About me
I am Brigitta Santegoeds,
Visual Artists
My art shows how I am doing and what I dream about. The need to express something without having to put in in words is what causes colors, shapes and stories to appear on the canvas. I start without a preconceived plan. By painting, things fall into place.
Making art is freedom. It is my second nature in which I constantly continue to develop. A development that never stops and that I like to share with others. For example, with the clients of care organization Sevagram or with young people during a workshop as a freelancer cultural education at cultuurhuis SCHUNCK.
Education
’94 – ’99
Academy of Visual Arts Maastricht
Richting Monumentale Vormgeving
’05
Ondernemingstraining voor Kunstenaars te Amsterdam.
MTA ( Memo Training Amsterdam)
Richting Ondernemen is een kunst. Kunst is ondernemen.
’09 – ’10
Academy of Visual Arts Maastricht
Docent Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving
Drawing & Coloring
It’s a familiar story on most artist pages: as a child I was always drawing and coloring. I got high marks for it in high school and I considered going to the Art Academy. But my parents thought nursing was the wiser choice, and I listened to them at the time.
After my divorce, I decided to do "what I liked best”. In addition to my job in nursing with irregular hours, I started attending the Art Academy three nights a week. Sometimes I drove straight from the classroom to my night shift. A heavy investment, but absolutely worth it, I loved it.
Blue
I chose painting and photography. I love colors and can express myself best with colors. My strength lies in the colors. When I had to work in black and white at art school, it felt like a punishment. I always immediately turned my white canvases blue. The white reminded me of my nurse's uniform, which I had been wearing all day.
At a theater show I attended from Youp van 't Hek, I was overwhelmed by his blue decor, that color had a real impact. The background of my paintings is not always blue anymore, but you can see the color in everything I make. And the background of my paintings is still never white.
Intuition & Experience
I paint from my feelings; I use my intuition. If we had to draw a model at the Academy, she might have a green face or blue hair on my canvas. That was how I experienced the model.
Besides colors, I also love patterns, like you often see in fabrics and carpets and on tiles. I get my inspiration from everywhere. It is often a feeling, evoked by an object, a person or a landscape, that inspires me to start painting.
Trees
Since 2005 I have been painting trees. Trees represent people to me, people who extend their branches to others. I recognize trees in people and people in trees, how they walk, their posture, their pride.
Often, I paint three trees that represent my grandmother, my mother and myself. They contain stories of the search for my biological father, of 'leaving behind' my grandmother when I moved to Limburg with my mother, of special moments in my life.
When you buy one of my paintings, it becomes your story. I am happy if my work touches you and gets a nice spot in your home or office.
