beautiful painting, but there are always some that are good. I use these gems as a guideline for my paintings. A guideline, because a painting is always an interpretation of the actual image/photo. I adjust the colours and sometimes work with a firmer brushstroke. That is very much due to the photo itself and…. to my mood at that moment.

I also use photos of people I know through Facebook and Pinterest who have given permission to use their photos in a painting. Many people like to see the painting that I made with their photo as inspiration on Facebook.

Each painting is unique and my own interpretation of that specific location or animal at that specific moment